Module 1: OVERVIEW OF IOT ARCHITECTURE

IoT Architectural– Building an architecture, Main design principles and needed

capabilities, An IoT architecture outline, standards considerations. M2M and
IoT Technology Fundamentals- Devices and gateways, Local and wide area
networking, Data management, Business processes in IoT, Everything as a
Service(XaaS), M2M and IoT Analytics, Knowledge Management

Introduction: The Internet of Things (IoT) describes the network of physical

objects—“things”—that are embedded with sensors, software, and other
technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other
devices and systems over the internet.

The goal of the Internet of Things is to enable things to be connected anytime,

anyplace, with anything and anyone ideally using any path/network and any
service.

Characteristics:

1) Dynamic & Self Adapting: IoT devices and systems may have the
capability to dynamically adapt with the changing contexts and take actions
based on their operating conditions, user‘s context or sensed environment.
 Eg: the surveillance system is adapting itself based on context and changing
conditions.

2) Self Configuring: allowing a large number of devices to work together

to provide certain functionality.

3) InterOperable Communication Protocols: support a number of

interoperable communication protocols and can communicate with other
devices and also with infrastructure.

4) Unique Identity: Each IoT device has a unique identity and a unique
identifier(IP address).

5) Integrated into an Information Network: that allows them to

communicate and exchange data with other devices and systems.

Applications of IoT:

1) Home 2) Cities 3) Environment 4) Energy 5) Retail 6) Logistics 7)

Agriculture 8) Industry 9) Health & LifeStyle
IoT Architecture :

Introduction: The Internet of Things (IoT) has seen an increasing interest in

adaptive frameworks and architectural designs to promote the correlation between
IoT devices and IoT systems. This is because IoT systems are designed to be
categorized across diverse application domains and geographical locations.

It, therefore, creates extensive dependencies across domains, platforms and services.
Considering this interdependency between IoT devices and IoT systems, an
intelligent, connection-aware framework has become a necessity, this is where IoT
architecture comes into play! Imagine a variety of smart IoT systems from sensors
and actuators to internet getaways and Data Acquisition Systems all under the
centralized control of one “brain”!

The brain here can be referred to as the IoT architecture, whose effectiveness
and applicability directly correlate with the quality of its building blocks. The way a
system interacts and the different functions an IoT device performs are various
approaches to IoT architecture.

Since we can call the architecture the brain, it’s also possible to say that the
key causes of poor integration in IoT systems are the shortage of intelligent,
connection-aware architecture to support interaction in IoT systems. An IoT
architecture is the system of numerous elements that range from sensors, protocols,
actuators, to cloud services, and layers.

Besides, devices and sensors the Internet of Things (IoT) architecture layers
are distinguished to track the consistency of a system through protocols and
gateways.

Different architectures have been proposed by researchers and we can all

agree that there is no single consensus on architecture for IoT.

The most basic architecture is a three-layer architecture. State-of-the-art The

IoT can be considered both a dynamic and global networked infrastructure that
manages self-configuring objects in a highly intelligent way.

This, in turn, allows the interconnection of IoT devices that share their
information to create new applications and services which can improve human lives.

Originally, the concept of the IoT was first introduced by Kevin Ashton, who
is the founder of MIT auto-identification centre in 1999. Ashton has said, “The
Internet of Things has the potential to change the world, just as the Internet did.
Maybe even more so”. Later, the IoT was officially presented by the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2005.
 The IoT has many definitions suggested by many organizations and
researchers. However, the definition provided by ITU in 2012 is the most common.
It stated: “a global infrastructure for the information society, enabling advanced
services by interconnecting (physical and virtual) things based on, existing and
evolving, interoperable information and communication technologies”.

In addition, Guillemin and Friess in have suggested one of the simplest

definitions that describe the IoT in a smooth manner. It stated: “The Internet of
Things allows people and things to be connected Anytime, Anyplace, with anything
and anyone, ideally using any path/network and any service”.

Several definitions were suggested by many researchers describing the IoT

system from different perspectives but the important thing that majority or
researchers have agreed on is the IoT is created for a better world for all the human
beings.

The IoT is a promising technology that starts to grow significantly. There

were already more objects/things connected to the Internet than people from 2008.

