Terms-阿里云帮助中心

This topic explains common terms used in the IoT Platform.

IoT Platform terms

Term	Description
Configuration Center	The Configuration Center, also known as the development center, provides a series of configuration and development interfaces. These include interfaces for product development, app development, cloud management, and mass production management.
Operations Hub	The Operations Hub is a complete Software as a Service (SaaS) solution. It provides basic features for device O&M and user operations, such as device lists, logs, firmware upgrades, and data charts. Smart device operators can use it directly.
Member Management	Manages authorized accounts. The IoT Platform lets you grant authorization for an entire project or a specific product to other users, who must be Alibaba Cloud accounts. The authorization scope can be the development center, configuration center, or operations hub.
Cloud Settings	Used to configure cloud-related information. This includes basic parameters for calling cloud APIs, the URL for data push, and API lists.
Standard Device	A standard device is any device connected to the IoT Platform that is not a video device.
Device Activation Code	A device certificate issued after a device is pre-registered in the cloud. It contains the ProductKey, DeviceName, and DeviceSecret. You can download the certificate as an Excel file for batch programming on the production line. The device uses this certificate for authentication when it goes online. You must purchase device activation codes to mass-produce standard devices.
Video Device Activation Code	An activation code for video devices. You must purchase video device activation codes to mass-produce video devices.
Project Activation Code	A device activation code that you purchase in advance. You can assign it to different projects.
Public App	An app provided by the IoT Platform. It has a developer version and a user version. Use the developer version to control and test products during development. Consumers can download the user version directly from an app store.
Proprietary App	An app for your own brand. You must develop this app and list it in an app store.

General IoT terms

Term	Description
Product	A product is a set of devices with the same features. IoT Platform issues a unique ProductKey for each product.
Device	A device belongs to a product. IoT Platform issues a unique DeviceName for each device of the same product. Devices can directly connect to IoT Platform, or be attached as sub-devices to a gateway that is connected to IoT Platform.
Gateway	IoT Platform allows you to create device groups. Each device group can contain devices of different products. You can use device groups to manage devices across products.
Sub-device	A sub-device is essentially a device. Sub-devices cannot directly connect to IoT Platform and must be attached to a gateway.
Device Certificate	A device certificate consists of a ProductKey, a DeviceName, and a DeviceSecret. A ProductKey is the unique identifier of a product in IoT Platform. ProductKeys are required in device authentication and communication. Make sure to record this value for reference. A DeviceName is generated by IoT Platform for each device during device registration. You can also upload custom DeviceNames. Each device of the same product has a unique DeviceName. DeviceNames are required in device authentication and communication. Make sure to record this value for reference. A DeviceSecret is the private key that is issued by IoT Platform for each device. A DeviceSecret is used in pair with a DeviceName. DeviceSecrets are required in device authentication and communication. Make sure to record this value for reference.
ProductSecret	A ProductSecret is the private key issued by IoT Platform for each product. A ProductSecret is usually used in pair with a ProductKey for unique-certificate-per-product authentication. ProductSecrets are required in device authentication and communication. Make sure to record this value for reference.
Topic	物联网平台支持设备使用X.509数字证书进行身份验证。您创建认证方式为X.509证书的设备后，物联网平台为设备颁发对应的X.509证书，证书信息包括：X.509数字证书（Certificate）、X.509证书ID（CertSN）和X.509证书密钥（PrivateKey）。
Topic Category	A topic category is a set of topics that are associated with different devices under the same product. ${productKey} and ${deviceName} are used to specify a unique device. A topic category is applicable to all devices under the same product.
Publish	The allowed operation of a topic. If the Allowed Operation parameter of a topic is set to Publish, you can publish messages to the topic.
Subscribe	The allowed operation of a topic. If the Allowed Operation parameter of a topic is set to Subscribe, you can subscribe to messages from the topic.
RRPC	RRPC is short for revert-RPC. A remote procedure call (RPC) uses the client/server mode, and allows you to request a remote service without understanding the underlying protocol. An RRPC allows you to send a request from the server to a device and receive a response from the device.
Tag	You can add tags to products, devices, and groups. Product tags are used to describe the common information of all devices under the same product. Device tags are used to describe the unique features of devices. You can add custom tags based on your needs. Group tags are used to describe the common information of all devices in a group.
Alink Protocol	The Alink protocol is used for communication between devices and IoT Platform.
Thing Specification Language Model	IoT Platform uses Thing Specification Language (TSL) to describe device features. A TSL model defines the device properties, services, and events. TSL models use the JSON format. You can organize data based on a TSL model and submit the data to IoT Platform.
Property	A property is a TSL feature that describes the status of a device, such as the temperature information that is collected by an environmental monitoring device. Properties support the GET and SET request methods. Applications can send requests to retrieve and set properties.
Service	A service is a TSL feature that describes a capability or method of a device. The capabilities or methods can be used by external requesters. You can specify the input and output parameters of a service. Compared with properties, services can be called by using a command to implement complex business logic. For example, you can call a service to perform a specific task.
Event	An event is a TSL feature that describes a runtime event of a device. An event contains a notification that requires action or attention. An event may contain multiple output parameters. Some example events include notifications for task completions, device failures, and temperature alerts. You can subscribe to or push events.
Data Parsing Script	If devices use pass-through or custom-formatted data, you must write data parsing scripts in IoT Platform to parse the data. You must convert the binary data or custom JSON data that is submitted by the devices to the Alink JSON data that is supported by IoT Platform. You must also convert the Alink JSON data that is sent by IoT Platform to the custom-formatted data that is supported by the devices.
Scene Orchestration	You can use the scene orchestration feature to develop automated business logic in a visualized manner. You can define interaction rules between devices and deploy the rules in IoT Platform or edge instances.
Per-Product Authentication	A product certificate is burned to all devices under the same product. A product certificate consists of a ProductKey and a ProductSecret. When a device sends an activation request, IoT Platform authenticates the device based on the product certificate. If the authentication succeeds, IoT Platform issues a device certificate to the device. Then, the device uses the certificate to connect to IoT Platform.
Per-Device Authentication	A device certificate is burned to each device. The device certificate consists of a ProductKey, a DeviceName, and a DeviceSecret. When you connect a device to IoT Platform, IoT Platform verifies the device based on the certificate.