Internet of Things (IoT) includes large number of smart devices connected to

a broad internet network with the help of various networking technologies.

Mostly these technologies are wireless in manner. This makes the structure
more complex and difficult to manage. Therefore, architecture is required.
An architecture is structure for specification of network’s physical
components and their functional organization and configuration, its
operational principles and procedures, as well as data formats used in its
operation.
The development of IoT depends on the technologies used, application
areas, and business aspects. There are various IoT architectures are
available for IoT devices. However, the “5 Layer Architecture is considered
as the best-proposed architecture of IoT.”
5 Layer Architecture of IoT :
When project work is done with various cutting edge technologies and broad
application area, 5 layer architecture is considered as best. 5 Layer model
can be considered as an extension to the basic architecture of IoT because it
has two additional layers to the basic model.
5 Layer Architecture of Internet of Things

 Perception Layer :
This is the first layer of IoT architecture. In the perception layer, number
of sensors and actuators are used to gather useful information like
temperature, moisture content, intruder detection, sounds, etc. The main
function of this layer is to get information from surroundings and to pass
data to another layer so that some actions can be done based on that
information.
 Network Layer :
As the name suggests, it is the connecting layer between perception and
middleware layer. It gets data from perception layer and passes data to
middleware layer using networking technologies like 3G, 4G, UTMS, Wi-
Fi, infrared, etc. This is also called communication layer because it is
responsible for communication between perception and middleware layer.
All the transfer of data done securely keeping the obtained data
confidential.
 Middleware Layer :
Middleware Layer has some advanced features like storage, computation,
processing, action taking capabilities. It stores all data-set and based on
the device address and name it gives appropriate data to that device. It
can also take decisions based on calculations done on data-set obtained
from sensors.
 Application Layer :
The application layer manages all application process based on
information obtained from middleware layer. This application involves
sending emails, activating alarm, security system, turn on or off a device,
smartwatch, smart agriculture, etc.
 Business Layer :
The success of any device does not depend only on technologies used in
it but also how it is being delivered to its consumers. Business layer does
these tasks for the device. It involves making flowcharts, graphs, analysis
of results, and how device can be improved, etc.

The 5 Layers of IoT Architecture that give it

super powers
As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to expand and evolve, understanding its
architecture is key for any organization looking to become a data-driven digital
enterprise. IoT is transforming how we connect and interact with devices. What
makes it even more remarkable is its intricately designed architecture, which enables
all the pieces of a system to function together seamlessly. By understanding IoT
architecture, you can help create a more intelligent world with better connectivity and
communication.

What Is IoT Architecture?

IoT architecture is the design and structure of network communications between
connected devices and other information systems. It’s a system that connects
devices, sensors, and people to make data-driven decisions. It is composed of
wireless networks, devices, cloud services, and applications used to collect data
from the network. By understanding how it works, you can improve efficiency and
create a more innovative business.
The architecture enables devices to communicate with each other over the internet,
exchange data, and trigger actions. The architecture of a good IoT network allows
that network to operate securely and efficiently.

Key Layers of IoT

Architecture
There are many layers in IoT Architecture, and each serves an important purpose.
It's important to understand these layers for effective IoT device management.

Perception Layer
This layer is also called the physical layer. It is the base of IoT and consists of
physical components such as sensors, power networks, and embedded systems.
The physical layer is responsible for capturing data and physical events from the
physical environment. This layer handles the physical connections between objects,
sensors, and other physical devices.

Transport Layer
The transport layer is an essential component of IoT architecture. It allows data
collection and transmission between networks like 3G, radio-frequency identification
(RFID), and ZigBee. The network layer is responsible for relaying data between
networks. It ensures the reception of data in an organized and secure manner.
The transport layer provides an interface between networks, allowing them to
communicate with each other. Security is also important at this layer, as it ensures
data integrity, confidentiality, and authentication. It also provides methods for
accessing networks, such as IP addressing and port numbers. By providing these
services, the transport layer ensures the security and reliability of the networks that
are part of an IoT system.

Processing Layer
The processing layer has the responsibility to store, analyse, and transform data
from the transport layer. This layer consists of cloud computing systems that can
process data from the physical environment and make sense of it. It receives the raw
data collected from sensors and processes it into useful information through cloud
services and big data modules.
The processing layer also enables the system to act on data and respond in real-
time. It's responsible for making decisions and taking action based on the data it
receives. This layer is also used to make predictions and provide insights based on
the data collected in the perception stage. It's also referred to as the middleware
layer, because it is the third of the five layers in IoT architecture.

Application Layer
This layer consists of applications and services created on top of the processing
layer. It is the most visible layer to end users. It consists of smart home applications,
connected cars, smart health, and smart cities. The layer provides you with access
to the data collected and processed in the other layers. It allows you to view,
analyse, and act on data from the network.
The application layer enables secure and user-friendly interaction, which is
necessary for the successful implementation of IoT architecture.

