Can 'Device Update for IoT Hub' service be used for a manual OS update strategy for Edge devices connected to Azure IoT Hub?

Hari Prashanth 25

We are using Azure IoT Hub to manage edge devices from the cloud. The edge device in our case is a mini pc thats running Ubuntu 22.04 LTS version. We want to push Ubuntu OS updates to the edge device in a manual manner after new updates arrive. Before deploying updates to the production devices, we want to test the updates on specific set of devices that represent the staging environment. After thorough testing in Staging environment and making sure the update does not cause issues to the IoT modules running on the edge device, we want to push updates to the Production environment. Can "Device Update for IoT Hub" service be used for this use case?

AshokPeddakotla-MSFT 30,066 Reputation points

2023-08-08T12:40:15.4466667+00:00

Hari Prashanth Did you get a chance to review the latest response from Sander?

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Hari Prashanth 25 Reputation points

2023-08-08T18:46:44.72+00:00

Im yet to explore the solution provided by Sander. Before trying, wanted to understand if the solution can be used to update the Ubuntu OS of a group of IoT edge devices at scale and get a view of the deployment result to those devices in a single place.
Pauli Heikkinen 0 Reputation points

2023-08-29T10:26:46.65+00:00

OSConfig is not intended as a solution for upgrading your devices, you are correct when investigating Device Update for your needs. Unfortunately Device Update doesn't have a version supporting Ubuntu 22 out yet. But once that hurdle has been cleared the answer is a resounding yes. I have done the very thing you describe in your question. It takes some work (you need to write a shell script that the Microsoft script update handler can use) but it's definitely doable.
Sander van de Velde | MVP 30,866 Reputation points MVP

2023-08-29T11:28:33.13+00:00

Hello @Pauli Heikkinen,

Are these steps made available as a blog post or on GitHub?
Pauli Heikkinen 0 Reputation points

2023-08-29T11:37:31.23+00:00

Sadly, no. But there is a Microsoft example script on github that can be used as a starting point.

1 answer

Sander van de Velde | MVP 30,866 Reputation points MVP

2023-07-25T12:22:17.2+00:00

Hello @Hari Prashanth,

as an alternative, check out OSConfig for Linux devices:

OSConfig for Linux is a compact (≈5MB) device side component which brings these configuration management capabilities directly into your Azure IoT workflows.

This OSConfig is part of Microsoft's suite of security and management capabilities for edge+cloud solutions. The suite covers threat management, workload management, configuration management, and update management.

If the response helped, do "Accept Answer". If it doesn't work, please let us know the progress. All community members with similar issues will benefit by doing so. Your contribution is highly appreciated.
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Hari Prashanth 25 Reputation points

2023-08-04T15:01:22.2066667+00:00

How can I use OSConfig for Linux devices to run a script file that would contain just one line of code - “sudo apt update -y && sudo apt upgrade -y” on a specific group of devices?

Sander van de Velde | MVP 30,866 Reputation points MVP

2023-08-05T17:14:59.3333333+00:00

Check out the OSConfig documentation on how to install the agent and how to run the 'CommandRunner' for executing Bash commands.

You can even run it on groups of selected devices at once via the Device Twin desired properties and later check the reported properties for the outcome.

Hari Prashanth 25 Reputation points

2023-08-07T06:13:40+00:00

@Sander van de Velde | MVP Thanks for your response. I will check this.

Sander van de Velde | MVP 30,866 Reputation points MVP

2023-08-07T07:51:25.31+00:00

I checked it out this weekend. The documentation needs some TLC but the agent itself is stable and works as expected.

The device info was sent directly after connecting.

Hari Prashanth 25 Reputation points

2023-08-08T18:48:45.72+00:00

Sander van de Velde Yet to explore the solution provided. Before trying, wanted to understand if the solution can be used to update the Ubuntu OS of a group of IoT edge devices at scale and get a view of the deployment result to those devices in a single place.

Sander van de Velde | MVP 30,866 Reputation points MVP

2023-08-08T19:50:00.73+00:00

Hello Hari,

Yes, this is possible as mentioned earlier:

You can even run it on groups of selected devices at once via the Device Twin desired properties and later check the reported properties for the outcome.

Combine OSConfig with the IoT Hub Deployments functionality so you can control devices at scale.

I recommend testing each deployment on a set of test devices first, "With great power comes great responsibility".

If you want all changes in a single place, listen to non-telemetry twin change events and send them to your tool of choice.
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Can 'Device Update for IoT Hub' service be used for a manual OS update strategy for Edge devices connected to Azure IoT Hub?

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