Phase 2: Create Application, Models, & Managed Entities

Phase 2: Create Application, Models, & Managed Entities


Device, Asset, and Datapoints 


We can now create a Zoho IOT application and create the device, assets, and datapoints.

Device
Gateway Device
Asset
Engine
Fuel Tank
Datapoints
Engine RPM
Engine Temperature
Fuel Level
 

Create an Application

First, we will create an application called Diesel Generator Monitoring (DG Monitoring) in Zoho IOT.

To create an application:
2. If you are not signed in, click the Sign In button and continue.
     Else, if you are signed in, the portal page will be displayed.  
3. Click Create Application.


4. Provide a name for the application.
 
 Name 
DG Monitoring 
Note: Name provided is for illustration purpose only; users are free to provide any name of their choice.


5. Click Create Application. A new application will now be created.
6. Click Get Started.
             

A new application with the name DG Monitoring is created. You will be redirected to the End Application.

Create a Device

Now, we will add a device in the application to represent the Raspberry Pi device.

To add a new device:
1. Access the End Application. (By default, you will land in the End Application, which is given below; or else, click End Application in the top-right corner of the screen.)
2. Select Devices > Devices in the left pane.



3. Click Add Device.
3. Select Add Using Product Gallery (Devices) and click Proceed.



4. Select Raspberry Pi 4 and the Device Addition Wizard will appear.



5. Click Import & Proceed.
6. Click the toggle to Create New Model.



7. Provide the following information.
 
Model Name
DG Gateway
Name
My RPi Device
Type
Gateway
Connectivity
MQTT
Device Application
Custom Application
Authentication Type
Security Token without TLS
Data Interval
1
Name provided is for illustration purpose only; users are free to provide any name of their choice.

A device model acts as a container that holds the configuration based on which similar devices can be created. It's highly useful while scaling your application. Refer to this guide about Models and Instances document for more details.

8. Click Proceed, then click View Device in the device registered pop-up. You will be redirected to the device's information page.
9. Click Skip in the Device Onboarding pop-up.        
Note: Onboarding will be done at a later stage in the tutorial.
You have now successfully added a device in the DG monitoring application.

Create an Asset

Now we will add an asset to the application to represent the diesel generator.

To add an asset,
1. Select Assets in the left pane.
2. Click Add Asset.



3. Click the toggle to Create New Model.
4. Provide the following information. 
Model Name
Diesel Generator
Name
My DG01
Connected Gateway
My RPi Device

Note: Name provided is for illustration purpose only; users are free to provide any name of their choice.

The Connected Gateway (device) selected is the device created in the previous step; please select the name you have provided while adding the device.



5. Click Add, and a new asset will now be added to the application. You will be redirected to the Asset's information page.






You have successfully added an asset to the application.

Create Datapoints

With Raspberry Pi(device) and Diesel Generator(asset) added in the application, we can now configure the datapoints to parse and store the data sent by the Raspberry Pi device.

The monitored parameters pertain to the Diesel Generator, so the datapoints are added to the asset Diesel Generator.

To add a datapoint,
1. Click Assets.
2. Click the My DG01 Asset. This will open the Asset's information page.
3. Click Actions > Datapoint Configuration.



4. Click Add Datapoint.
5. Select Add Datapoint Group and click Proceed.
6. Select Add Datapoint.
7. Provide the following values in the appropriate fields: 
Datapoint Name
Engine Temperature
Data Type
Numeric
Decimal Places
2
Datapoint Kind
Motor Temperature
Units
Celsius
Computation
OFF
Parsing Key
temp_c
PII Data
OFF
Datapoint Status
ON


Note: The Parsing key may differ and is based on the payload sent by the application. Provide the key corresponding to the monitored temperature as sent in the payload.

8. Click Add.
9. Click Add in the Datapoint Addition Alert pop up. A new datapoint will now be added to the asset.

Repeat the same steps given above with the listed information to create two more datapoint templates Engine Temperature and Fuel Level.

Datapoint: Engine RPM

Datapoint Name
Engine RPM
Data Type
Numeric
Decimal Places
2
Datapoint Kind
RPM
Units
rpm
Computation
OFF
Parsing Key
eng_rpm
PII Data
OFF
Datapoint Status
ON
 
Datapoint: Fuel Level

Datapoint Name
Fuel Level
Data Type
Numeric
Decimal Places
2
Datapoint Kind
Level
Units
litres
Computation
OFF
Parsing Key
ft_level
PII Data
OFF
Datapoint Status
ON

On completing the steps, you must be able to see the datapoints Engine Temperature, Engine RPM and Fuel Level in the list.

With the datapoints added to the asset, you can now proceed with onboarding your Raspberry Pi device.

Next Phase 3: Onboard​