[New Announcement-June 2022] AWS IoT ExpressLink is now generally available
Tags: aws, iot, news, devops
Published: 2022-06-25 04:41:36

AWS IoT ExpressLink hardware connectivity modules,  which are developed and offered by AWS Partners such as Espressif, Infineon, and u-blox. These modules enable easy AWS cloud-connectivity and implement AWS-mandated security requirements for device to cloud connections. Integrating these wireless modules into their hardware design, customers can now accelerate the development of their Internet of Things (IoT) products, including consumer products, industrial and agricultural sensors and controllers.

Developers of all skill levels can now quickly and easily transform their products into IoT devices without having to merge large amounts of code or have a deep understanding of the underlying implementation. [The connectivity modules](https://devices.amazonaws.com/search?page=1&sv=iotxplnk) come pre-provisioned with security credentials, allowing you to off-load complex networking and cryptography tasks to the module and develop IoT products that connect securely to the cloud in weeks rather than months. Through seamless integration with a range of AWS IoT services such as AWS IoT Core, AWS IoT Device Shadow, and more, modules that use AWS IoT ExpressLink can easily access over 200 AWS cloud services.

**To Start AWS IoT ExpressLink**

**Step 1:-** Purchase a development kit
[available device catalog](https://devices.amazonaws.com/search?page=1&sv=iotxplnk)

**Step 2:-** Follow the Started guide

1. Set up your host machine
2. Set up your AWS account
3. **Register an AWS IoT ExpressLink module to your development account**

To create an AWS IoT thing and add it to your account you must retrieve the AWS IoT ExpressLink module Thing Name and its corresponding certificate. Follow these steps:

1. Open the AWS IoT Console. In the navigation pane choose Manage then choose Things. Choose Create things, select Create single thing, then choose Next.

2. Open the terminal application on your host machine and enter the command:

`AT+CONF? ThingName`

Copy the returned string (a sequence of alphanumeric characters) from the terminal.

3. Return to the AWS IoT console, and on the Specify thing properties page under Thing properties, paste the string you copied from the terminal into the Thing name field. Leave other fields with their default values, then choose Next.

4. In the terminal application, enter the command:

`AT+CONF? Certificate pem`

5. Copy the returned string (a longer sequence of alphanumeric symbols), and save it in a text file on your host machine as "ThingName.cert.pem".

6. In the AWS IoT console, on the Configure device certificate page, select Use my certificate, then select CA is not registered with AWS IoT.

7. Under Certificate, choose Choose file. Select the file "ThingName.cert.pem" that you created in a previous step, then choose Open.

8. Under Certificate status, select Active, then choose Next.

9. Under Attach policies to certificate, choose Create policy.

10. Enter a Policy name (for example, "IoTDevPolicy"), then under Policy document select JSON.

11. Copy the the following into the console Policy document:

`{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "*", "Resource": "*" } ] }`

12. Choose Create. Return to the Attach policies to certificate page and select the policy you just created (for example, "IoTDevPolicy"), then choose Create thing to complete the thing creation.

13. In the AWS IoT console, in the navigation pane, choose Settings. Under Device data endpoint select the Endpoint to make a copy of the endpoint for your account.

14. In the terminal application, type this command using the endpoint you just copied:

`AT+CONF Endpoint=**your endpoint string here**`

**Set up for Wi-Fi modules**

AWS IoT ExpressLink modules that support Wi-Fi connectivity require access to a local Wi-Fi router in order to connect to the internet. You can enter the required security credentials with the following additional steps:

1. In the terminal application, enter the command:

`AT+CONF SSID=**your router ssid** `

2. In the terminal application, enter the command:

`AT+CONF Passphrase=your router passphrase`



4. **Connect and Interact with the AWS cloud**

Use the MQTT client in the AWS IoT console to monitor the communication between your evaluation kit and the AWS Cloud.

1. Navigate to the AWS IoT console.

2. In the navigation pane, choose Test and then MQTT Test Client.

3. In Subscribe to a topic, enter #, and then choose Subscribe.

**Connect**

To establish a secure connection

1. Open the terminal application on your host machine and enter the command:

`AT+CONNECT`

2. After a short time, you will receive the message:

`OK 1 CONNECTED`

Congratulations! You have successfully connected to your AWS cloud account.

**Send data to the AWS cloud**

**To send a "Hello World!" message**

Open the terminal application on your host machine and enter the command:

`AT+CONF Topic1=data`

You should receive the response from the module:

`OK`

In the terminal application, enter the command:

`AT+SEND1 Hello World!`

After a short time, you should receive the message 'OK'.

In the AWS IoT console MQTT Test Client you should see the "Hello World!" message appear with the topic "data".




5. Perform a firmware Over-The-Air update for AWS IoT ExpressLink


**Step 3:-** Integrate with your product
[Integration examples](https://github.com/aws/iot-expresslink)


[More details](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/iot-expresslink/latest/gettingstartedguide/elgsg.html)