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Changes for page ThingsBoard

Last modified by Dilisi S on 2025/04/23 19:23
From version 200.1
edited by Dilisi S
on 2025/04/02 02:09
Change comment: Apr 1 edits - part 2
To version 214.1
edited by Dilisi S
on 2025/04/21 18:30
Change comment: Uploaded new attachment "Screenshot 2025-04-21 122936.png", version {1}

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... ... @@ -164,37 +164,18 @@
164 164  [[image:ins1.png||height="310" width="500"]]
165 165  
166 166  
167 -= 3. Creating Devices (Optional) =
168 168  
169 -{{info}}
170 -**The following procedure is optional. If you haven't created any device in ThingsBoard first, ThingsBoard will automatically create a device for you based on the integration settings (the device name defined in the uplink decoder) just after it receives the first uplink from your device.Type your information message here.**
171 -{{/info}}
168 += 3. Data Converters =
172 172  
173 -First, you need to create devices in ThingsBoard to represent your physical devices. For example, you can name it **Device A**, and the second device could be **Device B** or any name you prefer. The device name should be unique within the **Devices** space.
174 174  
175 -
176 -In the left navigation, click **Entities -> Devices**.
177 -
178 -Click the **Add Device** button (the button with the **+** sign), and from the dropdown menu, click **Add new device**.
179 -
180 -In the **Add new device** dialog box, enter the device name in the **Name** text box. For example, we will use **Device A**.
181 -
182 -Click the **Add** button.
183 -
184 -Skip the **connectivity testing** by clicking the **Close** button.
185 -
186 -The device is created and listed on the **Devices** page. Note that its initial state is **Inactive** because it has not received any data yet.
187 -
188 -
189 -= 4. Data Converters =
190 -
191 -
192 192  In **ThingsBoard**, **Data Converters** are components used to transform incoming or outgoing data between different formats, typically to convert raw telemetry data from devices into a structured format that ThingsBoard can understand, or vice versa.
193 193  
173 +**In this section, you will create a universal uplink data converter for all Dragino NB-IoT devices. The uplink decoder converts any MQTT message coming from a device into key-value pairs that can be used to display and visualize data using various widgets on the dashboard**.
194 194  
195 -== 4.1 Uplink ==
196 196  
176 +== 3.1 Uplink ==
197 197  
178 +
198 198  In the left navigation, click **Integrations center**, and then click **Data converters**.
199 199  
200 200  
... ... @@ -201,7 +201,7 @@
201 201  [[image:data-converters-list-empty.png]]
202 202  
203 203  
204 -On the **Data converters** page, click on the ‘**+**’ button, and then click on the **Create new converter** from the dropdown menu.
185 +On the **Data converters** page, click on the ‘**+**’ button, and then click on **Create new converter** from the dropdown menu.
205 205  
206 206  
207 207  
... ... @@ -208,79 +208,67 @@
208 208  [[image:create-new-converter-menu.png||height="259" width="500"]]
209 209  
210 210  
211 -The **Add data converter** window will appear.
192 +The **Add data converter** window appears.
212 212  
213 -Let's create an uplink data converter for the device named '**Device A**'. Name it ‘**MQTT Uplink Converter - Device A**’ and select the Type as **Uplink**.
194 +Name it ‘**MQTT Uplink Converter**’ and select the Type as **Uplink**.
214 214  
215 215  Click on the **TBEL** button if it has not been selected by default.
216 216  
217 -Modify the default TBEL function to match with your device as described below:
198 +Replace the default TBEL decoder function with the following universal TBEL decoder function, which decodes MQTT payload from any Dragino NB-IoT device.
218 218  
219 219  
220 -* Uncomment** line 11**:
221 -
222 -//var data = decodeToJson(payload)//
223 -
224 -
225 -* **Line 13**: Assign your device name to the **deviceName** field. - We used **Device A** as it is to match with our device, **Device A **in the Devices section.
226 -* From **line 38**: Modify the telemetry section to allow parsed data to be assigned to the fields.
