Microsoft Gateways: Bi-Directional

Gateways are the hub between how data is transferred from connected devices to the cloud. While Microsoft's Azure IoT Hub gateway and AWS' IoT gateway perform these functions, they do so in different ways.

Microsoft's gateway enables bi-directional communication between devices and the back end of the cloud – meaning that data can travel to and from the cloud. Devices that are IP-capable, using Wi-F or Ethernet, will have two endpoints that interact with Microsoft's gateway to send messages to the cloud as telemetry data, requests for execution and the action of a command.

The Azure IoT Hub also enables endpoints in the cloud so that the back-end system can send messages to devices. These messages are timed so that they will expire in case a device receives a late command that is no longer applicable.