Host Twin

What is a Host Twin?

The Host Twin is the virtual representation of the IOTICSpace (Host).

Each IOTICSpace only has one Host Twin. It serves to control access permissions for the IOTICSpace as a whole.

A Host Twin has the same structure as a Digital Twin - it’s a normal Twin with special Metadata properties. It can be managed and manipulated in the same way.

You can distinguish Host Twins from other Digital Twins by their special Twin Property:

{
    "key": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type",
    "uriValue": {"value": "http://data.iotics.com/public#HostTwin"}
}

It allows dictating the behaviour of all the Twins in the same IOTICSpace with respect to

Selective Metadata Sharing
Selective Data Sharing

The Selective Metadata and Data Sharing settings for the entire IOTICSpace can be controlled through the Host AllowList. Find out more here.

It also grants or denies access to users to the IOTICSpace through the

Agent AllowList
User AllowList

Find out more here.

The Host Twin DID

The Host Twin DID is the DID of the Host Twin. It is unique and automatically created for you.

Where do you need it?

Any function with the IOTICS API (REST) will require you to use it.
The Host Twin DID is the information you need to enable you to selectively share your Twins’ Metadata and Data with another IOTICSpace:

Host to Host (enabled on the Host Twin)
Ask the owner of the Host you'd like to give access to for their Host Twin's DID. You can then add it to your Host Twin's Host AllowList. Once you do, your Twins will be able to be found and/or accessed by their Host.

Host to Twin (enabled on the Twin)
For any Host to have access to your Twin, you also need to add their Host Twin DID to your Twin’s Host AllowList. For more info see here.

How to get the Host Twin DID

You can get the Host Twin DID through the API.

Search by the Host Twin property in your Space to get your Host Twin DID:

{
    "key": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type",
    "uriValue": {"value": "http://data.iotics.com/public#HostTwin"}
}

Get your Host ID using the IOTICS API (REST)