227 -
228 -//telemetry: {
229 - temperature: data.temperature,
230 - humidity: data.humidity,
231 - rawData: payloadStr
232 - }//
233 -
234 -
235 -The modified uplink decoder function to match with **Device A** is shown below.
236 -
237 237  {{code language="JavaScript"}}
238 -// Decode an uplink message from a buffer
239 -// payload - array of bytes
240 -// metadata - key/value object
241 -
242 -/** Decoder **/
243 -
244 -// decode payload to string
245 -var payloadStr = decodeToString(payload);
246 -
247 247  // decode payload to JSON
203 +var pattern = "yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss";
204 +var objdata = {};
205 +var obj1 = {};
248 248  var data = decodeToJson(payload);
249 -
250 -var deviceName = 'Device A';
251 -var deviceType = 'thermostat';
252 -var customerName = 'Customer C';
253 -var groupName = 'thermostat devices';
254 -var manufacturer = 'Example corporation';
255 -// use assetName and assetType instead of deviceName and deviceType
256 -// to automatically create assets instead of devices.
257 -// var assetName = 'Asset A';
258 -// var assetType = 'building';
259 -
260 -// Result object with device/asset attributes/telemetry data
261 -var result = {
262 -// Use deviceName and deviceType or assetName and assetType, but not both.
263 - deviceName: deviceName,
264 - deviceType: deviceType,
265 -// assetName: assetName,
266 -// assetType: assetType,
267 -// customerName: customerName,
268 - groupName: groupName,
269 - attributes: {
270 - model: 'Model A',
271 - serialNumber: 'SN111',
272 - integrationName: metadata['integrationName'],
273 - manufacturer: manufacturer
274 - },
275 - telemetry: {
276 - temperature: data.temperature,
277 - humidity: data.humidity,
278 - rawData: payloadStr
279 - }
207 +var deviceName = data.IMEI;
208 +data.remove("IMEI");
209 +var modelname = "Dragino "+ data.Model;
210 +//var mod = data.mod
211 +data.remove("Model");
212 +//delete data.mod
213 +var timestamp = new Date().getTime();
214 +foreach (entry: data.entrySet()) {
215 + var key = entry.getKey();
216 + var value = entry.getValue();
217 + //objdata[key] = data[key]
218 + if(key.matches("^-?\\d+$")){ //is number
219 + obj1[key]=data[key];
220 + var index = obj1[key].length-1;
221 + obj1[key][index]=new Date(obj1[key][index],pattern).getTime();
222 + }
223 + else if (key==="bat"||key==="BAT"){
224 + objdata["battery"] = data[key];
225 + }
226 + else{
227 + objdata[key] = data[key];
228 +}}
229 +var listdata = [{"ts":timestamp,"values":objdata}];
230 +foreach ( entry1: obj1.entrySet()){
231 + var key1 = entry1.getKey();
232 + var value1 = entry1.getValue();
233 + var index = obj1[key1].length-1;
234 + var ts = obj1[key1][index];
235 + if (modelname=="Dragino RS485-NB"){
236 + listdata.push({"ts":ts,"values":{"Payload":obj1[key1][0]}});
237 + }
238 + else{
239 + listdata.push({"ts":ts,"values":{"values":obj1[key1]}});
240 + }
241 +}
242 + var result = {
243 + deviceName: deviceName,
244 + deviceType: modelname,
245 + attributes: {
246 + model: modelname
247 + //customerName: "NB-CB",
248 + //groupName: "NB-CB",
249 + //integrationName: metadata['integrationName']
250 + },
251 + telemetry: listdata
280 280  };
281 -
282 -/** Helper functions 'decodeToString' and 'decodeToJson' are already built-in **/
283 -
284 284  return result;
285 285  {{/code}}
286 286  
... ... @@ -288,18 +288,18 @@
288 288  Once you modify the decoder function, click on the **Add** button.
