Glossary¶
Every word you meet in First steps, in plain language. Words in
CAPITALS are shown exactly like that in the console, as coloured badges.
Your organisation and its people¶
Organisation¶
Your company's own area in the console. Everything you create (templates, devices, members) belongs to exactly one organisation, and nobody outside it can see it. Signing up creates a new organisation.
Member¶
A person with a login to your organisation. You add members by inviting them by email under Members.
Actor (audit history)¶
Who did something, in the Audit history: a member's name (or email), System for actions the platform performs by itself, or Former member for someone who is no longer part of your organisation.
Role¶
What a member is allowed to do. Every member has exactly one role:
| Role | May do |
|---|---|
| Org Admin | Everything: change company data, invite and remove members, change roles, add, edit and delete devices, claim devices, create and change templates. The person who signs up is the first Org Admin. |
| Editor | Add devices by hand, claim devices, create and change templates, assign templates to devices. May not change an existing device's identity, delete devices or manage members. |
| Viewer | Look at everything, change nothing. |
Configuration¶
Template¶
The complete set of settings a gateway receives from the platform, for example how often it calls in. You create a template once and then assign it to as many devices as you like. A device without a template cannot be set up.
Target platform¶
Where your gateways send their data once they are running. You choose it when you create a template:
- Pallax: the Pallax IoT platform. The platform sets up the connection to Pallax for each gateway by itself.
- Generic: any other system that accepts gateways over a secured connection (an MQTT broker). You provide the address of that system (the broker) and a credential for it.
Broker¶
The server your gateways connect to in order to deliver their data. Only needed for the Generic target platform.
Credential (certificate)¶
The electronic ID card a gateway shows to the broker so the broker lets it in. It consists of a certificate, its private key and the certificate chain of whoever issued it. You get it from the operator of your broker, not from this platform. Certificates expire, usually after a year, and then have to be replaced: before that, Config templates shows the warning "The certificate on … expires in N days. Upload a replacement before then, or N devices can no longer receive their configuration." and the template's badge reads Certificate · N d left. Once it has expired, gateways using the template can no longer receive their configuration. Removing or replacing a credential deletes its private key from storage; nothing of the old key is kept.
Devices¶
Device (gateway)¶
One physical gateway. In the console it appears as one row under Devices. This guide uses "device" and "gateway" for the same thing.
EUI¶
The gateway's worldwide unique number: 16 characters, digits 0–9 and
letters a–f, for example 0000000000000001. It is printed on the
gateway's label, sometimes with dashes, colons, dots or spaces between the
characters. You can type it either way, for example 00:00:00:00:00:00:00:01:
the console removes those separators and stores the 16 characters.
Serial number¶
The manufacturer's serial number, printed on the gateway's label.
TPM¶
A security chip built into the gateway. It holds a secret key that never leaves the chip, so the gateway can prove it is really itself.
AK fingerprint¶
A 64-character code (digits 0–9 and letters a–f) that identifies the
gateway's TPM. The platform uses it to recognise the gateway when it calls in.
It is not secret. Register a real gateway
shows the two ways to get it.
Claim code¶
A one-time code that comes with gateways you ordered from a manufacturer. Entering it under Devices → Claim devices moves that gateway into your organisation. An order number does the same for a whole order at once.
What happens after the gateway is switched on¶
Check-in¶
The gateway calls the platform on its own, by default once an hour. Each call asks "is there anything new for me?" and is listed on the device's Check-ins tab. If you change the template, the gateway picks up the change at its next check-in.
Device status (lifecycle)¶
Where a device is on its way from "entered" to "working". It is shown as a badge in the LIFECYCLE column and on the device page:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
CLAIMED |
The device belongs to your organisation, but the gateway has not been set up by the platform yet. This is where every device starts after Add device or Claim devices. |
PROVISIONED |
The gateway has called in, proved who it is and received its settings. |
ACTIVE |
The gateway's own software has reported that it reached its target platform. The device is fully working. |
Other badges you may see: LOCKED (blocked on purpose, the gateway is
refused), IMPORTED (produced but not yet claimed by anyone).
Health¶
Whether a device that has already been set up is still calling in normally. Shown in the HEALTH column and next to the status on the device page:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
HEALTHY |
Checking in normally. |
FAILING |
Keeps contacting the platform but cannot finish proving who it is. Usually a problem on the gateway itself. |
SILENT |
Nothing has arrived from the device for three check-in intervals (3 hours by default). The gateway is off, offline, or its software is not running. |
A device that has never been set up shows no health badge.