Configuration management

Prerequisites

Basic concept

Kaa configuration management feature helps you control the behavior of your connected devices by delivering configuration data. This data is represented in Kaa as a free-form JSON document that can be assigned to an application version (default configuration) or to individual endpoints. The default configuration applies to all endpoints registered in a given application version that do not have an individual configuration.

With the configuration management feature you can:

  • Configure device behavior options: data upload frequency, edge analytics parameters, thresholds, etc.
  • Deliver configuration data via push or pull.
  • Store configuration updates for offline devices.

Configuration management is implemented in Kaa by a combination of several Kaa services, most importantly Configuration Management Extension service (CMX) and Endpoint Configuration Repository service (ECR).

Configuration management services

Configuration Management Extension service (CMX) extends Kaa Protocol (1/KP) and implements Configuration Management Protocol (7/CMP) to distribute configuration data to endpoints. As with other Kaa extension services, CMX uses Extension Service Protocol (4/ESP) for integration with a communication service (KPC).

CMX does not persist endpoint configuration data in any way—instead, configuration is pulled from an endpoint configuration data provider (ECR).

CMX implements a proactive configuration data push—endpoint configuration is sent to the endpoint as soon as possible, and an explicit endpoint subscription is not required.

Note that explicit subscription is still recommended.

To detect when a configuration push is required, CMX listens to endpoint connectivity and lifecycle events defined in 9/ELCE.

CMX acts as the configuration data consumer as per 6/CDTP. This protocol is used to retrieve configuration data, track endpoints’ last applied configuration, and listen to endpoint configuration update events.

Endpoint Configuration Repository service (ECR) is used for storing and managing endpoint configuration data. It exposes REST API for the configuration management and supports integration with CMX using the Configuration Data Transport Protocol (6/CDTP).

Components

The table below summarizes the list of Kaa platform components that contribute to this feature:

Service Version
Configuration Management Extension (CMX) 1.4.16
Endpoint Configuration Repository (ECR) 1.4.20