¶ 1.1 TCP/IP suite
The TCP/IP suite is the key communication protocol stack that includes two significant families of protocols for device communications over the network and the Internet. However, new protocols are required to enhance the TCP/IP suite for the IoT environment by providing the communications between resource-constrained devices within the IoT Low-Power and Lossy Networks (LLN)
IoT devices are usually placed in resource-limited environments, such as:
- remote and isolated agricultural applications;
- mobile and lightweight medical devices that need be powered for long periods of time in a variety of locations;
- outside for smart city applications; and
- many other scenarios where there are power and network connection constraints.
Also, in most IoT applications, devices are required to be very small in size for implementation, and therefore they must operate on battery, and run on low memory and CPU power with a limited network communication capability. The majority of IoT applications (such as smart cities), contain a large number of low-power, low-data rate, small devices performing the data acquisition process, transmission of information to actuators, and the update of feedback loops.
There are numerous IoT protocols available and in progress, and in the following sections we will examine the most popular ones.
¶ 1.2 TCP/IP layer model
In the table below, IoT protocols are categorised based on TCP/IP layer model. Further down the page, you may select any of the protocol acronyms to reveal what they stand for.
The TCP/IP model, with their layers and the main IoT protocols
¶ 1.3 Acronyms
Acronyms associated with Networks and Protocols
