Gateway Device Onboarding

Gateway Device

A Gateway Device in /IOTCONNECT™ acts as a communication bridge between child devices (that cannot connect directly to the cloud) and the /IOTCONNECT™ platform. The gateway aggregates telemetry from multiple child devices and sends it to the cloud over a single connection.

What is a Gateway Device?

A Gateway Device is a connected device that manages multiple child devices — sensors or actuators that cannot connect to the internet directly. The gateway collects data from child devices (via local protocols like BLE, Zigbee, Modbus, RS-485, or wired connections) and forwards it to /IOTCONNECT™ over MQTT.

Key characteristics:

Parent-Child Relationship: One gateway can have many child devices. Each child has its own Unique ID and sends telemetry through the parent.

Single Cloud Connection: Only the gateway connects to the cloud — child devices communicate only with the gateway locally.

Tag-based Separation: Different tags in the template differentiate parent gateway attributes from child device attributes.

Child Device Management: Add, remove, and manage child devices from the portal. Children inherit the gateway’s template.

Video Walkthrough: Gateway Device | Onboarding

Watch the complete walkthrough video showing the end-to-end process of onboarding a Gateway Device, configuring Child Devices, and validating telemetry communication through the IoTConnect platform.

When to Use a Gateway Device

Constrained Sensors: Child devices lack IP connectivity (BLE beacons, Zigbee nodes, RS-485 sensors).

Protocol Translation: Convert Modbus RTU, BACnet, OPC-UA, or proprietary protocols to MQTT for the cloud.

Data Aggregation: Collect readings from many sensors and send in batches to reduce bandwidth and cloud costs.

Local Network: Sensors are on a local network (LAN, fieldbus) without internet access.

Onboarding Steps

Step 1: Create a Gateway Template

Navigate to Devices → Templates → Create Template. Enable the Gateway option. Define attributes for both the gateway (parent tag) and child devices (child tag). Define commands if remote control is needed.

Step 2: Create the Gateway Device

Navigate to Devices → Create Device. Select the gateway template. The device is now registered as a gateway capable of managing child devices.

Field	Description
Unique ID	Permanent identifier for the gateway
Display Name	Human-readable label
Entity	Organizational unit
Template	Gateway-enabled template

Step 3: Add Child Devices

From the gateway’s device detail page → Child Devices tab → Add Child Device. Each child gets a Unique ID and Tag to differentiate its attributes from the parent.

Step 4: Connect and Send Telemetry

The gateway connects to /IOTCONNECT™ using the SDK. When sending telemetry for child devices, include the child’s uniqueId in the telemetry message array.

Gateway Telemetry Format

The gateway sends telemetry for itself AND child devices in a single message array:

ⓘ NOTE

A Gateway Device does NOT process rules locally — it simply forwards data to the cloud. For local rule processing, use an Edge Device or Edge Gateway instead.