Test the Boundaries Safely

Every IoT system has limits. Understanding them helps you plan for real-world car park deployments.

Safe to explore: These challenges won't break anything. You can always try again with different inputs.

Challenges completed: 0 of 3

Boundary challenges

All Sensors Offline

Safe to try This experiment won't break anything. You can always reset.

4 minutes

What you'll learn:

System maintains last-known state when sensors stop reporting

The Challenge

Simulate a network outage where all sensors stop sending data

Try this:

Pause the simulator or disconnect the MQTT client

Expected Behavior

Dashboard shows stale data with timestamp warning; device shadows preserve last state

Business Implication

Staff know when data is unreliable; can switch to manual counting as backup

How to recover
Resume the simulator. Fresh data should flow within 10-15 seconds, and the stale warning should clear.

Rapid State Changes

Safe to try This experiment won't break anything. You can always reset.

5 minutes

What you'll learn:

System handles high-frequency updates without losing data

The Challenge

Toggle the same sensor on/off rapidly (10+ times in 30 seconds)

Try this:

Use the simulator's rapid-fire mode or script quick toggles

Expected Behavior

All state changes captured in Timestream; dashboard may batch updates for performance

Business Implication

Busy car parks with constant turnover won't overwhelm the system

How to recover
Stop rapid changes. System catches up within seconds. Check Timestream for complete history.

Invalid Sensor Data

Safe to try This experiment won't break anything. You can always reset.

4 minutes

What you'll learn:

System validates and rejects malformed sensor messages

The Challenge

Send a message with invalid bay status (e.g., 'BROKEN' instead of OCCUPIED/VACANT)

Try this:

Modify simulator to send: {"bayId": "A1", "status": "BROKEN"}

Expected Behavior

IoT Rule rejects invalid message; CloudWatch logs the validation failure; dashboard unaffected

Business Implication

Bad data from malfunctioning sensors doesn't corrupt reports

How to recover
Check CloudWatch Logs for the rejection. Send a valid message to confirm the bay updates correctly.

What's Next?

Production Guidance

Learn what changes for multi-car park deployments.

View production guidance

Generate Evidence Pack

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