Business Layer
The business layer is designed to control the business models and transactions
associated with the connected devices. This layer encompasses business rules,
business analytics, and business process management. It is the layer responsible for
handling the business logic and setting up business processes to ensure that all the
business goals of the IoT system are met.
The layer also plays an important role in protecting your privacy. It ensures that the
data collected is stored securely and that users have control over the use of their
data. This layer can also improve the user experience through personalized services
based on user profiles and preferences.

IoT(internet of things) enabling technologies are

1. Wireless Sensor Network
2. Cloud Computing
3. Big Data Analytics
4. Communications Protocols
5. Embedded System
1. Wireless Sensor Network(WSN) :
A WSN comprises distributed devices with sensors which are used to
monitor the environmental and physical conditions. A wireless sensor
network consists of end nodes, routers and coordinators. End nodes have
several sensors attached to them where the data is passed to a coordinator
with the help of routers. The coordinator also acts as the gateway that
connects WSN to the internet.
Example –
 Weather monitoring system
 Indoor air quality monitoring system
 Soil moisture monitoring system
 Surveillance system
 Health monitoring system
 Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is an infrastructure-less wireless
network that is deployed in a large number of wireless sensors in an
ad-hoc manner that is used to monitor the system, physical or
environmental conditions.
 Sensor nodes are used in WSN with the onboard processor that
manages and monitors the environment in a particular area. They are
connected to the Base Station which acts as a processing unit in the
WSN System.
 Base Station in a WSN System is connected through the Internet to
share data.


WSN can be used for processing, analysis, storage, and mining of the data.
Applications of WSN:

1. Internet of Things (IoT)

2. Surveillance and Monitoring for security, threat detection
3. Environmental temperature, humidity, and air pressure
4. Noise Level of the surrounding
5. Medical applications like patient monitoring
6. Agriculture
7. Landslide Detection
Challenges of WSN:

1. Quality of Service
2. Security Issue
3. Energy Efficiency
4. Network Throughput
5. Performance
6. Ability to cope with node failure
7. Cross layer optimisation
8. Scalability to large scale of deployment
A modern Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) faces several challenges,
including:
 Limited power and energy: WSNs are typically composed of battery-
powered sensors that have limited energy resources. This makes it
challenging to ensure that the network can function for
long periods of time without the need for frequent battery replacements.
 Limited processing and storage capabilities: Sensor nodes in a WSN
are typically small and have limited processing and storage capabilities.
This makes it difficult to perform complex tasks or store large amounts of
data.
 Heterogeneity: WSNs often consist of a variety of different sensor types
and nodes with different capabilities. This makes it challenging to ensure
that the network can function effectively and
efficiently.
 Security: WSNs are vulnerable to various types of attacks, such as
eavesdropping, jamming, and spoofing. Ensuring the security of the
network and the data it collects is a major challenge.
 Scalability: WSNs often need to be able to support a large number of
sensor nodes and handle large amounts of data. Ensuring that the
network can scale to meet these demands is a significant
challenge.
 Interference: WSNs are often deployed in environments where there is a
lot of interference from other wireless devices. This can make it difficult to
ensure reliable communication between sensor nodes.
 Reliability: WSNs are often used in critical applications, such as
monitoring the environment or controlling industrial processes. Ensuring
that the network is reliable and able to function correctly
in all conditions is a major challenge.
Components of WSN:
1. Sensors:
Sensors in WSN are used to capture the environmental variables and
which is used for data acquisition. Sensor signals are converted into
electrical signals.
2. Radio Nodes:
It is used to receive the data produced by the Sensors and sends it to the
WLAN access point. It consists of a microcontroller, transceiver, external
memory, and power source.
3. WLAN Access Point:
It receives the data which is sent by the Radio nodes wirelessly, generally
through the internet.
4. Evaluation Software:
The data received by the WLAN Access Point is processed by a software
called as Evaluation Software for presenting the report to the users for
further processing of the data which can be used for processing, analysis,
storage, and mining of the data.
Advantages of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN):
Low cost: WSNs consist of small, low-cost sensors that are easy to deploy,
making them a cost-effective solution for many applications.
Wireless communication: WSNs eliminate the need for wired connections,
which can be costly and difficult to install. Wireless communication also
enables flexible deployment and reconfiguration of the network.
Energy efficiency: WSNs use low-power devices and protocols to conserve
energy, enabling long-term operation without the need for frequent battery
replacements.
Scalability: WSNs can be scaled up or down easily by adding or removing
sensors, making them suitable for a range of applications
and environments.
Real-time monitoring: WSNs enable real-time monitoring of physical
phenomena in the environment, providing timely information for decision
making and control.
Disadvantages of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN):
Limited range: The range of wireless communication in WSNs is limited,
which can be a challenge for large-scale deployments or in environments
with obstacles that obstruct radio signals.
Limited processing power: WSNs use low-power devices, which may have
limited processing power and memory, making it difficult to perform complex
computations or support advanced applications.
Data security: WSNs are vulnerable to security threats, such as
eavesdropping, tampering, and denial of service attacks, which can
compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data.
Interference: Wireless communication in WSNs can be susceptible to
interference from other wireless devices or radio signals, which can degrade
the quality of data transmission.
Deployment challenges: Deploying WSNs can be challenging due to the
need for proper sensor placement, power management, and network
configuration, which can require significant time and resources.
while WSNs offer many benefits, they also have limitations and challenges
that must be considered when deploying and using them in real-world
applications.

