A Step-by-Step Guide to Successfully Migrate from Google IoT Core
LeveregeLeverege
The upcoming deprecation of Google IoT Core Services (“IoT Core”) has left organizations searching for an alternative technology partner to maintain the functionality and continuity of their IoT solutions.
At Leverege, we’ve helped companies around the world migrate from IoT Core. In the process, we’ve encountered common questions and knowledge gaps. This guide consolidates what we know into a comprehensive resource for companies replacing IoT Core.Â
The guide:Â
Existing IoT Core customers must transition to a new device connection service before August 16, 2023. Following deprecation, access to IoT Core Device Manager APIs will no longer be available. IoT devices will be unable to connect to the Google Cloud IoT Core MQTT and HTTP bridges, and existing connections will be shut down.Â
IoT Core customers that do not develop IoT Core functionalities in-house, or fail to switch to another technology partner before the deprecation deadline, will no longer be able to send or receive data from the cloud.
The sooner the better. We’ve seen some organizations procrastinate and then be surprised when they realize that there’s more time and effort to the migration than they expected. If you choose the right technology partner, then the software elements of the migration should be straightforward. Don’t underestimate the potential operational complexity, however.
By starting the process as soon as possible, enterprise organizations can evaluate and implement a new service, while reducing the risk of service interruptions and ensuring a smooth transition.
Devices without updated firmware will no longer exchange data following IoT Core deprecation. All devices will need to be updated before the deprecation date.
If you’re unable to connect to and update some of your devices before the deprecation date, we’re sorry to say that those devices will no longer be operational and you should consider them lost.
Developing a solution to meet the requirements of a successful migration presents significant challenges. Key requirements include:
If you haven’t already started, it’s unlikely that you’ll have the time to build and test a custom-built IoT Core replacement between now and the deprecation deadline.Â
Even if you have started to develop an in-house replacement, we still recommend you focus on finding a suitable technology partner that offers a replacement ready and tested for implementation today to minimize risk and costs.
A successful migration should meet the following criteria:
Selecting the right technology and implementation partner is critical for a smooth migration from IoT Core. The following key questions should guide your decision-making process:
Evaluate whether the partner's offering aligns with your current needs and future growth plans and how the offering’s pricing compares to IoT Core. The more similar the offering is in functionality and price to Google IoT Core, the easier it will be to compare to build confidence that you can migrate smoothly.
Alternatives to IoT Core should enable enterprise customers to easily and securely connect devices to the cloud, manage devices inside of registries and device groups, and route data to a pub/sub topic. They should also include registries and device group management, secure key pairs, authentication methods, multiple supported protocols, and no-code message routing.Â
Your technology partner’s IoT Core replacement product should make it easy to set up an account, create new device registries, migrate existing certificates, and add entries to the new registry. Â
The partner's hosting options should cater to your specific requirements and preferences. Evaluate two main hosting options and their associated considerations.
Option 1:Â Multi-tenant Cloud Hosted by the Connection Partner. This option is ideal for organizations that prefer to outsource infrastructure management and focus on their core business. Benefits can include:
Option 2:Â Private Cloud Instance on Your Infrastructure. This option is suitable for organizations that require greater control over their infrastructure and data. Benefits can include:
Choose a partner that offers infrastructure close to your devices for optimal performance. Latency is highly dependent on infrastructure location. Your latency requirements may also be relevant to the hosting option you select.
A comprehensive, well-documented API is essential for managing devices and integrating with existing systems. Technology partners with mature device connection solutions will have API documentation for device and registry management.Â
Verify that the partner supports the same connection keys (ES256 or RS256) and authentication methods that your devices currently use.
We recommend choosing a partner that provides white-glove migration assistance to transition devices from IoT Core, especially if you have large numbers of devices used in mission-critical applications. You can try to perform the migration solo using the partner’s documentation, but this may be slower and riskier.
Ideally, the technology partner will offer this migration assistance free of charge.
Ensure the partner is incentivized to maintain and improve their IoT services as part of their core product offerings. Partners building technology platforms exclusively for IoT applications will always offer robust device connection capabilities.
If the partner’s core business isn’t in IoT, it increases the chance that you’ll have to go through another migration sometime in the future.
A good migration plan works backward from deprecation and builds in lead time to implement each step of the process well before August 2023.Â
Every migration step should be considered holistically prior to selecting a technology partner. Make sure your migration timeline includes sufficient time (1-4 weeks) to evaluate the technology partner guided by the questions in the previous section. This lead time will depend on the length of your organization’s typical procurement process. Â
Note: regardless of your IoT solution hardware and software architecture, you will need to update your device firmware for your solution to work post-migration. We have found this requirement is often misunderstood. If your devices use any Google client libraries to communicate with IoT Core, those will no longer be supported. You will need an MQTT or HTTP client that is not Google’s SDK. Even if you do not use Google’s SDKs, you will need to update the endpoint and authentication data on every device.Â
If your current devices support Firmware Over the Air (FOTA), this can be done with relatively little overhead for devices in the field. Otherwise, each device will need a high-touch update to continue functioning as expected. If this applies to you, ensure you have a detailed operational plan in place now to manually update every device. This step will have a significant operational impact on enterprises with tens of thousands of devices installed and configured, and the impact will scale with the size of deployment.Â
For reference before and during migration, we’ve created a sample migration plan, including expected timelines for each step. These timelines will depend heavily on the specifics of your enterprise IoT deployment.
Once you’ve selected a technology partner, migration from IoT Core involves four steps: Â
Timeline: Expect 1 day to complete this step with your technology partner.Â
Migration Tasks:Â
Sample Timeline: Expect this step to take anywhere from days to months, depending on the number of devices you have and whether they can be updated over the air. If you have a lot of devices that need to be touched directly to update, unfortunately, this could take a while so plan ahead.
Migration Tasks:Â
Sample Timeline: Expect this step to take days, depending on the number of services that interact with the Google IoT Core API.
Migration Tasks:Â
Sample Timeline: Expect this step to take 1 day.
After completing the migration, it's crucial to monitor and optimize the performance of your devices and the new device connection service. Post-migration, conduct these five activities:
By understanding the requirements of your IoT solution and partnering with the right technology partner, you will ensure the continuity of your IoT operations. Start your migration as soon as possible to avoid any disruptions when Google IoT Core is deprecated.
Do you have questions about Google IoT replacement and migration? Leverege offers a production-ready replacement for Google IoT Core, meeting all of the considerations and migration practices detailed above. For more information, please contact Leverege at [email protected].
New Podcast Episode
Recent Articles