Setup a Cosmos DB custom endpoint directly from IoT Hub

Setup a Cosmos DB custom endpoint directly from IoT Hub

by | Nov 17, 2022 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

We are excited to announce the public preview support for Cosmos DB endpoint from IoT Hub in November 2022. You can now stream your data directly from IoT Hub to Cosmos DB. 


 


Many IoT solutions require extensive downstream data analysis and pushing data into hyperscale databases. For example, IoT implementations in manufacturing and intelligent transport systems require hyperscale databases with extremely high throughput to process the continuous stream of data.  Traditional SQL based relational databases cannot scale optimally and also become expensive once data scale increases.  Cosmos DB is best suited for such cases where the data needs to be analyzed while it is being written!


 


Until today, there was no direct way to get IoT device data to Cosmos DB. You had to either setup a custom application or use other tools like Azure Functions or Azure Stream Analytics to collect the streaming data and then write to Cosmos DB. This was not only an additional overhead, but also increased the overall cost of the solution. You don’t need to do this any longer – with the new release, you can:



  • Configure a Cosmos DB account as a custom endpoint within the IoT Hub

  • Use Synthetic Partition Keys to auto-generate partition keys based on your business logic

  • Create routing rules to send data directly to the defined Cosmos DB endpoint


 


How to configure a Cosmos DB endpoint?


 


Setting up a Cosmos DB endpoint is pretty straightforward. In the Azure portal, open the IoT Hub blade that you have setup and navigate to the Hub settings. Select “Message Routing” on the left pane and click on “Custom endpoints” and choose “Cosmos DB” from the dropdown list. Once you select Cosmos DB as your preferred endpoint, the below screen appears – configure the endpoint and click on Create to complete the process.


 


Figure 1: Creating a Cosmos DB custom endpointFigure 1: Creating a Cosmos DB custom endpoint


Once you have setup the Cosmos DB endpoint, you can use it to setup routes, create routing rules and use all the other functionalities available in message routing within IoT Hub.


 


When should I use Synthetic Partition Keys?


 


IoT Hub supports writing to Cosmos DB in JSON (if specified in the message content-type) or as Base64 encoded binary. You can also enable Synthetic Partition Keys to create logical partitions of your data automatically based on your business logic and data growth rate.


 


As Cosmos DB is a hyperscale datastore, all data/documents written to it must contain a field that represents a logical partition. The partition key property name is defined at the Container level and cannot be changed once it has been set. Each logical partition has a maximum size of 20GB. To effectively support high-scale scenarios, you can enable Synthetic Partition Keys for the Cosmos DB endpoint and configure them based on your estimated data volume. For example, in manufacturing scenarios, your logical partition might be expected to approach its max limit of 20 GB within a month. In that case, you can define a Synthetic Partition Key which is a combination of the device id and the month. This key will be automatically added to the partition key field for each new Cosmos DB record, ensuring logical partitions are created each month for each device. 


 


What next?


 


Setting up of Cosmos DB endpoint from the Azure portal is available for public preview in November 2022. You can learn more about the functionality from our documentation. We are working towards adding support for setup via CLI and general availability of Cosmos DB custom endpoints – this is coming soon! You can also reach out to us via various support tools if you have any questions or require technical support.


 


We are looking forward to your feedback!


 

#StopRansomware: Hive

by | Nov 17, 2022 | Security, Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Today, CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) #StopRansomware: Hive Ransomware to provide network defenders tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs) associated with Hive ransomware variants. FBI investigations identified these TTPs and IOCs as recently as November 2022. 

Hive ransomware has targeted a wide range of businesses and critical infrastructure sectors, including Government Facilities, Communications, Critical Manufacturing, Information Technology, and—especially—Healthcare and Public Health (HPH).

CISA encourages network defenders to review the CSA and to apply the included mitigations. See StopRansomware.gov for additional guidance on ransomware protection, detection, and response. 

CISA Releases Two Industrial Control Systems Advisories

by | Nov 17, 2022 | Security, Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

CISA has released two (2) Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on November 17, 2022. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS.

CISA encourages users and administrators to review the newly released ICS advisory for technical details and mitigations:

•    ICSA-22-321-01 Red Lion Crimson
•    ICSA-22-321-02 Cradlepoint IBR600

Healthcare Shorts: Home Adaptations

by | Nov 16, 2022 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.





Historically, field workers supporting cases for Medicaid members of their health plan used manual processes to track Home Modifications (ramp needed, pets present, support bars needed in the bathroom, etc.). With the Home Adaptations Power Apps, customers can replace those manual systems with modern applications for case managers and field inspectors that include automatic email communication between contractors for case, bid, and project management.











 


Problem Statement



Typical home modification support is manual, disjointed, and wrought with human error:



  • Manual data entry errors

  • Typical processes do not scale or allow for growth

  • Poor visibility into open cases and missed compliance targets lead to financial penalties

  • Poor member satisfaction due to no communication and missed due dates











 


Business Outcome



Updating the field servicing solution to a modern platform significantly improves outcomes and patient satisfaction:



  • Excites and empowers field and internal support workers

  • Limits human error and provides visibility to data which prevents costly penalties

  • Boosts customer (health plan member) satisfaction

  • Provides executive visibility into key metrics 

  • Built on a scalable and customizable platform for growth











 


Solution Overview



The Home Adaptations Power Apps suite includes a Model Drive App for the back of the house, a Canvas App for field inspectors, and a handful of Flows to support an end-to-end solution. As a quick walkthrough: 



  1. A  Service Coordinator initiates requests for the home modification team using a model-driven case management app.

  2. The request is sent to an evaluator to determine the required remediation using the mobile canvas app (including the ability to take pictures of the home/scenario).

  3. The remediation is sent out to bid using Flow which sends an email with a summary and an attached Excel bidding template to all service providers available in the system. 

  4. Potential providers respond to the bid by replying to the email with a completed Excel workbook.  Another Flow picks up the email response and updates the bids table related to the remediation request in the model-driven app.

  5. A service provider is awarded the project using Flow to automatically notify the award winner via email.

  6. The provider completes the work and invoices using a model-driven business process flow to close the case.


Let’s partner together to help provide quick and effective home adaptations for people with needs.


 


 


Thanks for reading, Shelly Avery |Email, LinkedIn 


If you are interested in more content like this, then follow  https://aka.ms/HealthcareShorts 


 


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