Overview of protocols involved in IoT devices and applications. Helps clarify the IoT layer technology stack and head-to-head comparisons.
The Internet of Things covers a wide range of industries and use cases, from single restricted devices to large-scale cross-platform deployments of embedded technologies and real-time connected cloud systems.
Bundling them together are many traditional and emerging communication protocols that allow devices and servers to communicate with each other in new, more interconnected ways.
At the same time, dozens of alliances and coalitions are forming, hoping to unify the fragmented and organic IoT landscape.
Channel Guide:
Provides an overview list of popular protocols and standards that help IoT devices, applications, and applications
Dive into specific layer or industry-specific protocols
List head-to-head comparisons of popular protocols (i.e.: mqtt vs xmpp)
Protocols
We have broken down the protocols into the following layers to provide a certain level of organization, rather than trying to fit all IoT protocols into existing architectural models (such as the OSI model)
-
Infrastructure (e.g.: 6LowPAN, IPv4 / IPv6, RPL) -
Identification (e.g.: EPC, uCode, IPv6, URI) -
Communication/Transport (e.g.: Wifi, Bluetooth, LPWAN) -
Discovery (e.g.: Physical Web, mDNS, DNS-SD) -
Data Protocols (e.g.: MQTT, CoAP, AMQP, Websocket, Node) -
Device Management (e.g.: TR-069, OMA-DM) -
Semantic (e.g.: JSON-LD, Web Thing model) -
Multi-layer Frameworks (e.g.: Alljoyn, IoTivity, Weave, Homekit) -
Security -
Industry Verticals (Connected Home, Industrial, etc.)
Infrastructure
-
IPv6- “IPv6 is the Internet layer protocol for interconnecting packet-switched networks and provides end-to-end datagram transmission across multiple IP networks. -
6LoWPAN – “6LoWPAN is an acronym for IPv6 Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks, a adaptation layer for IPv6 over IEEE802.15.4 links that operates solely in the 2.4 GHz frequency range with a transmission rate of 250 kbps. -
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) – A simple OSI transport layer protocol for client/server network applications based on the Internet Protocol (IP). UDP is the main alternative to TCP and is one of the earliest network protocols introduced in 1980. UDP is often used in applications specifically designed for real-time performance. -
– QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connections, pronounced quick) supports a set of multiplexed connections between two endpoints via User Datagram Protocol (UDP), designed to provide security protection comparable to TLS/SSL while reducing connection and transport latency, and bandwidth estimation in each direction to avoid congestion. -
– Aeron – Efficient and reliable UDP unicast, UDP multicast, and IPC messaging. -
uIP – uIP is an open-source TCP/IP protocol stack that can be used for tiny 8-bit and 16-bit microcontrollers. It was originally developed by Adam Dunkels of the Swedish Institute of Computer Science’s ‘Network Embedded Systems’ organization, licensed under a BSD style license and further developed by a wide range of developers. -
DTLS (Datagram Transport Layer Security) – “The DTLS protocol provides communication privacy for datagram protocols that allows client/server applications to communicate in a way that prevents eavesdropping, tampering, or message forgery, based on the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol and provides equivalent security assurances.” -
ROLL / RPL (IPv6 Routing for Low-Power and Lossy Networks) -
NanoIP “NanoIP represents the concept of ‘Nano Internet Protocol’, which aims to provide internet-like services for embedded and sensor devices without the overhead of TCP/IP. The design of NanoIP is minimal overhead, with wireless networks and local memory in mind.” -
Content-Centric Networking (CCN) – Technical Overview. “Next-generation network architecture addresses challenges in content distribution scalability, mobility, and security. CCN routes and delivers named content directly at the packet level in the network, automatically caching application-neutral content in memory, regardless of its location in the network. The result? Efficient and effective delivery of content whenever and wherever needed. Because the architecture can leverage these caching effects as an automatic side effect of packet delivery, memory can be used without needing to build expensive application-level caching services.
Time-Synchronized Mesh Protocol (TSMP)
A communication protocol for self-organizing networks known as wireless devices. TSMP devices keep each other synchronized and communicate in time slots, similar to other TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) systems.
Discovery
-
mDNS (Multicast Domain Name System) – Resolves hostnames to IP addresses within small networks without a local name server. -
Physical Web – The Physical Web allows you to see a list of URLs broadcasted by objects in your surrounding environment using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons. -
HyperCat – An open, lightweight JSON-based hypermedia catalog format for displaying collections of URIs. -
UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) – Now managed by the Open Connectivity Foundation, is a set of network protocols that allows network devices to seamlessly discover each other’s presence on the network and establish functional network services for data sharing, communication, and entertainment.
Data Protocols
“The MQTT protocol implements a publish/subscribe messaging model in a very lightweight way, which is useful for connections in remote locations where small code footprint and/or network bandwidth are very important.