Predictions are made that in the future; the number of Internet-connected

devices will reach or even exceed 50 billion. In addition, the IoT becomes the most
massive device market that enables companies to save billions of dollars. It has
added $1.7 trillion in value to the global economy in 2019.

This involves hardware, software, management services, installation costs,

and economic value from realized IoT efficiencies. Nowadays, the IoT notion has
evolved to include the perception of realizing a global infrastructure of
interconnected networks of physical and virtual objects.

The huge technological development has expanded the idea of the IoT to
involve other technologies such as Cloud computing and Wireless Sensor Networks
(WSNs).

The IoT has become able to connect both humans and things anywhere, and
anytime, ideally using any path/network. The IoT has become one of the interesting
topics to many researchers. According to Google, the number of IoT journal and
conference papers has almost doubled from 2004 to 2010. From 2010, the IoT
articles are dramatically increased to reach about 985 articles in 2015.

IoT Architecture Overview:

IoT can be classified into a four or five-layered architecture which gives you a
complete overview of how it works in real life.

The various components of the architecture include the following:

 Four-layered architecture: this includes media/device layer, network layer, service
and application support layer, and application layer.

Five-layered architecture: this includes perception layer, network layer,

middleware layer, application layer, and business layer.

Functions of Each layer:

Perception layer: This layer comprises of wireless devices, sensors, and radio
frequency identification (RFID) tags that are used for collecting and transmitting raw
data such as the temperature, moisture, etc. which is passed on to the next layer.

Network layer: This layer is largely responsible for routing data to the next layer in
the hierarchy with the help of network protocols. It uses wired and wireless
technologies for data transmission.

Middleware layer: This layer comprises of databases that store the information
passed on by the lower layers where it performs information processing and uses the
results to make further decisions.

Service and application support layer: This layer involve business process
modeling and execution as well as IoT service monitoring and resolution.

Application layer: It consists of application user interface and deals with various
applications such as home automation, electronic health monitoring, etc.

Business layer: this layer determines the future or further actions required based on
the data provided by the lower layers.

Building an IoT Architecture:

BUILDING BLOCKS of IoT

Four things form basic building blocks of the IoT system –sensors, processors,
gateways, applications. Each of these nodes has to have its own characteristics in
order to form a useful IoT system.
 Fig 2.3 Simplified block diagram of the basic building blocks of the IoT

Sensors: These form the front end of the IoT devices. These are the so-called
“Things” of the system. Their main purpose is to collect data from its surroundings
(sensors) or give out data to its surrounding (actuators).

These have to be uniquely identifiable devices with a unique IP address so that they
can be easily identifiable over a large network. These have to be active in nature
which means that they should be able to collect real-time data.

These can either work on their own (autonomous in nature) or can be made to work
by the user depending on their needs (user-controlled).

Examples of sensors are gas sensor, water quality sensor, moisture sensor, etc.

Processors: Processors are the brain of the IoT system. Their main function is to
process the data captured by the sensors and process them so as to extract the valuable
data from the enormous amount of raw data collected. In a word, we can say that it
gives intelligence to the data. Processors mostly work on real-time basis and can be
easily controlled by applications. These are also responsible for securing the data –
that is performing encryption and decryption of data. Embedded hardware devices,
microcontroller, etc are the ones that process the data because they have processors
attached to it.

Gateways: Gateways are responsible for routing the processed data and send it to
proper locations for its (data) proper utilization. In other words, we can say that
gateway helps in to and fro communication of the data. It provides network
connectivity to the data. Network connectivity is essential for any IoT system to
communicate. LAN, WAN, PAN, etc are examples of network gateways.

Applications: Applications form another end of an IoT system. Applications are

essential for proper utilization of all the data collected. These cloud-based
applications which are responsible for rendering the effective meaning to the data
collected. Applications are controlled by users and are a delivery point of particular
services. Examples of applications are home automation apps, security systems,
industrial control hub, etc.
Main design principles of IoT :

1. Do your research

When designing IoT-enabled products, designers might make the mistake of

forgetting why customers value these products in the first place. That’s why it’s a
good idea to think about the value an IoT offering should deliver at the initial phase of
your design. When getting into IoT design, you’re not building products anymore.
You’re building services and experiences that improve people’s lives. That’s why in-
depth qualitative research is the key to figuring out how you can do that. Assume the
perspective of your customers to understand what they need and how your IoT
implementation can solve their pain points. Research your target audience deeply to
see what their existing experiences are and what they wish was different about them.

