IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere

re: IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere by rscasny

rscasny — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 19:06:25 GMT

On-demand webinar recording is now available. Click the blue tab in the table above.

Randall

re: IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere by Fred27

Fred27 — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 19:08:47 GMT

That was an interesting webinar. I'll have to rewatch the recording as my internet connection decided to play up on the middle of it.

A shame there wasn't time for more questions. Is there a good place to ask some that you didn't get to?

re: IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere by DAB

DAB — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 19:14:26 GMT

Very good webinar.

Microsoft has done a good job of simplifying the effort needed to get a functioning prototype up and running with security and web support.

Well done.

DAB

re: IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere by darrell.little

darrell.little — Sat, 22 Jun 2019 11:18:28 GMT

Enjoyed the webinar - thanks!. Hopefully I can work with this board and learn some new things with Azure.

re: IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere by Workshopshed

Workshopshed — Sat, 22 Jun 2019 21:59:53 GMT

Looks like a good implementation of the Azure Sphere chip. The MikroE Click sockets is a great choice as it means you can prototype without the need for soldering.

One of the questions was about C/C++. There is one chap who's been experimenting with a translator which allows C# to be used. So I suspect similar techniques could be used for other high level languages such as Python.

https://www.kekyo.net/2019/01/04/6917

re: IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere by rscasny

rscasny — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 23:41:17 GMT

Webinar Sphere Kit Winning Questions and Answers

1.What sensors are available on the Azure kit? Can I measure the color spectrum ( I need to measure fluorescent light from fluorescent dyes on biological samples)?

pulkit101

Answer: There are three sensors that come built into the board included with the kit:

1. ST Micro - LSM6DS0 MEMs (3D Gyro, Temperature)

2. ST Micro - LPS22HH pressure MEMs sensor (elevation info)

3. Ambient Light Sensor (Analog input for ADC)

I don’t think that any of these would be sensitive enough for the spectroscopy sensing you are looking for. Have you looked through the 660+ Click modules that are available to see if there is something closer to what you need for a sensor on a Click module? https://www.mikroe.com/click

2.It uses Sphere OS. Do I need extra knowledge about it to start coding?

omki12

Answer: If you are already familiar with C coding and STD LIBC APIs then you probably don’t need to have extra knowledge about it to begin coding. Keep in mind since it is a secured MCU with a minimized Sphere OS kernel, you will not have access to a full Linux programming API.

Take a look at the following article where you can find additional documentation on the APIs available today:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-sphere/app-development/development-environment

3. What is exceptional in the Azure Sphere Kit other than security feature?

noorpuri

Answer: Microsoft might tell you that there are 3 parts that are exceptional about Sphere since each of these elements are combined into one solution:

1) Secured MCU

2) Secured Operating System

3) Secured Update Service

I agree about all of these 2 plus I would also point out that the Microsoft Visual Developer Studio tools have always worked pretty well for me. The tools might not be as amazing as some of the higher end development tools that you find for other MCUs but for folks like me who grew up programming under Windows, these tools are very familiar to me. So I would say this is a 4th feature that does not get a lot of attention but it will enable other developers (such as cloud applications developers and Windows application developers) to reach MCU technology easier than what they might find with Arduino IDE.

4. Is there any support for transmitting data through a cellular connection for battery operated projects or projects based out of a vehicle?

arutledge

Answer: There is no direct support for that today although we are working on an example that would enable you to move data over a Bluetooth interface to another device such as a smart phone. There is a similar example to this from Microsoft:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-sphere/network/wifi-including-ble

If cellular is a hard requirement for your application, I suggest that you provide feedback for your needed interface direct to Microsoft:

https://feedback.azure.com/forums/915433-azure-sphere

5. Is there any other IDE/ language we can use to program the device?

vimarsh_

Answer: There is not today, if there is a clear case for using another IDE and language I am sure that your feedback would be appreciated by my team. Keep in mind that “I need XYZ tool because it is my favorite” are not helpful for us to justify requests for support so please clearly outline the argument for the IDE and language you need. One thing to keep in mind is that there is a lot of careful attention paid to the security aspect of Azure Sphere MCU application development, software signing, and certificate based authentication on this platform and so adding support for other tools would not be a trivial undertaking.

