This document discusses various Internet of Things (IoT) protocols. It defines IoT as interconnected devices that can transmit and receive data over a network. It then covers common network topologies and constraints of IoT devices. Several wireless protocols are described in detail, including their typical range, power usage, data rates, and costs. Popular protocols for messaging (MQTT) and REST-like interfaces (CoAP) are also summarized. The document aims to provide an overview of the IoT protocol landscape to help people get started with IoT development.

1. IoT Protocols
January, 20th
2017 @ CoderBunker
Gwenole Gendrot – gwenole.gendrot@gmail.com

2. Definition
● the IoT (Internet of Things) is an
ecosystem where sensors, devices,
and equipment are connected to the
global network and can transmit and
receive data for tracking, analysis,
and action.
(from DELL)

3. General Architecture

4. IoT Networks

5. Network Topologies
Missing: ad hoc network

6. Protocol jungle

7. IoT protocols
● Infrastructure (ex: 6LowPAN, IPv4/IPv6, RPL)
● Identification (ex: EPC, uCode, IPv6, URIs)
● Comms / Transport (ex: Wifi, Bluetooth, LPWAN)
● Discovery (ex: Physical Web, mDNS, DNS-SD)
● Data Protocols (ex: MQTT, CoAP, AMQP)
● Device Management (ex: TR-069, OMA-DM, LWM2M)
● Semantic (ex: JSON-LD, Web Thing Model)
● Multi-layer Frameworks (ex: Alljoyn, IoTivity, Weave, Homekit)

8. IoT constraint devices
● Low memory footprint
● Power efficient
● Secure

9. Link protocols
Range Power usage Bit rate Cost Operator
WLAN 30m High 54 Mbps Low Private
WPAN
Zigbee / Z-Wave
100m Low 40 – 200 kbps Low to
moderate
Private
WPAN
Bluetooth LE
20m Moderate to
low
1 Mbps Low Private
LPWAN
LoRa / Sigfox
2 km (urban) 15
km (rural)
Very low 0.1 – 5 kbps Moderate to low Public / Private
Cellular 35km High 10 – 1000 kpbs High Public

10. WLAN (Wifi)
● Ubiquitous
● Low range (~30m)
● High data rate (54+Mbps)
● High power usage
● Wide choice of transports
● Open standard
● Point 2 point network

11. Zigbee / Z-Wave (WPAN)
Zigbee
– Open standard
– Lower energy usage
– DIY
Z-wave
– Proprietary
– More expensive
– Simpler to use (profiles)
– More secure
●
Mainly used in home automation
● Low range (~30 m)
●
Low data rate (~ 40-200kbps @ 900MHz)
●
Low power usage
● Profiles
●
Mesh network
● Requires a gateway

12. Bluetooth Low Energy (WPAN)
● Ubiquitous (smartphones,
headset, wearables, …)
● Low range (~30 m)
● Medium data rate (1Mbps @
2.4 GHz)
● Low to moderate power usage
● Profiles
● Open standard
● Star network (mesh coming)

13. LoRaWAN / Sigfox (LPWAN)
● Very low data rate (0.1 – 5 kbps), asymetrical (better uplink)
● Long range (10-20 km outdoor, 2-5 km urban area)
● Low power consumption (several years on battery)
● Network deployment needed
● Use cases: sensors in remote area, tracking over a wide area, ...
Sigfox
– Proprietary
– Subscripton model
– Longer range
LoRaWAN
– Open protocol
– Single chip vendor
– Can deploy own network

14. Cellular (2G / 3G / LTE)
Pros
● Available (practically) everywhere
● Robust & reliable
● Long range (35km)
● Data rate from 10 kbps to 1Mbps
Cons
● Expensive (subscription)
● High power consumption (depends on technology)
● Not scalable
● Phasing out (2G)

15. Recap
Range Power usage Bit rate Cost Operator
WLAN 30m High 54 Mbps Low Private
WPAN
Zigbee / Z-Wave
100m Low 40 – 200 kbps Low to
moderate
Private
WPAN
Bluetooth LE
20m Moderate to
low
1 Mbps Low Private
LPWAN
LoRa / Sigfox
2 km (urban) 15
km (rural)
Very low 0.1 – 5 kbps Moderate to low Public / Private
Cellular 35km High 10 – 1000 kpbs High Public

16. Getting started
● Complete Starter kits (board, cloud account, tutorials)
● DIY / Development boards:
– Raspberry Pi, Arduino
– SoCs (e.g. ESP8266, ESP32)
● Homemade Server: any stock computer or cloud instance
● Plenty of OSS projects & frameworks available, in many
languages
● CoderBunker: discussion group, workshops, ...

17. IoT Protocols
● Infrastructure (ex: 6LowPAN, IPv4/IPv6, RPL)
● Identification (ex: EPC, uCode, IPv6, URIs)
● Comms / Transport (ex: Wifi, Bluetooth, LPWAN)
● Discovery (ex: Physical Web, mDNS, DNS-SD)
● Data Protocols (ex: MQTT, CoAP, AMQP)
● Device Management (ex: TR-069, OMA-DM, LWM2M)
● Semantic (ex: JSON-LD, Web Thing Model)
● Multi-layer Frameworks (ex: Alljoyn, IoTivity, Weave, Homekit)

18. MQTT (Wifi)
● Message Queue Telemetry
Transport
● Publish / Subscribe model
● Over TCP (mostly)
● TLS security
● Open standard
Use case: IoT messaging

19. CoAP (Wifi)
● Constrained Application
Protocol
● REST like interface (p2p)
● Over UDP (mostly)
● DTLS security
● Open standard
● Device management
(LWM2M)
Use case: fleet of sensors

20. Questions ?