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Connect a device for remote access

Keyword: How do I connect a device for remote access?

This tutorial group walks you through the three steps required to make an IoT device reachable via SmartTouch remote access: provisioning its identity certificate, installing and configuring the Remote Access Agent, and verifying that shell and diagnostics sessions can be opened to it.

What you will learn

  • How to provision a device TLS certificate scoped for remote access
  • How to install the Remote Access Agent on a device and configure it to connect to the SmartTouch session broker
  • How to open and verify shell and diagnostics sessions to a live device

How remote access works

The Remote Access Agent runs on each device and dials an outbound WebSocket connection to the SmartTouch Remote Access Service. Because the connection is outbound, sessions work through NAT and corporate firewalls without any special network configuration.

Device (outbound WebSocket) → Remote Access Service ← 'stctl' / SmartTouch Console

When you open a session with stctl remote-access open, the platform routes your terminal through the broker to the agent on the device—creating a secure, authenticated tunnel for the duration of the session.

Tutorial sequence

Step Tutorial Time
1 Provision a device certificate for remote access ~10 min
2 Install the Remote Access Agent ~15 min
3 Open your first remote access session ~10 min

Total time: ~35 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Remote Access Service deployed and running—see Deploy the Remote Access Service
  • stctl authenticated with remote access permissions
  • OpenSSL installed locally
  • A physical or simulated device running Linux (use stctl simulator start for testing)

Device simulator

stctl simulator start \
  --device-id sensor-001 \
  --remote-access

The simulator handles certificate provisioning and agent installation automatically. Use it to verify the end state quickly, or follow the tutorials to understand each step.

Next steps after this group