2. Concentrate on value

Early adopters are eager to try out new technologies. But the rest of your customer
base might be reluctant to put a new solution to use. They may not feel confident with
it and are likely to be cautious about using it. If you want your IoT solution to become
widely adopted, you need to focus on the actual tangible value it’s going to deliver to
your target audience. What is the real end-user value of your solution? What might be
the barriers to adopting new technology? How can your solution address them
specifically? Note that the features the early tech adopters might find valuable might
turn out to be completely uninteresting for the majority of users. That’s why you need
to carefully plan which features to include and in what order, always concentrating on
the actual value they provide.

3. Don’t forget about the bigger picture

One characteristic trait of IoT solutions is that they typically include multiple devices
that come with different capabilities and consist of both digital and physical
touchpoints. Your solution might also be delivered to users in cooperation with
service providers. That’s why it’s not enough to design a single touchpoint well.
Instead, you need to take the bigger picture into account and treat your IoT system
holistically. Delineate the role of every device and service. Develop a conceptual
model of how users will perceive and understand the system. All the parts of your
system need to work seamlessly together. Only then you’ll be able to create a
meaningful experience for your end-users.

4. Remember about the security

Don’t forget that IoT solutions aren’t purely digital. They’re located in the real-world
context, and the consequences of their actions might be serious if something goes
wrong. At the same time, building trust in IoT solutions should be one of your main
design drivers. Make sure that every interaction with your product builds consumer
trust rather than breaking it. In practice, it means that you should understand all the
possible error situations that may be related to the context of its use. Then try to
design your product in a way to prevent them. If error situations occur, make sure that
the user is informed appropriately and provided with help. Also, consider data
security and privacy as a key aspect of your implementation. Users need to feel that
their data is safe, and objects located in their workspaces or home can’t be hacked.
That’s why quality assurance and testing the system in the real-world context are so
important.

5. Build with the context in mind

And speaking of context, it pays to remember that IoT solutions are located at the
intersection of the physical and digital world. The commands you give through digital
interfaces produce real-world effects. Unlike digital commands, these actions may not
be easily undone. In a real-world context, many unexpected things may happen.
That’s why you need to make sure that the design of your solution enables users to
feel safe and in control at all times. The context itself is a crucial consideration during
IoT design. Depending on the physical context of your solution, you might have
different goals in mind. For example, you might want to minimize user distraction or
design devices that will be resistant to the changing weather conditions. The social
context is an important factor, as well. Don’t forget that the devices you design for
workspaces or homes will be used by multiple users.

6. Make good use of prototypes

IoT solutions are often difficult to upgrade. Once the user places the connected object
somewhere, it might be hard to replace it with a new version – especially if the user
would have to pay for the upgrade. Even the software within the object might be hard
to update because of security and privacy reasons. Make sure that your design
practices help to avoid costly hardware iterations. Get your solution right from the
start. From the design perspective, it means that prototyping and rapid iteration will
become critical in the early stages of the project.

IOT ARCHITECTURE OUTLINE :

IoT architecture consists of the devices, network structure, and cloud

technology that allows IoT devices to communicate with each other.
Asset Layers: This layer comprises basic elements or objects which are used
for Monitoring and Controlling. This layer has various digital representations
and Identifiers.

Ex: Building, Utility Systems, Home and People.

Resource Layer : Sensing, Actuation and Embedded Identities are the main
functionality of this layer. It has two types Primary Resources such as
Sensors, Actuator and RFID Tags, Readers etc and Secondary Resources such
as Gateways.

Communication Layer: Mainly used for communication among the

interconnected different objects to provide specific services. Generally, the
IoT nodes are operated using LLN(Low Power Lossy Network
Communication) which are used for Resource Constraint applications.

