The document describes steps for building a sample application using Node-RED to process temperature readings from a simulated IoT device published to IBM Cloud. The sample flow checks readings against a threshold and reports if the temperature is safe or critical. Users deploy the boilerplate, import the sample flow, configure it for the simulated device, test it by changing the reported temperature, and review how the flow works.

1. IBM
BlueMix
Workshop
–
Internet
of
Things
Lab
Node-­‐RED
-­‐
Sample
Application
It's easy to build an application with Node-RED and use the data that you've
published to the IBM Internet of Things cloud. This Lab shows you how. The Lab has
a ready-made flow that processes temperature readings from a simulated device. The
flows checks these readings against a threshold, then tells you whether the
temperature is safe. Imagine that we're monitoring a CPU temperature from a real
device.
Step
1
–
Deploy
the
Internet
of
Things
boilerplate
• Login to Bluemix (https://ace.ng.bluemix.net)
• Select the ‘CATALOG’ tab
• Select the ‘Internet of Things’ boilerplate
• Select the ‘CREATE APPLICATION’ button, provide a name and unique
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hostname for the application
• Select the ‘CREATE’ button to deploy the boilerplate.

2. IBM
BlueMix
Workshop
–
Internet
of
Things
Lab
Step
2
–
Launch
the
Node-­‐RED
flow
editor
• When the application is deployed and is running click the route to open the
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deployed application
• The Node-RED application will open in your browser. Select the ‘Got to your
Node-RED flow editor’ button
Step
3
–
Import
the
sample
flow
This step imports the sample flow to the Node-RED editor. Node-RED flows can be
imported and exported as JSON text, so to import the flow you are going to copy the
flow below and import it to Node-RED
------------------------------Select below this line-----------------------------------------------
[{"id": "f9a7b43b.065848","type": "iot","name": "","deviceId":
"00:00:00:00:00:00","messageType": "*","x": 155,"y": 239,"z":
"65624723.9a9db8","wires": [["9db76969.624898","9e041be9.61fbe8"]]},
{"id": "9db76969.624898","type": "function","name": "temp","func":
"return {payload:msg.payload.d.temp};","outputs": 1,"x": 318.5,"y":
237,"z": "65624723.9a9db8","wires": [["2b6f31bc.d490ce"]]}, {"id":
"2b6f31bc.d490ce","type": "switch","name": "temp thresh","property":
"payload","rules": [{"t": "lte","v": "40"},{"t": "gt","v":
"40"}],"checkall": "true","outputs": 2,"x": 467.5,"y": 238,"z":
"65624723.9a9db8","wires": [["34b29de.fcb4d62"],
["bb90881b.446f78"]]},{"id": "10cf85ac.ef307a","type":
"debug","name": "cpu status","active": true,"complete": "false","x":
778.5,"y": 235,"z": "65624723.9a9db8","wires": []},{"id":
"9e041be9.61fbe8","type": "debug","name": "device data","active":
false,"complete": "false","x": 318.5,"y": 148,"z": "65624723.9a9db8",
"wires": []},{"id": "34b29de.fcb4d62","type": "template","name":
"safe","template": "Temperature ({{payload}}) within safe limits",
"x": 631.5,"y": 189,"z": "65624723.9a9db8","wires": [[
"10cf85ac.ef307a"]]},{"id": "bb90881b.446f78","type": "template",
"name": "danger","template": "Temperature ({{payload}}) critical",
"x": 630.5,"y": 283,"z": "65624723.9a9db8","wires":
[["10cf85ac.ef307a"]]}]
------------------------------Select above this line-----------------------------------------------
• Select the text above and copy to you system clipboard
• In the Node-RED flow editor select the menu (upper right of screen). Select
‘Import from…’ then ‘Clipboard…’

3. IBM
BlueMix
Workshop
–
Internet
of
Things
Lab
• This will open an Import nodes window. Select into the window and paste the
content of your system clipboard, then press OK
• You should see the flow in the flow editor connected to your cursor. Move
the cursor to the left of the window to place the flow and left-click
Step
4
–
Configure
the
flow
for
a
simulated
device
and
deploy
the
flow
There is a simulated device running on BlueMix ready for you to test.
• In a new browser window open http://iotsensor.ng.bluemix.net/
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4. IBM
BlueMix
Workshop
–
Internet
of
Things
Lab
• The hardware MAC address of the simulated device is in the top right corner.
You can click the address to open up a web console which shows what the
device is publishing to the IBM Internet of Things cloud.
• In the Node-RED flow editor double-click the iot input node (first node in
flow with 00:00:00:00:00:00 as title). This will bring up the node editor
window
• Enter the MAC address of your device simulator
• Then press OK to make the change
• The Deploy button now becomes active, so click it to deploy the flow
• You will get a confirmation message that the flow is deployed.
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5. IBM
BlueMix
Workshop
–
Internet
of
Things
Lab
5
Step
5
–
Test
the
flow
• In the side bar switch to the debug tab. You should now see the debug
messages from the flow, showing the temperature published by the sensor.
• You can enable or disable either of the 2 debug nodes in the flow by clicking
in the area to the right of the debug node
• Try enabling the device data debug node to see the data being received by the
iot input node.
• In the sensor simulator window try increasing the temperature being reported
and watch the debug messages report the new temperature.
• Keep increasing the temperature until you get to 41ºC. The debug message
should now be advising that the temperature is critical
Step
6
-­‐
Understanding
the
flow
You can examine the content of any node by double clicking it. If you modify a node
or add additional nodes the deploy button will become active allowing you to deploy
the modified flow.
The sample flow does the following:
1. The iot input node subscribes to receive messages from the Internet of Things
cloud for a specific device

6. IBM
BlueMix
Workshop
–
Internet
of
Things
Lab
2. A function node takes the data from the iot node and extracts the temperature
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from the message
3. A switch node compares the temperature value and sends the flow one of 2
ways depending on the temperature value
4. Function nodes create the message to be displayed in the debug node
5. The debug node displays the message to the debug panel
Once you have created a flow it can be exported to the clipboard window via the
menu. This allows you to share a flow or put it into source control.
More information on Node-RED and the IBM Internet of Things can be found :
http://nodered.org
https://www.ibmdw.net/iot/
Note: The mongodb storage nodes will work with the TimeSeriesDatabase that is
deployed with the boilerplate.