Navigating IoT Data in Datacake: Making sense of your sensors
After setting up your LoRaWAN sensors and gateway, you're ready for the next big step - data interpretation. This part of your IoT journey involves activating your sensors, understanding the data they transmit, and getting started with your IoT platform for effective data visualization and management. Let's dive in!
Discovering Datacake
Datacake is a user-friendly platform that simplifies the visualization and management of your IoT sensor data. It offers:
- Easy Setup: Datacake has a quick setup process, ideal for those new to IoT.
- Free Tier: You can connect up to five devices for free, making it a budget-friendly option.
- User-Friendly Interface: Its interface is designed to be intuitive, helping you visualize and manage your data effectively.
Using Datacake for Effective Monitoring
Once you've chosen Datacake, you can start setting up dashboards to monitor your sensors:
Creating Your Account on Datacake
Registration: Sign up using your email address and setting up a password. Your first workspace will be created as you create your account, so give it a sinful name to start with. If you don’t give it a name your first workspace will be named after you.
Initial Login: Upon logging in, you'll be directed to the main page of the platform.
- Add Device Button: Click the prominent blue "Add Device" button to start adding your first sensor.
- Selecting Presets: Datacake offers preset configurations for various LoRaWAN devices. Find and select your device from the list.
- Entering DevEUI: Enter the DevEUI of your sensor. This unique identifier is crucial for connecting your device to Datacake.
Understanding Pricing
- Selecting a Plan: Initially, opt for the free plan, which allows you to connect up to five devices. Take into consideration, this free tier only includes 7 days of data retention and a limited amount of data points to begin with. It will be more than enough for getting started.
- Considering Future Costs: If you plan to scale up, review the pricing for larger numbers of devices. Datacake offers packages for projects with 50+ devices.
Establishing Connection Between Device and Datacake
Understanding Webhooks: A webhook is an automated message sent from one app to another when something happens. In this case, it's a notification from your LNS to Datacake every time your sensor sends data. This ensures that Datacake receives and displays your sensor data in real-time.
Setting Up a Webhook on Your LoRaWAN Network Server
- Accessing Your LNS Platform: Log into your account on The Things Network or another LNS you are using.
- Navigating to Applications: Go to the 'Applications' section where your LoRaWAN devices are listed.
- Creating a Webhook: Look for a section or tab labeled 'Integrations' or 'Webhooks'. Here, you'll create a new webhook.
Configuring the Webhook and Setting Up the Datacake Side: Datacake provides documentation on how to create webhook on different LNS. Follow these setups to establish the connection between your devices and Datacake.
The following instructions will help you to configure the webhook between Datacake and TTN/TTI.
Testing the Connection
- Send a Test Signal: If possible, send a test signal from your sensor by pressing a button or forcing it to send information. This will help you confirm that the webhook is working correctly.
- Check Datacake Dashboard: Look at your Datacake dashboard to see if the test data appears. If it doesn’t, recheck your configuration settings on both ends.
Troubleshooting
- Mismatched Settings: Double-check that all the settings and keys in both the LNS and Datacake match.
- Connectivity Issues: Verify that your sensor is actively sending data to the LNS and that there's no connectivity issue on either end.