The Connection Process
All connections follow a basic workflow, shown in the following diagram and described below it:
The Connection Workflow
The following steps explain how the connection process works:
1. An HTTP/HTTPS connection is started.
2. The connection gets a WebSocket upgrade (AlwaysOn protocol).
3. The device authenticates with the ThingWorx Platform using an application key. After authenticating with the platform, a device can call InvokeService().
4. If authentication succeeds, binding takes place. Binding connects a Thing to a remote device, setting the Thing's isConnected property to true. It also registers a Thing to participate in property change subscriptions. A side-effect of binding is that properties and services of a Thing are mapped to values and functions on your device.
 | If the version of your ThingWorx Platform is 8.4.0 or later, an additional property, called isReporting, also serves as an indicator of whether the device is bound and currently communicating with the platform. |
5. After binding is complete, the synchronization process runs. During this process, the platform calls notifyPropertyUpdate on each bound Thing to provide configuration information that is stored on the platform.
6. The device sends property changes messages to the ThingWorx Platform, an operation called "pushing data".
 | Pushing data before synchronization causes data loss! |
The following figures illustrate the Edge connection sequence in more detail:
Connection Details, Part 1
Connection Details, Part 2
For information on setting up an EMS to communicate with ThingWorx Platform, refer to the following topics (in this order):
2. Configuring the EMS. If a secure connection is required, refer to Configuring Secure Connections (SSL/TLS). If encryption is required, refer to Protecting Data with Encryption. For examples of secure configurations for the EMS and the LSR, refer to Examples of Configuring Secure Communications between the EMS and an LSR.