For example WiFi, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.15.4, Z-wave, and LTE-

Advanced. Apart from this new identity technologies also used in IoT like
RFID, Near Field Communication (NFC) and ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB).
RFID –Radio Frequency Identification is a new technology used to identify
objects using unique identity in M2M technology. The RFID technology has
Tags, Readers components. Tags are small chips, attached to provide an
object's identity which is normally assigned with a Unique ID. The RFID
reader is another component which is used to transmit a query signal to the tag
and receives reflected signal from the tag. This signal is passed to the database
for further processing.

Service Support Layer: This layer typically executes in a Data Center or

Servers inside an Organization or Cloud Environment. This layer can provide
numerous functions such as Remote Device Management, Remote
Diagnostics or Recovery, Setting Event Filters and Communication related
Functions such as LBS(Location Based Services) and GIS(Geographic
Information Services).

Data and Information Layers : Abstract services are provided in this layer.
Important goal is to capture knowledge and provide advanced Control Logic
and Support 244 Enhancement of IoT-Based Smart Hospital System Survey
Paper.

Application Layer: Customers request a variety of services which are

provided by this layer. It is present above the Data and Information Layer.
This application layer can provide Blood Pressure, temperature and air
humidity measurements of the patient who asks for analysis using machine
learning concepts. The main aim of this layer is to provide High Quality
Services to satisfy Customer requirements and their needs. Smart home, Smart
building, Transportation, Industrial automation and Smart healthcare are
numerous application fields which are covered by Application Layer.

Business Layer :The business (management) layer is mainly useful for

different types of System activity and Services. They received data from this
application layer which is used to build a business model, graphs, flowcharts,
etc which are the unique Functions of this layer. This layer is responsible for
the Designing, analyzing, implementing, evaluation and Monitoring process.
Based on Big Data Concepts an Intelligent Decision Making process is
implemented in this layer. Security and Privacy enhancements are added
advantages in this layer.

Management, Security and Data Services: IoT Management Layer is

responsible for Various Operations, Maintenance, Administration and
Provisioning. IoT Security Layer is responsible for Communication and
Information Security, Identity Management and Authentication, Authorization
and used to protect from threats and Harms. Finally, the Data and Services
layer is responsible for Event filtering, Data aggregation, Data Averaging and
Contextual Metadata.
IoT Standards
Standards consideration for IoT Alliances have been formed by many domestic and
multinational companies to agree on common standards and technology for the IoT.
However, no universal body has been formed yet. While organizations such as IEEE,
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), ITU-T, OneM2M, 3GPP, etc., are active at
international level, Telecommunication Standards Development Society, India
(TSDSI), Global ICT Standardization Forum for India (GISFI), Bureau of Indian
Standards (BIS), Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), and so on,
are active at national level and European Telecommunications Standards Institute
(ETSI) in the regional level for standardization.

Smart objects produce large volumes of data. This data needs to be managed,
processed, transferred and stored securely. Standardization is key to achieving
universally accepted specifications and protocols for true interoperability
between devices and applications.

The fact that any of the electronic devices we are using these days is way
smarter than the devices used a decade back. On one side people had to leave
their sofa to change the TV channel or to press their AC button, on the other
side manually, they could speak to give instructions to their TV or AC on what
to do, and this is how technology has changed the way we are using the
devices.

To make the devices work more efficiently or to offer more functionality, the
concept of IoT has been introduced. The implementation of this technology has
changed the life of mankind. It is concerned with getting the devices together
with the other devices so that they can contribute to enhancing their
functionality. To manage this, of course, there exists some standard to make
sure everything is happening in a controlled way, and here we will be focusing
on those standards.

