by Exosite, on January 13, 2016
What is the Internet of Things (IoT)? It is a global network of physical devices communicating with each other, usually through powerful cloud applications that add data processing, aggregation, and analysis to provide business insights and benefits that would not otherwise be feasible.
A classic example of IoT products are light bulbs that can be controlled remotely through a connection to the internet. This could be accomplished directly by a user on a remote device to turn on a light before getting home. It could also be accomplished automatically by intelligence in the cloud that uses data from other sensors around the house and other internet services to predict what the user will want.
IoT also includes more complex and less obvious examples. For instance, weather forecasting and real-time weather tracking utilize IoT connected products to collect and collate weather data from ubiquitous sensors and devices connected to the cloud. That weather data can then be processed and analyzed to make well-informed predictions and decisions.
In order for computers and IoT devices to interact intelligently in this way, they use protocols in much the same way that people share common languages that allow them to communicate. And, just as many languages throughout the world can express the same meaning but are completely incompatible with each other, computers and connected devices experience the same communication hurdles. Technology is continuously changing; new applications and devices require new protocols in order to communicate efficiently over the Internet, while providing users with the connectivity, security, and ease of deployment for their products and services through the cloud.
However, because IoT systems are usually comprised of low-cost, low-power, low-performance embedded devices, the suitability of protocols that are ideal, or in some cases, even possible to use is somewhat limited. Additionally, the need to communicate securely complicates things further. Potential attackers of IoT systems have substantially more computing power at their disposal thanks to advances in technology and pose a very critical challenge to security in IoT, especially with the type of low-powered devices that are generally well-suited for IoT connected product deployments.
This white paper will provide IoT insight and an overview of some of the protocols that are common in IoT, and offer insights into important features that should be taken into consideration when selecting a protocol for use in a connected solution.
