AWS IoT Core: What It Is and How It Works

AWS IoT Core is the managed Amazon Web Services service to connect, authenticate and manage IoT devices at scale via MQTT on AWS infrastructure.

AWS IoT Core is the Amazon Web Services managed service that connects IoT devices to the AWS cloud. Devices publish and subscribe through its message broker over MQTT, MQTT over WebSocket or HTTPS, and its rules engine sends the data to other AWS services such as Lambda, DynamoDB, S3 or Kinesis.

How AWS IoT Core works

Message broker: supports MQTT 3.1.1 and MQTT 5, with some differences from the specification. It supports QoS 0 and 1, but not QoS 2.
Authentication: X.509 client certificates, AWS Signature Version 4 or custom authorizers backed by a Lambda function. All communication is encrypted with TLS 1.2 or 1.3.
Rules engine: SQL-based rules filter and transform messages and send them to AWS services.
Device Shadow: a JSON document per device with desired, reported and delta state, so apps can read or change a device's state even while it is offline.
AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN: a managed LoRaWAN network server, so you don't have to operate your own.

AWS IoT Core pricing

AWS bills separately for connectivity, messaging, Device Shadow and registry, and the rules engine, plus optional components such as AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN. According to AWS, you pay only for the components you use, with no minimum or mandatory usage fee. With Basic Ingest, device data goes straight to rules without messaging costs.

AWS IoT Core vs an IoT application platform

The job of AWS IoT Core is to connect devices and route their messages. The part people use, such as dashboards, alarms and user management, is built on top: rules send the data to services like AWS IoT SiteWise, Amazon OpenSearch Service or your own web application.

Cloud Studio IoT is an alternative for teams that want an application platform with dashboards, alarms and white-label out of the box instead of assembling them. Each instance has its own MQTT server, with TLS on port 8883. If you are comparing brokers, see the complete MQTT broker guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between AWS IoT and AWS IoT Core?+

AWS IoT is the umbrella name for the IoT services of Amazon Web Services. AWS IoT Core is the part that connects devices, handles MQTT and HTTPS messaging and runs the rules that route data to other services.

Does AWS IoT Core support MQTT QoS 2?+

No. AWS IoT Core supports QoS 0 and 1. The MQTT protocol defines a third level, QoS 2, but AWS IoT does not support it.

Which protocols does AWS IoT Core support?+

MQTT, MQTT over WebSocket Secure and HTTPS, plus LoRaWAN through AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN. Over HTTPS, clients can only publish; subscribing requires MQTT.