● Bluetooth Smart – Bluetooth smart is one of the most important

standards of IoT. This standard provides the devices to work using
Bluetooth connectivity. Moreover, it makes it possible for the device
and the users to communicate or share the instructions using Bluetooth’s
simple connection.
● ULE – ULE stands for Ultra-low emission. The amount of power
involved in this is way too less, as stated by its name. The common
telephone network we use at our homework using this standard and the
embedded devices leverages it wherever possible in order to facilitate
communication with other devices.
 ● IEEE 802.11ah – These standards are concerned with the wifi
connectivity that runs on low power. In the internet of things, the
devices preferably work with low power consumption mechanism
involvement. Though Wifi doesn’t fall under the low power
consumption part, this standard is concerned with the lower power
consumption of devices. This standard has been considered as the most
effective one as the availability of wifi is very common.
● ZigBee – This is the other standard that helps to take the IoT to the next
level. It has been developed by an organization called the ZigBee
industry. The main purpose of this standard is to offer a network of
devices that consume less power to function. The common devices that
are being used in houses leverage this standard in order to communicate
with low power requirements.
● Z-Wave – Z-Wave is the most commonly used standard. Similar to the
other standards, it is also concerned with working devices that use less
power to work well in the network. Sigma Designs own this standard,
and the changes or improvements in this standard are taken by this
organization only. The outcome of this standard is the low power mesh
technology of networking.
● 6LoWPAN – This is another standard influenced by IEEE. It is
concerned with creating the IoT system that consists of devices that are
connected to the internet and use less power to facilitate communication.
IPV6 has been used in this standard when it comes to connecting the
devices that are available on the internet.

The use of standards:

● ensures interoperable and cost-effective solutions

● opens up opportunities in new areas
● allows the market to reach its full potential

All of the standards for IoT are concerned about the way devices interact with
each other to create the network of the devices. The more things are connected,
the greater the security risk. So, security standards are also needed to protect
the individuals, businesses and governments which will use the IoT
M2M and IoT Technology Fundamentals
Devices and gateways :
A device is a hardware unit that can sense aspects of it’s environment and/or actuate,
i.e. perform tasks in its environment.
A device can be characterized as having several properties, including:
• Microcontroller: 8-, 16-, or 32-bit working memory and storage.
• Power Source: Fixed, battery, energy harvesting, or hybrid.
• Sensors and Actuators: Onboard sensors and actuators, or circuitry that allows them
to be connected, sampled, conditioned, and controlled.
• Communication: Cellular, wireless, or wired for LAN and WAN communication.
• Operating System (OS): Main-loop, event-based, real-time, or fullfeatured OS.
• Applications: Simple sensor sampling or more advanced applications.
• User Interface: Display, buttons, or other functions for user interaction.
• Device Management (DM): Provisioning, firmware, bootstrapping, and
monitoring.
• Execution Environment (EE): Application lifecycle management and Application
Programming Interface (API).

• For several reasons, one or more of these functions are often hosted on a gateway
instead.
• This can be to save battery power, for example, by letting the gateway handle heavy
functions such as WAN connectivity and application logic that requires a powerful
processor.
• This also leads to reduced costs because these are expensive components.
• Another reason is to reduce complexity by letting a central node (the (the gateway)
handle functionality such as device management and advanced applications, while
letting the devices focus on sensing and actuating.

Device types
There are no clear criteria today for categorizing devices, but instead there is more of
a sliding scale. we group devices into two categories.

• Basic Devices:
✓ Devices that only provide the basic services of sensor readings and/or actuation
tasks, and in some cases limited support for user interaction.
✓ LAN communication is supported via wired or wireless technology, thus a
gateway is needed to provide the WAN connection.
• Advanced Devices:
✓ In this case the devices also host the application logic and a WAN connection.
 ✓ They may also feature device management and an execution environment for
hosting multiple applications. Gateway devices are most likely to fall into this
category.

There are large varieties of IoT devices available based on IEEE 802.15.4
standard. These devices range from wireless motes, attachable sensor-boards to
interface-boards which are useful for researchers and developers.

IoT devices include computer devices, software, wireless sensors, and

actuators. These IoT devices are connected over the internet and enable the data
transfer among objects or people automatically without human intervention.
Deployment scenarios for devices :

Deployment can differ for basic and advanced deployment scenarios.

Example deployment scenarios for basic devices include:

• Home Alarms:

✓ Such devices typically include motion detectors, magnetic sensors, and smoke
detectors.

✓ A central unit takes care of the application logic that calls security and sounds an
alarm if a sensor is activated when the alarm is armed.

✓ The central unit also handles the WAN connection towards the alarm central.
These systems are currently often based on proprietary radio protocols. Smart Meters:
• The meters are installed in the households and measure consumption of, for
example, electricity and gas.

• A concentrator gateway collects data from the meters, performs aggregation, and
periodically transmits the aggregated data to an application server over a cellular
connection.

