Remember the following important points about what we learned in this chapter:

• An IoT solution encompasses edge devices as well as IoT cloud platforms. We use the Arduino platform for rapidly prototyping edge devices for supporting IoT solutions.
• Some of the popular internet connectivity devices that can be used with the Arduino are: GPRS/GSM modules, ESP8266 series Wi-Fi chips, and Ethernet shields.
• A device channel is a pre-configured software defined endpoint in an IoT cloud for data exchange with an IoT edge device.
• Data can be exchanged with IoT cloud platforms using HTTP-based URLs. The correct format and URL structure will vary depending upon the IoT cloud.
• Read and write API keys are used to protect data exchange between the cloud and the edge device.
• Sometimes IoT cloud vendors may provide their custom libraries for various edge devices, for easily connecting and exchanging data with the cloud platform. Cloud platform specific documentation must be consulted in such cases.
• Just in case the ESP8266 chip does not respond to the Arduino sketch or AT commands properly, then the power supply may not be enough. Try using a separate battery for the setup. Remember to use a voltage regulator that steps down the voltage to 3.3 volts before supplying the ESP8266 chip.