289 289  
290 290  
260 +[[image:mqtt-uplink-converter.png||height="498" width="500"]]
291 291  
292 -[[image:ul-data-converter-device-a.png||height="524" width="500"]]
293 293  
294 294  
295 295  You should see that the newly added **MQTT Uplink converter **NB/CB is listed on the **Data Converters** page.
296 296  
297 297  
298 -[[image:ul-data-converter-added.png||height="257"]]
299 299  
268 +[[image:data-converters-list.png]]
300 300  
301 301  
302 -= 5. Add Integration =
271 += 4. Add Integration =
303 303  
304 304  
305 305  In the left navigation, click **Integrations center**, and then click **Integrations**.
... ... @@ -319,18 +319,17 @@
319 319  **Basic settings:**
320 320  
321 321  * **Integration type**: MQTT
322 -* **Name**: MQTT integration - Device A
291 +* **Name**: MQTT integration
323 323  * **Enable integration**: YES
324 -* **Allows create devices or assets**: YES
293 +* **Allow create devices or assets**: YES
325 325  
326 326  Click **Next** button.
327 327  
328 328  
329 -[[image:add-integration-basic-settings.png||height="504" width="500"]]
330 330  
299 +[[image:add-integration-part-1.png||height="483" width="500"]]
331 331  
332 332  
333 -
334 334  **Uplink data converter:**
335 335  
336 336  * Click on the **Select existing** button.
... ... @@ -339,8 +339,8 @@
339 339  Click **Next** button.
340 340  
341 341  
342 -[[image:add-integration-ul-data-converter.png||height="505" width="500"]]
343 343  
311 +[[image:add-integration-part-2.png||height="484" width="500"]]
344 344  
345 345  
346 346  **Downlink data converter:**
... ... @@ -358,18 +358,19 @@
358 358  
359 359  **Connection:**
360 360  
361 -* **Host**: Host URL (Eg. **//011731f7xxxxxxxxxxxfbbedfc63f4.s1.eu.hivemq.cloud//**)
362 -* **Port**: 8883
329 +* **Host**: Host URL (Eg, **//011731f7xxxxxxxxxxxfbbedfc63f4.s1.eu.hivemq.cloud//**)
330 +* **Port**: 8883 (the port number may differ based on your MQTT broker)
363 363  * **Credentials type**: Basic
364 364  * **Username**: Username (from your HiveMQ Cloud Cluster with your credentials)
365 365  * **Password:** Password (from your HiveMQ Cloud Cluster with your credentials)
366 366  * **Enable SSL**: YES
367 -* **Topic: device/a** (The topic can be anything; you can even use just the device name.)
335 +* **Topic**: # (the # symbol indicates that it filters all topics).
368 368  * **QoS:** 0-At most once
369 369  
370 -[[image:add-integartion-connection.png||height="505" width="500"]]
371 371  
339 +[[image:add-integration-4.png||height="484" width="500"]]
372 372  
341 +
373 373  Click on the **Advanced settings** button.
374 374  
375 375  * **Clean session:** YES
... ... @@ -397,47 +397,56 @@
397 397  Since we haven't received data from a device yet, the integration **Status** is shown as **Pending.**
398 398  
399 399  
400 -[[image:integration-added.png]]
401 401  
370 +[[image:integrations-pending.png]]
402 402  
403 403  
404 -= 6. Verifying the receipt of data from virtual devices =
373 += 5. Verifying the receipt of data from virtual devices =
405 405  
406 406  
407 -== 6.1 How does it work? ==
376 +== 5.1 How does it work? ==
408 408  
409 409  
410 410  We use the Mosquitto MQTT client to simulate MQTT messages, acting as a virtual device. First, install the Mosquitto client on your computer from [[this link>>url:https://mosquitto.org/download/]]. The Mosquitto client publishes messages to the MQTT broker (HiveMQ) on a specified MQTT topic. ThingsBoard subscribes to these messages using the same topic.
411 411  
412 -The Mosquitto client publishes messages (payloads) on the topic **/device/a**. Of course, you can use any topic for testing.