– Other Resources
MQTT-SN (MQTT for Sensor Networks) – An open lightweight publish/subscribe protocol designed for machine-to-machine and mobile applications
– Mosquitto: An open-source MQTT v3.1 broker
– IBM MessageSight
CoAP is an application layer protocol designed for resource-constrained internet devices, such as WSN nodes, CoAP is designed to easily translate to HTTP to simplify integration with the Web while meeting special requirements such as multicast support, low overhead, and simplicity. CoRE group proposed the following features for CoAP: RESTful protocol design, minimizing complexity for HTTP mapping, low header overhead and parsing complexity, URI and content type support, support for discovery by known CoAP services. Simple resource subscription and result push notifications, based on maximum time simple caching.”
– Other Resources
– SMCP – A C-based CoAP stack for embedded environments. Features include: support for draft-ietf-core-coap-13, fully asynchronous I/O, support for BSD sockets and UIP.
“An open technology for real-time communication that includes a wide range of applications such as instant messaging, presence, multi-party chat, voice and video calls, collaboration, lightweight middleware, content federation, and generalized routing of XML data.
– Other Resources
– XMPP-IoT
“In the same estate of XMPP, quietly creating interoperability of communication between people and machines, our goal is to enable machine-to-machine interoperability for communication between people and machines.
“The Mihini agent is a software component that acts as an intermediary between M2M servers and applications running on embedded gateways. M3DA is a protocol optimized for binary M2M data transmission, which is used in the Mihini project for asset management by simplifying the operation and synchronization of device data models and allowing user applications to exchange data/commands back and forth with M2M servers in a way that optimizes bandwidth usage.”
“An open standard application layer protocol for message-oriented middleware, characterized by message orientation, queuing, routing (including point-to-point and publish/subscribe), reliability, and security.
– Other Resources
“The first open international middleware standard directly addressing publish-subscribe communication for real-time and embedded systems.
– An API for message-oriented middleware (MOM) for sending messages between two or more clients.
“LLAP is a simple short message that sends between smart objects using normal text, unlike TCP/IP, Bluetooth, Zigbee, 6LoWPAN, WiFi, etc., which implement at a low level how to move data, meaning LLAP can run on any communication medium; the three advantages of LLAP are that it will run on anything now and in the future, and it is easy for humans to understand.
“Lightweight M2M (LWM2M) is the system standard of the Open Mobile Alliance, including DTLS, CoAP, Block, Observe, SenML, and resource directory, and incorporates it into device-server interfaces and object structures.
“A simple communication protocol designed for data transfer between computers or user terminals and smart sensors.”
“A standard for asynchronous stream processing with non-blocking back pressure on JVM.”
– Additional resources in the context of IoT
JSON/XML, WebHooks, Jelastic, MongoDB
The WebSocket specification – developed as part of the HTML5 initiative – introduced the WebSocket JavaScript interface, which defines a full-duplex single socket connection that can send messages between clients and servers. The WebSocket standard simplifies the complexity of bidirectional web communication and connection management.
A list of IoT software projects such as Contit, Riot OS can be found here.
Communication/Transport Layer
“WirelessHART technology provides a robust wireless protocol for various process measurement, control, and asset management applications.”
“DigiMesh is a proprietary point-to-point network topology for wireless endpoint connection solutions.
“ISA100.11a is a wireless networking technology standard developed by the International Society of Automation (ISA), officially described as ‘Industrial Automation Wireless Systems: Process Control and Related Applications’.”
IEEE 802.15.4 is a standard that specifies the physical layer and media access control for low-rate wireless personal area networks (LR-WPAN). It is maintained by the IEEE 802.15 working group. It serves as the foundation for ZigBee, ISA100.11a, WirelessHART, and MiWi specifications, each of which further extends the standard by developing upper layers not defined in IEEE 802.15.4. Alternatively, it can be used with 6LoWPAN and standard internet protocols to build a wireless embedded internet.
Based on standard ISO/IEC 18092:2004, using inductively coupled devices with a center frequency of 13.56 MHz. Compared to wireless sensor networks, data rates can reach up to 424 kbps, with a range of less than a few meters.
ANT is a proprietary wireless sensor network technology with a wireless communication protocol stack that enables semiconductor radios operating in the 2.4 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band to communicate by establishing coexisting standard rules for communication, data representation, signaling, authentication, and error detection.
Bluetooth operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM band and uses frequency hopping. Data rates can reach up to 3 Mbps, with a maximum range of 100m. Each application type that can use Bluetooth has its own profile.
ZigBee protocol uses the 802.15.4 standard and operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency range with a speed of 250 kbps. The maximum number of nodes in the network is 1024, with a range of up to 200 meters. ZigBee can use 128-bit AES encryption.
EnOcean is an energy harvesting wireless technology that operates at a frequency of 868 MHz in Europe and 315 MHz in North America. Transmission ranges can reach up to 30 meters indoors and up to 300 meters outdoors.
