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Connecting a physical device to an asset

Every asset can be connected to a physical device through a unique identifier called the External ID. It's the only piece of data you need to match between what you configure in Trackle Spaces and what the device sends in the field.

What the External ID is​

The External ID is an identifier that must be unique across all devices connected to your Space. You'll find it in the IoT connectivity section of the asset's detail page (Settings → Data exchange tab).

Depending on the integration type of the asset's template, the External ID is used differently:

  • Trackle: you can use the device's serial number, or a metadata field defined in the Trackle integration.
  • MQTT: the External ID is used for authentication and to build MQTT topics dedicated to that asset.
  • HTTP: the External ID is used to identify which asset is calling the HTTP API.
  • Seneca: the External ID, together with tenant and token, identifies the asset on the Seneca protocol.

How to set it​

  1. Open the asset's detail page.
  2. Go to Settings → Data exchange.
  3. Enter or update the External ID.
  4. Save: you'll be asked to confirm, because updating the External ID can temporarily interrupt incoming data if the device isn't updated at the same time.

What happens after connecting​

Once the physical device communicates with the correct External ID:

  • the asset's live parameters start populating (see Asset detail page);
  • the asset's online/offline status updates;
  • the template's alarm rules start evaluating conditions on the received values.

Next steps​