381 +The Mosquitto client publishes messages (payloads) to a topic - for example, # or device/ts01-nb. You can, of course, use any topic you prefer.
413 413  
414 -(% id="cke_bm_37386S" style="display:none" %) (%%)The MQTT payload format is as follows:
415 415  
384 +(% id="cke_bm_37386S" style="display:none" %) (%%)The MQTT payload format is as follows. The **IMEI **and **Model **are mandatory fields. For other fields, you can use any number of key-value pairs.
385 +
416 416  {{code language="none"}}
417 -{"IMEI": "350693903995577", "temperature":25, "humidity":80, "pressure":1005}
387 +{"IMEI":"350693903995577", "Model":"TS01-NB", "temperature":30, "humidity":80, "pressure":1005}
418 418  {{/code}}
419 419  
420 -Once ThingsBoard receives this message, it forwards this payload to the matching device through the integration.
421 421  
422 -
423 423  == 5.2 Sending messages ==
424 424  
425 425  
426 -On your computer's terminal, issue the following MQTT command which simulates the device '**Device A'**. The message payload contains the fields IMEI, temperature, humidity, and pressure, which hold the values 350693903995577, 30, 80, and 1005 respectively. This payload is also (technically) known as telemetry.
394 +On your computer's terminal, issue the following MQTT command, which simulates the device named '**350693903995577'**. The message payload contains the fields IMEI, Model, temperature, humidity, and pressure, which hold the values 350693903995577,  TS01-NB, 30, 80, and 1005 respectively. This payload is also (technically) known as telemetry.
427 427  
428 428  {{code language="none"}}
429 -mosquitto_pub -d -q 1 -h 011731f7928xxxxx.s1.eu.hivemq.cloud -p 8883 -u "xxxxx" -P "xxxxx" -t "device/a" -m '{"IMEI":"350693903995577", "temperature":30, "humidity":80, "pressure":1005}'
397 +mosquitto_pub -d -q 1 -h 011731f7928xxxxx.s1.eu.hivemq.cloud -p 8883 -u "xxxxx" -P "xxxxx" -t "device/350693903995577" -m '{"IMEI":"350693903995577", "Model":"TS01-NB", "temperature":30, "humidity":80, "pressure":1005}'
430 430  {{/code}}
431 431  
432 -If the integration was performed without errors, the status of the integration changes to 'Active' after the first telemetry transmission.
400 +If the integration was performed without errors, a new device named **350693903995577 **is created in the **Devices **section.
433 433  
434 434  
435 -[[image:integration-active.png]]
403 +[[image:new-device-1.png]]
436 436  
437 437  
438 -== 6.3 Viewing messages ==
406 +The status of the integration also changes to '**Active**' after the first telemetry transmission.
439 439  
440 440  
409 +[[image:Screenshot 2025-04-21 122154.png]]
410 +
411 +
412 +
413 +**When ThingsBoard receives this message for the first time, it will automatically create a new device named '350693903995577' in the Devices section. The device name is based on the IMEI number. For subsequent messages with the same IMEI, no duplicate devices will be created. Each new IMEI number will result in a unique entry in the Devices section, representing a physical device.**
414 +
415 +
416 +== 5.3 Viewing messages ==
417 +
418 +
441 441  Go back to the **Integrations** page.
442 442  
443 443  Click on the **MQTT integration NB/CB** in the **Integrations** page to see its details.
... ... @@ -486,7 +486,7 @@
486 486  Now, you have successfully tested your integration with a simulated uplink payload and verified that it is received by ThingsBoard, and the device is provisioned.
487 487  
488 488  
489 -= 7. Creating a Dashboard =
467 += 6. Creating a Dashboard =
490 490  
491 491  ThingsBoard **Dashboards** provide a powerful way to visualize and monitor real-time and historical data from connected devices. They allow users to create interactive, customizable panels displaying telemetry data, device status, and other key metrics. With a variety of widgets, including charts, maps, and tables, dashboards help users gain insights, track trends, and manage IoT deployments efficiently.
492 492  
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