2. Cloud Computing :
It provides us the means by which we can access applications as utilities
over the internet. Cloud means something which is present in remote
locations.
With Cloud computing, users can access any resources from anywhere like
databases, webservers, storage, any device, and any software over the
internet.
Characteristics –
1. Broad network access
2. On demand self-services
3. Rapid scalability
4. Measured service
5. Pay-per-use
Provides different services, such as –
 IaaS (Infrastructure as a service)
Infrastructure as a service provides online services such as physical
machines, virtual machines, servers, networking, storage and data center
space on a pay per use basis. Major IaaS providers are Google Compute
 Engine, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure etc.
Ex : Web Hosting, Virtual Machine etc.
 PaaS (Platform as a service)
Provides a cloud-based environment with a very thing required to support
the complete life cycle of building and delivering West web based (cloud)
applications – without the cost and complexity of buying and managing
underlying hardware, software provisioning and hosting. Computing
platforms such as hardware, operating systems and libraries etc.
Basically, it provides a platform to develop applications.
Ex : App Cloud, Google app engine
 SaaS (Software as a service)
It is a way of delivering applications over the internet as a service. Instead
of installing and maintaining software, you simply access it via the
internet, freeing yourself from complex software and hardware
management.
SaaS Applications are sometimes called web-based software on demand
software or hosted software.
SaaS applications run on a SaaS provider’s service and they manage
security availability and performance.
Ex : Google Docs, Gmail, office etc.

3. Big Data Analytics :

It refers to the method of studying massive volumes of data or big data.
Collection of data whose volume, velocity or variety is simply too massive
and tough to store, control, process and examine the data using traditional
databases.
Big data is gathered from a variety of sources including social network
videos, digital images, sensors and sales transaction records.
Several steps involved in analyzing big data –
1. Data cleaning
2. Munging
3. Processing
4. Visualization
Examples –
 Bank transactions
 Data generated by IoT systems for location and tracking of vehicles
 E-commerce and in Big-Basket
 Health and fitness data generated by IoT system such as a fitness bands

4. Communications Protocols :
They are the backbone of IoT systems and enable network connectivity and
linking to applications. Communication protocols allow devices to exchange
data over the network. Multiple protocols often describe different aspects of a
single communication. A group of protocols designed to work together is
known as a protocol suite; when implemented in software they are a protocol
stack.
They are used in
1. Data encoding
2. Addressing schemes
5. Embedded Systems :
It is a combination of hardware and software used to perform special tasks.
It includes microcontroller and microprocessor memory, networking units
(Ethernet Wi-Fi adapters), input output units (display keyword etc. ) and
storage devices (flash memory).
It collects the data and sends it to the internet.
Embedded systems used in
Examples –
1. Digital camera
2. DVD player, music player
3. Industrial robots
4. Wireless Routers etc.

Embedded Devices (System) in (IoT)

It is essential to know about the embedded devices while learning the IoT or building
the projects on IoT. The embedded devices are the objects that build the unique
computing system. These systems may or may not connect to the Internet.

An embedded device system generally runs as a single application. However, these

devices can connect through the internet connection, and able communicate through
other network devices.
Embedded System Hardware
The embedded system can be of type microcontroller or type microprocessor. Both of
these types contain an integrated circuit (IC).

The essential component of the embedded system is a RISC family microcontroller like
Motorola 68HC11, PIC 16F84, Atmel 8051 and many more. The most important factor
that differentiates these microcontrollers with the microprocessor like 8085 is their
internal read and writable memory. The essential embedded device components and
system architecture are specified below.
Fig: Basic Embedded System

Embedded System Software

The embedded system that uses the devices for the operating system is based on the
language platform, mainly where the real-time operation would be performed.
Manufacturers build embedded software in electronics, e.g., cars, telephones,
modems, appliances, etc. The embedded system software can be as simple as lighting
controls running using an 8-bit microcontroller. It can also be complicated software
for missiles, process control systems, airplanes etc.