nRF91 and nRF52 FOTA using the nRF Cloud

Question

Hi, 
 I am working on a project that uses nRF9160 SICA B1 and nRF52833 MCUs and currently we are researching possible Cloud providers that would ease the integration of FOTA. 
 We are using NCS 2.4.2 for development and nRF9160 modem firmware mfw_nrf9160_1.3.4. We've come across the nRF Cloud and I have a few questions. 
 Is the nRF Cloud suitable for a project that would include thousands of connected devices? 
 I have successfully connected my nRF9160 development-kit to the nRF Cloud using the IMEI and HWID, but I don't see any options on the Cloud that would enable me to add the custom device which doesn't have a HWID. Can HWID be set by the application connecting to the cloud or the nRF9160 development-kit HWID is already saved on the nRF Cloud? 
 I have gone through many documentation for provisioning the custom device to nRF Cloud, but I am not sure which one to use and what would be the correct steps. That is why we are currently developing on nRF9160 development-kit until we can connect with custom device to nRF Cloud. 
 I would like to achieve nRF Cloud REST FOTA on development kit for which I found the sample in NCS. However when running the sample I get the 40100 from nRF Cloud indicating my JWT is not setup properly. I added my device to the nRF Cloud so I am not sure why the access to the nRF Cloud is invalid. 
 I tried generating my own certificates following nRF Cloud documentation, but wasn't able to connect to cloud using the nRF Cloud REST FOTA sample. 
 Can you point me in the right direction of provisioning nRF9160 development kit and custom nRF9160 device so it can communicate over REST and run the nRF Cloud REST FOTA sample? Is there a way of automating the provisioning process and adding the provisioned devices to the nRF Cloud? 
 Our end goal is to perform FOTA on the custom nRF9160 device using nRF Cloud. 
 Looking at the documentation there are 3 ways of communicating with the nRF Cloud: MQTT, CoAP and REST. What would you recommend is the best way of communicating to implement for not frequent communication and mostly only FOTA performance? 
 Also on our device we have nRF52833 MCU and we would like to perform FOTA over BLE which I saw that the nRF Cloud supports. Could you provide me with best starting points and NCS samples to achieve FOTA over BLE using nRF Cloud? 
 And the last thing, we want the nRF9160 to be able to update itself and also to download the binary for nRF52833 over LTE and update nRF52833 manually. Also we would like for the nRF52833 to be able to download the binary for nRF9160 over BLE and update the nRF9160 manually. Does the nRF Cloud support those kinds of updates and can you recommend starting points and sample? 
 The answers to these question are time sensitive because we are choosing the best Cloud platform for our project so please try to answer as soon as possible. 
 
 Thank you for the support!

justin · Accepted Answer

psajinovic said: Is the nRF Cloud suitable for a project that would include thousands of connected devices? 
 Yes it is. 
 psajinovic said: I don't see any options on the Cloud that would enable me to add the custom device which doesn't have a HWID. Can HWID be set by the application connecting to the cloud or the nRF9160 development-kit HWID is already saved on the nRF Cloud? 
 The device ID is set when you provision your device with nRF Cloud. https://docs.nrfcloud.com/Devices/Properties/DeviceId.html See the nrf_cloud firmware library options: https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF_Connect_SDK/doc/latest/nrf/libraries/networking/nrf_cloud.html#configuration-options-for-device-id You can use any unique ID you want, however a UUID format is recommended. For nRF91 devices, it is also recommended to use the device's internal UUID. The HWID/PIN is only used for JITP credentials, which are not recommended for custom devices. 
 psajinovic said: I have gone through many documentation for provisioning the custom device to nRF Cloud, but I am not sure which one to use and what would be the correct steps. psajinovic said: Is there a way of automating the provisioning process and adding the provisioned devices to the nRF Cloud? 
 https://docs.nrfcloud.com/Devices/Associations/Provisioning.html You should use the Preconnect provisioning method. This allows you to provision your devices to the cloud in bulk, up to 1000 at a time. 
 Please see the example python scripts in the nRF Cloud utils repo: https://github.com/nRFCloud/utils/tree/master/python/modem-firmware-1.3%2B The device_credentials_installer.py script generates and installs device credentials. It can create a provisioning CSV file that can be uploaded to the cloud using the ProvisionDevices endpoint. See the nrf_cloud_provision.py script for an example use of the ProvisionDevices endpoint. The CSV provisioning file can also be uploaded through the website: https://nrfcloud.com/#/provision-devices Let us know if you have specific provisioning questions. 
 psajinovic said: I tried generating my own certificates following nRF Cloud documentation, but wasn't able to connect to cloud using the nRF Cloud REST FOTA sample. 
 The credentials provisioned on your device must match the credentials provisioned to nRF Cloud. If they do not match, nRF Cloud will not be able to authenticate your device's REST call. An overview of the process: nRF Cloud receives the device's public certificate during the cloud provisioning process. The JWT used for each REST call is signed with the device's private key. The cloud verifies the JWT's signature using the device's public certificate. If you are having issues with this process, please open a separate ticket so we can better support you. 
 
 psajinovic said: What would you recommend is the best way of communicating to implement for not frequent communication and mostly only FOTA performance? 
 REST or CoAP would be the best options if you only plan to use nRF Cloud for FOTA. The choice might depend on how frequently your device checks for FOTA updates. With REST, the overhead is in the TLS connection and for each REST call, the JWT. So, if your device checks for FOTA updates once or twice a week, REST is probably fine. For more frequent checks or other cloud activities, CoAP might be more efficient. 
 
 psajinovic said: Could you provide me with best starting points and NCS samples to achieve FOTA over BLE using nRF Cloud? 
 I don't believe we have a complete or up-to-date sample for BLE FOTA. You can view the docs for MQTT-based BLE FOTA . And also configuration and handling in the nrf_cloud FW library. We will get back to you regarding a sample/documentation for your use case. 
 psajinovic said: nd the last thing, we want the nRF9160 to be able to update itself and also to download the binary for nRF52833 over LTE and update nRF52833 manually. Also we would like for the nRF52833 to be able to download the binary for nRF9160 over BLE and update the nRF9160 manually. Does the nRF Cloud support those kinds of updates and can you recommend starting points and sample? 
 See the https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF_Connect_SDK/doc/latest/nrf/samples/cellular/smp_svr/README.html sample for updates between nRF91 and nRF52 devices. nRF Cloud should be able to support those type of updates, however it expects the nRF91 (IP device) to be the primary device. The nRF52 would be a secondary/auxiliary device that wouldn't interact directly with the cloud. We will discuss your use case and get back to you with additional information.

nRF91 and nRF52 FOTA using the nRF Cloud

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