Let's summarize what we did in this chapter. We used the Ethernet shield to build an Internet of Things project, as we connected the Ethernet shield directly to a cloud service. We measured data on the Arduino board and sent this data to the cloud service Xively so that it can be accessed and displayed from anywhere.

The advantage of this solution is that the data recorded on Xively is accessible from anywhere, and not only from your local network. You can also use the data and Xively to create automated triggers based on the data. You can, for example, send a request to another website based on the recorded data. You can also share the data that is recorded by your device with colleagues or friends so that they can also monitor what your project is recording in real time.

Of course, one of the drawbacks from this solution is that if your Internet connection is down, the whole project won't work at all.

The following were the major takeaways from this chapter: