Connection Management

After establishing an AWS IoT connection, your device must establish a connection with AIA using the connection topic's fromclient and fromservice sub-topics. Only then can your device exchange messages on any other AIA-specific MQTT topic to manifest an Alexa experience for end users.

AIA connections are maintained until closed by either the device or by AIA. While the connection is open, the device must remain subscribed to the directive and fromservice topics, as well as any other topics required by asserted capabilities (for example, the speaker topic, if the Speaker capability is asserted).

Note: Messages sent on the fromclient and fromservice topics are secured through AWS IAM permissions associated with your AWS account. The JSON data exchanged on them does not use AIA encryption, though it is secured through TLS over MQTT. Consequently, it also is not preceded by the common header.

• Getting Started
  • AIA Envelope
  • Topic Management
• fromclient Topic
  • Connect
  • Disconnect
• fromservice Topic
  • Acknowledge
  • Disconnect

Getting Started

AIA Envelope

Connection management is presently compatible with v1 of the AIA envelope.

Topic Management

To support connection messages, the device must participate in the fromclient and fromservice MQTT topics, which are nested under the connection topic.

fromclient Topic

Connect

The device sends the Connect message to AIA to establish a connection.

If AIA receives and attempts to process the message, it will reply with the Acknowledge message on the fromservice topic. This applies to both successes and failures.

Sample Message

{
  "header": {
    "name": "Connect",
    "messageId": "{{STRING}}"
  },
  "payload": {
    "awsAccountId": "{{STRING}}",
    "clientId": "{{STRING}}"
  }
}

Payload Parameters

Disconnect

The device may choose to disconnect gracefully by sending the Disconnect message to AIA. AIA will not respond with any acknowledgement. This only terminates the AIA connection, not the AWS IoT connection.

The client ID of the device will be inferred from the fully qualified MQTT topic.

Note: AIA may also initiate disconnecting a device by sending a Disconnect message on the fromservice topic.

Sample Message

{
  "header": {
    "name": "Disconnect",
    "messageId": "{{STRING}}"
  },
  "payload": {
    "code": "{{STRING}}",
    "description": "{{STRING}}"
  }
}

Payload Parameters

fromservice Topic

Acknowledge

AIA sends the Acknowledge message on the fromservice topic in response to a Connect message on the fromclient topic.

Sample Message

{
  "header": {
    "name": "Acknowledge",
    "messageId": "{{STRING}}"
  },
  "payload": {
    "connectMessageId": "{{STRING}}",
    "code": "{{STRING}}",
    "description": "{{STRING}}"
  }
}

Payload Parameters

Disconnect

AIA may choose to disconnect a device gracefully by sending the Disconnect message. The device does not respond with any acknowledgement. This only terminates the AIA connection, not the AWS IoT connection.

The client ID of the device will be inferred from the fully qualified MQTT topic.

Note: The device may also initiate disconnecting from AIA by sending a Disconnect message on the fromclient topic.

Sample Message

{
  "header": {
    "name": "Disconnect",
    "messageId": "{{STRING}}"
  },
  "payload": {
    "code": "{{STRING}}",
    "description": "{{STRING}}"
  }
}

Payload Parameters