IBM Bluemix

Using Node-RED to build the internet of

things
 Ever had one of those days…

• Where the Application works! And then…

• Can we also get some data from the this whatchamacallit?
• And send the logs off to this other server…
• And add some additional REST endpoints…
 The Problem

We need tools that make it easier for developers at all levels to

bring together the different streams of events, both Physical and
Digital that make up the Internet of Things
 Why Node-RED?

• The internet does not have a one-size-fits-all solution

• Every new “thing” has a new API that must be understood
• Solutions often require pulling together several different device
API’s and online services in new and interesting ways
• Time spent pondering how to access a serial port, or complete
an OAuth flow to Twitter is not time spent on creating the real
time of a solution
 Node-RED is

• An application composition tool experience

• A lightweight proof of concept runtime
• Easy to use for simple tasks
• Simple to extend to add new capabilities and types of integration
• Capable of creating the back-end glue between social
applications
• A great way to try…
• “can I just get this data from here to there?”
• “and maybe change it just slightly along the way…”
 Node-RED is not

• A fully-scalable, high-performance, enterprise-capable application

runtime
• A dashboard with widgets
• A mobile application builder
• The answer to life, the universe, and everything…
 On the other hand…

• Node-RED is deployed in a manufacturing production line

• Required extra sensors --quickly--for a proof of concept
• Built on Raspberry Pi’s + Arduinos + Sensors
• Sensor readings and initial processing coordinated via Node-RED
• Able to adapt and change quickly – redeploying during support
phone calls!
 Architecture of Node-RED

• Node.js v8-engine driven; so

it’s fast

• Event-driven, asynchronous
io; it’s all about the events

• Single-threaded event-
queue; built for fairness

• Javascript front and back;

only one language runtime to
deal with

• Built using express, d3, jquery

and ws
 Basic Node types

• Inject node
• Allows manual triggering of flows
• Can inject events at scheduled intervals
• Debug node
• Show message content; either payload or
entire object
• Template Node
• Modifies the output based on a Mustache
Template
 Node-RED Hello World

• When you click on the Inject Node, it sends and event through the
flow – triggering the template node and sending the result to the
Debug node
Other Input Nodes

• HTTP – Act as an HTTP endpoint; great

for building RESTful services
• IBMIOT – Receive messages from an
attached IOT Foundation account
• Also can receive from Websockets, MQTT
(pick your own broker), TCP and MQ Light
 Other Output Nodes

• HTTP Response; required as the final node when

the input comes from an HTTP Request
• IBMIOT – send events out to the attached IOT
Foundation account
• Twilio – send SMS messages via the Twilio
service
• IBM Push – Send Push notifications to mobile
devices
• Also can send requests through TCP, UDP,
MQLight, WebSockets.
 Function Node Types

• Function node
• Run user-defined node.js code on the
messages going by
• Uses vm.createScript under the covers to
sandbox execution
• Console, util, Buffer included for convenience
• Switch
• Change flow to different options based on a
comparison
 Creating your own nodes

http://nodered.org/docs/creating-nodes/first-node.html

• Easy to wrap any npm module into a palette node

• Each node is defined in a pair of files
• .js: server-side behavior
• .html: appearance in editor and help
• Can be shared and installed via npm
• npm install node-red-node-xmpp
 Online flow library
Contributors add flows through Github
 Node-RED on your device

Works anywhere you have node.js and npm (Raspberry Pi, Galileo, etc.)
Node-RED on Bluemix
 Temperature Sensor Example

Use Nick O’Leary’s MQTT library

• Use DHT11 for Arduino to connect to
IOT Foundation
Temperature For the example
Sensor and
Arduino Yun to
send events to
Node-RED
• Send
commands to
the Arduino Yun
from Node-RED
to change
AdaFruit
NeoPixel
IBM Internet of Things Foundation
Simple APIs
Real Time MQTT
REST Build

Manage

Assemble Collect

Connect
 Setting up Node-RED in Bluemix

• Start with the Internet of Things Boilerplate in Bluemix (available

from the Bluemix Catalog)
• Installs a node.js runtime with Node-RED and a Cloudant NoSQL
Database for configuration
Connecting Node-RED to the Internet of
Things Foundation

•To gain access to device data coming from the IBM IOT
Foundation, you need to connect your Node-RED runtime to an
IBM IOT Service
• register for the IOT Foundation Trial
from within Bluemix
 Registering your device

• You will need to:

• Register your device’s MAC Address (obtaining an auth token to
“place” on the device)
• Add yourself to the organization
• Obtain an API Key to register Node-RED
Binding a database

• Bind a MongoDB service to

your application to store
your temperature data
• Will need to note
username, password, host
and port to configure your
Node-RED flow
 Storing IOT Data

• IOT App In connects to the IOT foundation

• Check for Ardunio is a simple switch based on a property of the
payload
• Get and append time is a function node that gets the current time
and adds it to the payload
• MongoStore takes the final payload and places it in the MongoDB
 Building a RESTful service

• The Data Web Service GET is an HTTP input endpoint responding to a GET
on /data
• Update Payload is a function node that changes the format of the payload to
the MongoDB query format (avoiding Mongo injection attacks)
• MongoDB Query simply returns the result of evaluating what was in the
payload (in Mongo DB query form, e.g. "payload.d.time": {$gt: x, $lt: y})
• DataOutput is an HTTP Response node returning the payload as its result to
the caller
 Making actions happen – sending events

• The three inject nodes simply add a predetermined payload into

the IBM IOT Output node
•Two approaches; different commands in the topic name, or
different commands in the payload (using payload more common)
 Sources for Hardware and Examples

• Arduino Yun – available from Amazon or Radio Shack

• DHT11 and NeoPixel – available from Adafruit
(www.adafruit.com)
• Nick O’Leary’s MQTT Library for Arduino -
http://knolleary.net/arduino-client-for-mqtt/
• IBM IOT Foundation - https://internetofthings.ibmcloud.com/#/
• IBM Bluemix – http://www.bluemix.net
JazzHub link to download examples -
•
https://hub.jazz.net/git/brownkyl/arduinoyun
Original four-part DeveloperWorks series -
•
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/cloud/library/cl-bluemix-
arduino-iot1/index.html