Connect IOT module to the internet server

Question

I have developed an IOT module which can connect to the Wi-Fi and send data to the internet, the module can send data (string) to specific IP address on the specific port.

The internet server should store that information to the data base and display that information to the user via HTTP (web page).

When I set the port to the 9081 (any random number) and my local computer IP address as IP address that module should send data to, I can see data on my local computer terminal.

My question is that how can I send that data to the internet? What I have in mind is that I can purchase domain name, host and develop a web site (HTTP) which by default listen to port 80. The service provider only give me a basic services such as HTTP, HTTPS and FTP which make it possible to upload website and I don’t have access to other protocols and ports.

Should I purchase virtual private server or I should use any specific cloud services or the module can send data to the server on port 80 without getting conflict with web pages and web contents?

Please give me some suggestion.

Answer 1

I did something similar with an IoT module. There are two options that I also considered. Before we describe, there is no need to buy a domain name. You can comfortably use the IP address to connect to. If you have some spare cash go for it.

1. Send everything to the web server on your local computer. To have access to the local computer you must enable port 80 to be accessible over the internet. You do this on a router. This is called port forwarding. You setup a rule such that all the requests made to your IP address on port 80 should be redirected to your local computer on whatever port the web server is listening to. This is the cheapest method available. Also, there is an important limitation: you're local computer needs to be switched on all the time if you want to access the data.

2. Buy a droplet (virtual private server). The workflow is the same as 1, but you don't need to port forwarding anything. These are usually setup and ready to use. However, this is usually expensive. Most of these providers offer pay-as-you-go services (e.g., Digital Ocean is the one that I used). There are other providers which offer free but limited versions. These are usually developer trial versions. If you go over a number of transactions, or space, you will have to pay (have a look at Parse).