• By using a capillary network technology e.g. 802.15.4), it’s possible to extend the
range of the concentrator gateway by allowing meters in the periphery to use other
meters as extenders, and interface with handheld devices on the Home Area Network
side.

• Building Automation Systems (BASs): Such devices include thermostats, fans,

motion detectors, and boilers, which are controlled by local facilities, but can also be
remotely operated.
• Standalone Smart Thermostats: These use Wi-Fi to communicate with web services.

Examples for advanced devices, meanwhile, include:

• Onboard units in cars that perform remote monitoring and configuration over a
cellular connection.

• Robots and autonomous vehicles such as unmanned aerial vehicles that can work
both autonomously or by remote control using a cellular connection.

• Video cameras for remote monitoring over 3G and LTE.

• Oil well monitoring and collection of data points from remote devices.

• Connected printers that can be upgraded and serviced remotely.

• The devices and gateways of today often use legacy technologies such as KNX,
ZWave, and ZigBee, but the vision for the future is that every device can have an IP
address and be (in)directly connected to the Internet.

• Some of the examples listed above (e.g. the BAS) require some form of
autonomous mode, where the system operates even without a WAN connection. Also,
in these cases it’s possible to use IoT technologies to form an “Intranet of Things.”
Basic devices

• These devices are often intended for a single purpose, such as measuring air
pressure or closing a valve. In some cases several functions are deployed on the same
device, such as monitoring humidity, temperature, and light level.

• The requirements on hardware are low, both in terms of processing power and
memory.

The microcontroller typically hosts a number of ports that allow integration with
sensors and actuators, such as General Purpose I/O (GPIO) and an analog-to-digital
converter (ADC) for supporting analog input.

• For certain actuators, such as motors, pulse-width modulation (PWM) can be used.

• As low-power operation is paramount to battery-powered devices, the

microcontroller hosts functions that facilitate sleeping, such as interrupts that can
wake up the device on external and internal events, e.g. when there is activity on a
GPIO port or the radio, as well as timer-based wake ups.

• Some devices even go as far as harvesting energy from their environment, e.g. in
the form of solar, thermal, and physical energy.

• To interact with peripherals such as storage or display, it’s common to use a serial
interface such as SPI, I2C, or UART.
 • These interfaces can also be used to communicate with another microcontroller on
the device.

• This is common when the there is a need for offloading certain tasks, or when in
some cases the entire application logic is put on a separate host processor.

• It’s not unusual for the microcontroller to also contain a security processor, e.g. to
accelerate Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). This is necessary to allow
encrypted communication over the radio link without the need for a host processor.

• Because a basic device lacks a WAN interface according to our definition, a

gateway of some form is necessary. The gateway together with the connected devices
form a capillary network.

• The microcontroller contains most of the radio functions needed for communicating
with the gateway and other devices in the same capillary network.

IoT Gateways: An IoT gateway acts as a network router, routing data between IoT
devices and the cloud.IoT gateway is a physical device or virtual platform that
connects sensors, IoT modules, and smart devices to the cloud. Gateways serve as a
wireless access portal to give IoT devices access to the Internet.

A gateway is a network node used in telecommunications that connects two networks

with different transmission protocols together. IoT (Internet of Things) gateways are
devices that enable the communication between IoT devices and the cloud or other
network infrastructures. They act as a bridge between local networks and the internet,
enabling secure and reliable data transfer.
There are several types of IoT gateways available, and each type has its unique
features and functionalities. Here are some of the common types of IoT
gateways:

1. Cloud IoT Gateways: These gateways are designed to connect IoT

devices to cloud-based platforms. They provide the necessary security,
protocol translation, and data processing functionalities required for
transmitting data to the cloud. Cloud IoT gateways are widely used in
industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics.
2. Edge IoT Gateways: These gateways are used to process data locally at
the edge of the network, closer to the devices generating the data. They
can perform data filtering, aggregation, and analysis, reducing the need
for data transfer to the cloud. Edge IoT gateways are often used in
applications such as smart buildings, energy management, and industrial
automation.
3. Cellular IoT Gateways: These gateways use cellular networks to connect
IoT devices to the internet. They are ideal for applications where Wi-Fi
or Ethernet connectivity is not available. Cellular IoT gateways are
commonly used in fleet management, asset tracking, and remote
monitoring applications.
4. LoRaWAN IoT Gateways: These gateways are designed to work with
low-power, long-range LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network)
devices. They are typically used in smart city applications, such as smart
parking, waste management, and environmental monitoring.
5. Zigbee IoT Gateways: These gateways are used to connect Zigbee
devices to the internet. Zigbee is a low-power wireless communication
protocol commonly used in home automation and smart building
applications. Zigbee IoT gateways provide the necessary security and
protocol translation functionalities required for transmitting data to the
cloud.

