Extending IoT in Windows 10 through a Common Language An AllJoyn® Case Study About Microsoft
“Developers are constantly innovating and finding new ways to connect Windows devices. Windows supports many kinds of third-party stacks to enable them,” says Jason Farmer, principal program manager lead at Microsoft, “so it’s no surprise that different standards have evolved for connecting devices. That said, we needed a communication framework to enable devices to interact seamlessly across various platforms, protocols, and manufacturers. AllJoyn is the open source, IP-based framework that aims to be a common language to address this need. To Microsoft, that’s the essence of the Internet of Things (IoT). We’ve built AllJoyn into Windows 10 so that all those communication stacks can work together.”
Developers are constantly innovating and finding new ways to connect Windows devices. Jason Farmer Principal Program Manager Lead at Microsoft Integrating AllJoyn with Windows
Microsoft, an AllSeen Alliance member, chose AllJoyn as its framework for extending IoT in Windows 10. Microsoft integrated the AllJoyn runtime (standard client) and Router Node service “in the box.” Every instance of Windows 10 supports AllJoyn end-to-end, from application development through the IP stack. There are now more than 110 million Windows 10 units with AllJoyn.
AllJoyn’s designation of devices as “Producers”, “Consumers”, or both is at the heart of a cross-platform IoT. For device manufacturers and developers, Microsoft Visual Studio now includes AllJoyn Studio, an add-in that allows them to easily find and generate code from AllJoyn devices. Visual Studio generates a WinRT library within the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), making it easy to create AllJoyn Consumers and Producers for a full range of devices running Windows 10.
“Enabling IoT in Windows through a common language is a big deal for both manufacturers and developers,” says Farmer. “Manufacturers have the chance to expose their devices to AllJoyn knowing that they will interoperate with things running Windows 10 and that developers can code for them. It’s also a way for application developers to build access to endpoint devices – light bulbs, appliances, sensors, cars, TVs, audio, smart home – into their current applications.”
AllSeenAlliance.org Microsoft and Open Source
Microsoft contributes to AllJoyn in an effort to embrace the open source community. For example, the Device System Bridge (DSB) contribution from Microsoft is designed to connect devices that use ZigBee, BACnet or Z-Wave as virtual devices on an AllJoyn network. Microsoft continues to iterate on the DSB, producing tools and code to bridge to non-AllJoyn devices.
Microsoft contributes to and uses many open source technologies and AllJoyn stands out among many open source communities. While Microsoft is accustomed to kicking off the effort or working with small groups of developers, with AllJoyn the company reaps the benefits of ongoing innovation fueled by AllSeen Alliance’s more than 185 members, as well as established code from several companies with large, global developer teams.
“Open source software and collaborative development are important for broad adoption of IoT,” says Farmer. “With the emphasis on code and contribution, one of the advantages of AllJoyn is how fast we can move with it. Open source lets us respond quickly to changes, collaborate with the industry on new features, and integrate them into Windows.”
Open source software and collaborative development are important for broad adoption of IoT. With the emphasis on code and contribution, one of the advantages of AllJoyn is how fast we can move with it. Jason Farmer Principal Program Manager Lead at Microsoft
“At Microsoft/Build and other developer conferences, we demonstrated AllJoyn-connected LIFX light bulbs, LG TVs and Z-Wave DSB devices working through AllJoyn with Windows 10 and a control app on our Surface tablets. Developers familiar with connectivity are glad to see an in-box, open source communication framework as part of the operating system, ready for implementing their ideas on home and building automation.” Windows and the IoT Vision
For years, manufacturers have built devices like appliances, gateways and machine interaction panels powered by Windows Embedded Operating Systems. As the new Windows 10 IoT devices grow and replace the legacy Windows Embedded devices, those OEMs will build more devices for AllJoyn as well. Enterprises and developers using Windows on PCs, smartphones and tablets will build applications that consume AllJoyn services at the same layer.
Manufacturers of AllJoyn Producers want devices running Android and iOS to automatically find Consumer devices, including ones that run Windows. Consumers running inside Windows on a Surface, tablet or PC want to find Producer devices running Linux, Android, iOS and other platforms, making it simple to create AllJoyn-enabled devices, apps, and services running Windows 10.
“Few device manufacturers are thinking about connectivity as a strategic design element,” says Farmer, “except in the context of their own custom application ecosystems. Eventually they’ll get the hang of thinking about a generic application that can discover useful things around all their devices. We’re encouraging the community to build AllJoyn Universal Windows Platform apps because AllJoyn is going into every device that runs Windows 10. Once we all find our way confidently into a common language, that’s whenIoT will be truly realized.”
Microsoft’s participation matches its confidence in the direction of AllJoyn. Besides contributing code, the company has provided representatives to the AllSeen Alliance Board of Directors, Technical Steering Committee (TSC), Interface Review Board and the Compliance and Certification Working Group.
Get more information on Microsoft Windows 10 Get more information on the AllJoyn Software Framework Get more information on the AllSeen Alliance AllSeenAlliance.org AllJoyn® is a registered trademark of AllSeen Alliance, Inc.