WiMax is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, suitable for wireless metropolitan area networks. The range for fixed stations varies, where it can reach 50 kilometers, while mobile devices have ranges of 5 to 15 kilometers. WiMax operates at frequencies from 2.5 GHz to 5.8 GHz with transmission rates of 40 Mbps.
– Here you can see a more complete overview of IoT communication and technologies.
Semantic
“A JSON/link data standard for describing the Internet of Things”
“SensorML provides a standard model and XML encoding for describing sensors and measurement processes.”
“This ontology describes sensors and observations as well as related concepts, and does not describe domain concepts, time, location, etc., which are included by importing from other ontologies through OWL.”
Connected devices – “A symbolic representation of each device, followed by a set of standard Wolfram Language functions such as DeviceRead, DeviceExecute, DeviceReadBuffer, and DeviceReadTimeSeries that perform operations related to the device.
– Easily manages the entire API lifecycle from design to sharing. Concise – You only need to write what you need to define, and it can be reused.
– Simple sensors such as temperature sensors can use this media type to transmit sensor measurements or configurations over protocols such as HTTP or CoAP.
– An XML-based device language for service-oriented devices
Multi-layer Framework
– Based on open standards and IPv6 technology, built on 6LoWPAN.
“This design defines a set of REST interfaces that can be used by smart objects to represent their available resources and interact with other smart objects and backend services. The framework is designed to complement existing web profiles, including SEP2 and oBIX.
“The motivation for LightweightM2M is to develop a fast deployable client-server specification for providing machine-to-machine services.
is primarily a device management protocol, but it should be designed to be extensible to meet application requirements. LightweightM2M is not limited to device management and should be capable of transmitting service/application data.”
– A communication platform for IoT devices that enables device setup, communication from mobile devices to the cloud, and user interaction from mobile devices and networks.
A secure line protocol providing decentralized overlay networks for applications and devices
Security
Open Trust Protocol (OTrP) – A protocol for installing, updating, and removing applications and managing secure configurations in a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE).
X.509 – A public key infrastructure (PKI) standard for managing digital certificates and public key encryption. A key component of the transport layer security protocol used to protect network and email communications.
Vertical Specific
IEEE 1451:
IEEE 1451 is a series of standards for smart sensor interfaces, describing a set of open, general, network-independent communication interfaces for connecting sensors (sensors or actuators) to microprocessors, instrumentation systems, and control/field networks.
IEEE 1888.3-2013- “Wireless proliferation green community control network security standard”
IEEE 1905.1-2013 – “IEEE Standard for a Convergent Digital Home Network for Heterogeneous Technologies”
IEEE 802.16p-2012 – “IEEE Broadband Wireless Access System Air Interface Standard”
IEEE 1377-2012 – “IEEE Industrial Metering Communication Protocol Application Layer Standard”
IEEE P1828 – “Virtual Component System Standard”
IEEE P1856“Electronic Systems Prognostics and Health Management Standard Framework”
Alliances and Organizations
– Connecting Things Cluster
– CoRE Working Group (Constrained RESTful Environments)
– 6lowpan Working Group (IPv6 over Low Power WPAN)
– ROLL Working Group (Low Power and Lossy Networks)
– IoT “Innovation Space”
– Data Distribution Service Portal
– MQTT Technical Committee
– Sensor Web of IoT Standards Working Group
“A European lighthouse project for the Internet of Things that proposes establishing a reference model for architecture and definitions of initial key building blocks.”
“The goal and purpose of oneM2M is to develop technical specifications to address the need for a common M2M service layer that can easily be embedded into a wide variety of hardware and software, relying on connecting countless devices in the field with global M2M application servers.”
“A single focus organization for the development and promotion of royalty-free, open-source standards for the emerging Internet of Things.”
– Semantic Sensor Network Ontology
– Internet of Things Community Group
“The scope of the Paho project is to provide open-source implementations of open messaging protocols that support the needs for current and emerging M2M and enterprise middleware and application integration, including client implementations, as well as corresponding server support determined by the community.”
“A repository of open-source implementations of IoT standard-based protocol stacks using various hardware and software platforms.
“We are important international partners representing Europe, the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea, who joined the EU-funded Seventh Framework Program, which will focus on RFID global standards, regulations, and other issues and their realization of the ‘Internet of Things’.”
“The AllSeen Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and driving the broad adoption of products, systems, and services that support the global Internet through an open, universal development framework supported by a vibrant ecosystem and thriving technology community.”
“This alliance is a global non-profit organization serving various communities, aimed at establishing the Internet Protocol as the network for connecting smart objects through coordinated marketing efforts for the public.”
The Wi-SUN Alliance aims to “advance seamless connectivity by promoting interoperability in the global regional market based on the IEEE 802.15.4g standard.”
“OMA is the leading industry forum for developing market-driven, interoperable mobile services”
– OMA LightweightM2M v1.0
“Founded in 2014, further developing, adopting, and widely using interconnected machines, intelligent analytics, and workers.”
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