How do I programmatically retrieve a unique identifier for a Raspberry Pi using C#/Windows IoT?

Question

A question came up recently which requires the generation of a unique identifier for the Pi using Win-Iot/C#. My first thought was to use a MAC code, but the approach that I've found at embedded101.com looks pretty cumbersome.

Is there a neat UUID-type identifier available for the Pi under Windows IoT, and how do I access it?

Answer 1

If all you want to rely on is the MAC address of an interface you can use this code. It has been available since .NET 2 and it should be implemented in IoT and Mono alike

public static HashSet<string> NetworkIds()
{
  var result = new HashSet<string>();

  var networkProfiles = Windows.Networking.Connectivity.NetworkInformation.GetConnectionProfiles().ToList();

  foreach (var net in networkProfiles)
  {
    result.Add(net.NetworkAdapter.NetworkAdapterId.ToString());
  }

  return result;
}

You can also go and explore this namespace on the IoT

import Windows.Security.ExchangeActiveSyncProvisioning;

and try checking what lies on these object. Try and test them on two Pi's

var deviceInfo = new EasClientDeviceInformation;
deviceInfo. 

Here is another, more complete sample that may be usefull.

using System;
using Windows.Security.ExchangeActiveSyncProvisioning;
using Windows.System.Profile;


    public sealed class DeviceInfo
    {
        private static DeviceInfo _Instance;
        public static DeviceInfo Instance
        {
            get {
                if (_Instance == null)
                    _Instance = new DeviceInfo();
                return _Instance; }

        }

        public string Id { get; private set; }
        public string Model { get; private set; }
        public string Manufracturer { get; private set; }
        public string Name { get; private set; }
        public static string OSName { get; set; }

        private DeviceInfo()
        {
            Id = GetId();
            var deviceInformation = new EasClientDeviceInformation();
            Model = deviceInformation.SystemProductName;
            Manufracturer = deviceInformation.SystemManufacturer;
            Name = deviceInformation.FriendlyName;
            OSName = deviceInformation.OperatingSystem;
        }

        private static string GetId()
        {
            if (Windows.Foundation.Metadata.ApiInformation.IsTypePresent("Windows.System.Profile.HardwareIdentification"))
            {
                var token = HardwareIdentification.GetPackageSpecificToken(null);
                var hardwareId = token.Id;
                var dataReader = Windows.Storage.Streams.DataReader.FromBuffer(hardwareId);

                byte[] bytes = new byte[hardwareId.Length];
                dataReader.ReadBytes(bytes);

                return BitConverter.ToString(bytes).Replace("-", "");
            }

            throw new Exception("NO API FOR DEVICE ID PRESENT!");
        }
    }