There is a Microsoft response to a similar question posted here:

https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/azure-sphere-issues/issues/22

Where it is suggested that feedback for your needed IDE / language can be provided direct to Microsoft:

https://feedback.azure.com/forums/915433-azure-sphere

6. Could this board be used as a MQTT Broker with multiple sensors collecting data to upload up to Azure cloud?

darrell.little

Answer: I am sure with enough time and resources something like this could be implemented, can you bound this request more concisely on what you need to achieve from an application level? One of the defined use cases for Azure Sphere is to act as a secured gateway for other unsecured nodes on a local network. Is there a requirement for this to be MQTT based for your application?

7. Any chance of using existing Arduino format expansion boards?

hansc85

Answer: At the present time I'm not aware of a means to use the Ardunio connector format.

8. Can I connect this board to the Mikroe Bluetooth click board?

abiswas1993

Answer: I see several MikroE Click boards which support Bluetooth, which did you have in mind?

https://www.mikroe.com/bluetooth-click

https://www.mikroe.com/bluetooth-2-click

https://www.mikroe.com/ble-3-click

https://www.mikroe.com/ble-p-click

https://www.mikroe.com/rn4678-click

One of the challenging steps for you would be to develop a working example OR port the MikroE source code for these modules to the Azure Sphere MCU. Take a look at this example application which uses Nordic nRF52 to configure the WiFi from an external connected application:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-sphere/network/wifi-including-ble

I think if you were able to achieve this with one of the Click Bluetooth modules and share back with our community it would be really well received!

9. Is there a roadmap for Linux support for development.

gnicholson

Answer: There is not today, if there is a clear case for using another operating system for development work, such as Linux, I am sure that your feedback would be appreciated by my team.

There is a Microsoft response to a similar question posted here:

https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/azure-sphere-issues/issues/22

Where it is suggested that feedback for your needed IDE / language can be provided direct to Microsoft:

https://feedback.azure.com/forums/915433-azure-sphere

10. Where is the root of trust resided on the device? Can you briefly describe the secured boot process on this kit?

cmelement14

Answer: The answer I provided in the Webinar for this question is more elaborate so I will be more concise here. The heart of security for Azure Sphere MCUs is the Pluton Security Subsystem. The Pluton provides a rich set of silicon security features that are not often present in a hardware root of trust.

Basically, Pluton coordinates the boot process for each of the processors on MT3620 and enforces signed software execution policy to prevent unauthorized software from being run on your device.

This Microsoft article explains this topic much more thoroughly than I ever could:

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/anatomy-of-a-secured-mcu/

Here is one that I will do as a bonus:

Can you post a link for this MS example of remote update of a co-MCU?

Answer: Here is an example of how you can use Azure Sphere to update an external MCU:

https://github.com/Azure/azure-sphere-samples/tree/master/Samples/ExternalMcuUpdate

re: IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere by abiswas1993

abiswas1993 — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 03:50:58 GMT

Thank you Mr. Scasny( rscasny for your thoughtful reply. The mentioned example is really intriguing. I am thinking about the RN4678 click board. Since the communication is based on UART I think it is challenging but possible to develop the code on the click board to configure the Wifi setting over Bluetooth by any Serial app available on the app store (transmitting strings). I will definitely try to tether the module with the Bluetooth module and change the setting over Bluetooth.

Thanks again.

re: IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere by noorpuri

noorpuri — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 14:24:20 GMT

Dear Randall Scasny ,

There is a merged answer of my both questions, My first question was like,

"How traditional Microcontroller software developer can work with this kit , those use

KEIL , Eclips , Code warrier".

re: IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere by vimarsh_

vimarsh_ — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 14:28:22 GMT

Hello rscasny

Is there any update on giving away of the Azure Sphere Kits to webinar attended?

Thanking you,

Vimarsh

re: IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere by danzima

danzima — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 14:39:35 GMT

For those interested in this kit, we've just now launched a Design Challenge around it! Check out the details here.

re: IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere by kevinkeryk

kevinkeryk — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 19:41:06 GMT

Hello Everyone!

Once you have your Free Azure Sphere Kit, be sure to check out Jim Flynn's latest blog which shows how to expand your kit capability with MikroElectronica Click modules as mentioned in the webinar!

Using MikroE Click Boards with Microsoft Sphere

Then once you are comfortable with the tools, be sure to try your hand at one of the design contests to win some really cool prizes!

-Kevin

re: IoT Skills: Learn How To Rapidly Secure Your IoT Design with Azure Sphere by clem57

clem57 — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 03:42:06 GMT

Great to see Starbucks is using this...