FAQ

Migrating to the Device Model Repo (DMR). Frequently Asked Questions

The Device Model Repository enables device and solution builders to share device models. This document highlights the most common questions when migrating to the new Model Repository based on GitHub, available in https://github.com/Azure/iot-plugandplay-models

Why a new Device Model Repo (DMR)?

The previous Model Repository https://devicemodels.azureiotsolutions.com was a custom service optimized for Public and Company models. To create a company repo, users must configure a repository associated to an AAD tenant, models in the company repo can be promoted to the Public repo only if the AAD account was registered as a Microsoft Partner Account (MPN)

These two requirements added friction to users who wanted to publish their models without AAD or MPN requirements. Additionally, we want to include a review mechanism to keep the quality of all models available in the public repository.

The new design will enable the creation of custom repositories, independent of the transport protocol, that can be shared without the need to publish to the Public Model Repo.

What happens with my Company Repositories from the previous version?

The previous model repo will be in ReadOnly mode once we transition all the systems to the new Device Model Repo. The data will be available until end of the year to allow users to download the models if they need to.

How can I migrate my models from the previous version?

You can download the models from your company repository using the Azure CLI and the azure-iot-cli-extension to download the interfaces to a local file.

Note you must manually install version 0.10.2 using the alternate installation methods.

To list all the unpublished models in your repo

az iot pnp model list --query "[?modelState=='Created'].modelId"
az iot pnp model show --model-id <model id>

The new Device Model Repo includes instructions and utilities to add these files to the new folder structure described in the Resolution Convention Spec

How the migration will impact model-consumers?

IoT Solutions using the Model Repository MUST migrate to the new endpoint before end of the year.

How the migration will impact model-publishers?

Model publishers must adopt the new GitHub submission workflow using Pull Requests as defined in the Contribution guidelines

When can I use this repo to complete the Device Certification process?

Starting on October 14th, the certification portal will use the new Device Model Repo. There are no changes in the certification workflow

Which tools and libraries are available to interact with the new DMR?

You can IoT Explorer 0.13.X and up to connect to the Public Model Repo or any other repo that follows the same convention.

We are working on client libraries for .NET, Node, Python and Java, and will be available in https://github.com/Azure/iot-plugandplay-models-tools/tree/dev/resolvers. In the meantime you can refer to our samples to learn how to consume models from this repo.

I started the certification process for IoT Plug and Play. What should I do?

If your models are already published in the public repo, we will migrate those before switching to the new one. If you need to submit a new model after October 14th you will need to use the new submission flow.

I completed the certification process for IoT Plug and Play already. What should I do?

If the certification is complete you dont need to do anything.

Must I use the Public Device Model Repo to share the device model with solution builders?

You can submit your device model to the Public repo, but you can also host your own repo -with your own publishing policies- and share that custom repo with your partners.