The cellular-to-cloud development suite seamlessly connects to Azure cloud services

     Renesas Electronics announced that its cell-to-cloud development suite, powered by Renesas 32-bit mcu, now fully supports Microsoft's Azure cloud services. Two cloud kits, CK-RA6M5 and CK-RX65N, allow users to easily connect and manage wireless Internet of Things devices through the cloud. With these latest updates, iot device developers can now take advantage of the unique features and services offered by Azure, an open and flexible cloud computing platform used by billions of devices worldwide. The cloud development suite includes the company's LTE CAT-M1 module, which connects the mcu wirelessly to cloud services without a gateway.

     These suites come with Microsoft's new embedded wireless framework, providing simplified links to the Azure cloud platform. The embedded wireless framework allows any network adapter to securely connect to the cloud, providing greater flexibility and better lifecycle management for cloud-based products. Asset tracking, building automation, medical data management, voice command, and industrial control are some embedded applications that could benefit from the toolkit.

     To provide reliable functionality and interoperability, the CK-RA6M5 and CK-RX65N suites have been certified by Microsoft Azure. This indicates that the device has been verified to connect to the Azure iot Center and can be securely configured through the Device Configuration Service. In addition, these devices are iot plug and play certified, allowing developers to incorporate devices into their solutions using predefined device models. This eliminates the need to manually configure hardware.

     The kit includes a high performance MCU, RYZ014A Cat-M1 Pmod, six onboard sensors and numerous peripherals, including a USB FS connector, USB-to-Uart serial converter, two Pmod connectors and a battery connector. For an extra layer of security, the company worked with its partner Crypto Quantique to implement a software-based iot encryption platform that securely connects iot devices to server-hosted applications locally or in the cloud.

     Hardware-based security, such as Renesas Security Encryption Engine 9 and Trusted Security IP drivers, have been integrated into RA6M5 and RX65N MCUS, respectively. "The opportunities that the Azure cloud platform brings to iot developers are limitless," said Roger Wendelken, senior vice president and head of Renesas Electronic MCU business, Internet of Things and Infrastructure business unit. "Our cloud suite supporting azure provides a powerful development environment for engineers to confidently create, evaluate and deploy cloud-based Internet of Things solutions.

     With real-time data analytics and easy integration with other Azure services, developers can focus on building best-in-class iot applications." "Bringing Renesas Cloud Suite to the Azure cloud ecosystem is a natural step forward," said Stefan Wick, head of Azure IoT Edge and RTOS products at Microsoft. "By customizing an embedded wireless framework for Renesas's mcu, engineers can reuse application code across different iot products and seamlessly connect iot systems to Azure cloud services using flexible abstract interfaces.

     Using a pre-configured development platform, system developers can leverage the power of Azure iot to create reliable and scalable iot solutions while saving development time and costs." "We are proud to be involved in implementing the Renesas Cloud Suite's enhanced security measures and providing a seamless and fast connection to the Azure Cloud," said Chris Jones, Director of applications at Crypto Quantique. "Our QuarkLink Internet of Things platform provides industry-leading security that gives customers the peace of mind that their data and devices are safe."