Serverless IoT with AWS Lambda - Walkthru, Enterprise Implications

1. Serverless IoT with AWS
Lambda
Walkthrough, Enterprise
Implications
Bob Balaban
SGAArchitect
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

2. Agenda
• “Serverless” Use Case: IoT
• Demo overview
• Click a button, get an email
• Step by Step
• Config
• Test
• Code
• Test again
• Enterprise perspectives
• Q&A
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

3. IoT: Internet of Things
• Many (103? 106? 109?) devices sending data to a collection point for
(real time?) analysis and reporting
• Many issues at scale!
• Software (architecture and implementation)
• Hardware (security, deployment, maintenance…)
• AWS Lambda is an interesting approach
• Fits with microservices architectures
• Small, stateless (usually) chunks of bizlogic
• Potential for significant cost savings (you don’t pay for idle time)
• Azure Functions, Google Cloud Functions, IBM OpenWhisk…
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

4. Microservices + Serverless
• The right service
• For the right price
• In the right location
• At the right time
• On demand!
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

5. Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.
Demo: Click a button, get an email

6. Setup and Coding
• Configure the button
• Unit Test
• Write the code
• Unit Test
• End-to-end Test
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

7. Configure the Button - 1
• Go to AWS IoT console
• Create a “thing” (these are region-specific!!)
• Create x509 certificate for the button, activate
• Download cert and private key files
• Create an IoT Policy to authorize the button to access services
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.
{ "Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{ "Effect": "Allow",
"Action": "iot:Publish",
"Resource": "*"
}
]}

8. Configure the Button - 2
• Certificate -> Attach Policy
• Certificate -> Attach Thing
• Find “Custom IoT Endpoint”
• (e.g. <account#>.iot.us-west-2.amazonaws.com)
• Program the button:
• Hold down button until blue light flashes (sets up wi-fi hotspot
• Connect laptop wi-fi to hotspot (pw is last 8 digits of button serial number)
• Browse to http://192.168.0.1/index.html
• Enter wi-fi connection info (SSID, pw if needed)
• Upload certificate, private key, add in custom endpoint…
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

9. Configure the Button - 3
• Test your connectivity
• IoT console, “MQTT Client” tab
• Generate client ID, Connect
• Subscribe to topic “iotbutton/+” (or instead of +, specific button serial number)
• Click the button!
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

10. Write the Lambda Code - 1
• AWS tutorial:
http://docs.aws.amazon.com/iot/latest/developerguide/iot-button-
lambda.html
• Go to AWS Lambda Console
• “Create a Lambda Function”
• Select “iot-button-email” blueprint, select runtime (node.js-4.3)
• On “Configure Triggers” page, select “IoT Button”, enter serial
number
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

11. Write the Lambda Code - 2
• Go to “Configure Function”, review the code in the editor
• Replace hardcoded email string
• For authorization: “Create role from template”
• Give it a name
• Select template “AWS IoT Button permissions”
• Allows function code to access outside services (especially SNS)
• Click “Create”
• Add trigger: AWS IoT -> IoTButton, enter serial number
• Unit Test:
• Click “Test”, you should get an email
• Actions -> Configure Test event”, set it up to send the right data
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

12. Test it!
• Click the button
• Blinking white light
• Steady green
• Email should arrive within a few seconds
• Go to CloudWatch
• Logs
• Click on button log stream
• Review log events, see billing info on log “REPORT”
• Look at metrics (not especially interesting for small numbers of events)
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

13. Enhance it!
• Hardcoded email address is not really practical
• Create DynamDb table that maps button ID to an email addr
• Re-factor event handler to look up email dynamically
• Node.js async “callback” pattern
• Create another table to record hits
• Modify Lambda role permissions, add “Microservice permissions”
• Add some extra logging
• Test it!
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

14. Enterprise Perspectives
• Config needs way more automation
• Try doing 1000 buttons…
• Then try managing 1000 lambda functions…
• Pre manufacture hardware with required files? How to keep it secure…
• Policies/permissions (button, lambda)
• “Printf” style debugging is SO 1970s
• Need local framework(s) to debug code for real
• You want to know how much it’s going to cost to run your system
BEFORE you go to production
• http://serverlesscalc.com/#
• APM tools?
• Idle-time behavior, you pay for spin-up time
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

15. Other Options for Invoking Functions (Lambda
Events)
• AWS Services – Publishes events which invoke Lambda
• S3 – Asynchronous invocation by S3
• DynamoDB / Kinesis Streams – Lambda polls the stream(s) and invokes synchronously
• Cognito – Invokes synchronously
• HTTPS – Custom REST API and endpoint using API Gateway
• Custom Apps – Client/mobile/web app publish events via SDKs
• Scheduled Events – Schedule events via AWS Lambda Console
• Hours, Days, Weeks, cron expression
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

16. Serverless Challenges
LessOps requires new ways of thinking about deployment, testing, etc.
Serverless billing can be challenging and not always cheaper than IaaS.
Invoking functions requires the cloud vendors to launch containers (startup
considerations).
New development skills required including cloud knowledge
Small stateless functions require new coding patterns
Stateful coding requires even more skill
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.

17. Thank you!
Serverless-Boston Meet-up Nov. 2, 2016, ©SGA, Inc.
Q & A