IoT gateways play a crucial role in enabling secure and reliable communication
between IoT devices and the cloud or other network infrastructures. The choice
of IoT gateway type depends on the specific application requirements, such as
data processing capabilities, connectivity options, and power consumption.
# Advantages of using IoT Gateway devices

IoT gateways are configured with higher specifications to achieve better

performance, and so do the benefits they create. Following are some of the major
advantages.

Inter-device and device-to-device communication: As a centralized hub, an IoT

gateway not only provides access for multiple IoT devices to communicate with one
another but also enables data flow between devices and cloud platforms. Without your
IoT gateways, it’s more of a hassle that these smart devices and sensors work
individually and cannot communicate with each other.

Edge computing:This could be a significant benefit of the IoT gateway. By pre-

processing the collected raw data before sending them to the cloud, advanced IoT
gateways are enabled to perform complex computing, thus reducing the network
response time.

High energy and cost efficiency: IoT gateways are enabled to manage data transfers,
reduce bandwidth consumption, and reduce latency for IoT devices, making them
ideal for deployment in any IoT ecosystem. In addition, the cost savings from one IoT
gateway are negligible, but you’ll notice a considerable reduction when deploying a
large number of gateways.

Security risk mitigation:With the explosion of IoT devices, the security risks against
them crop up here and there, making the communication bridge – IoT gateways attach
more importance than ever. As expected, IoT gateways are equipped with multiple
security options to ensure an extra security layer between the Internet and the devices.

Durable and Reliable: While a commercial IoT gateway has all the advantages
above, it is not exactly the same as an Industrial IoT gateway. They differ in that IIoT
gateways can withstand extremely hostile industrial conditions. IIoT gateways are
usually built with robust industrial materials that are more durable and reliable,
allowing them to endure wide-ranging temperatures, humidity, radiation, dust,
vibration, and even explosions.

Local and wide area networking:

Local area networking(LAN): LAN stands for local area network. A network
is a group of two or more connected computers, and a LAN is a network
contained within a small geographic area, usually within the same
building.Home WiFi networks and small business networks are common
examples of LAN’s.

A LAN can be set up using wired or wireless technologies and allows devices to
communicate and share resources, such as files, printers, and internet access.In a
LAN, devices are typically connected to a central device called a switch or router,
which manages the flow of data between devices.

LANs are commonly used in business and educational settings to improve

communication and collaboration between employees or students, and to share
resources efficiently.

They can also be used in homes to connect multiple devices, such as computers,
smartphones, and smart home devices, to the internet and each other.

In local area networks, computers can exchange data and messages easily
and quickly. This saves time and gets things done faster. LAN allows any user
to share messages and data with any other user on the network. Users can
access the network from any computer and access the data stored on the
server.

Wide area networking(WAN):

Wide Area Networking (WAN) is a type of computer network that spans a large
geographic area, such as a city, country, or even multiple countries. WANs allow
multiple LANs to be connected and communicate with each other over long distances
using various communication technologies such as leased lines, satellite links, and
microwave transmissions.
WANs are used by organizations that have multiple locations, such as businesses,
government agencies, and educational institutions, to connect their various sites and
allow for communication and collaboration between them. WANs enable the sharing
of resources such as data, applications, and services between geographically dispersed
sites.

The internet is the largest example of a WAN, connecting millions of devices across
the globe. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) provide connectivity to the internet via
various technologies such as cable, DSL, and fiber-optic connections. WANs also
support virtual private networks (VPNs), which allow remote users to securely access
resources on the network over the internet.

WANs provide organizations with the ability to communicate and collaborate across
large distances, making it possible for businesses to operate on a global scale and for
individuals to connect with people from all over the world.

WANs can facilitate communication, the sharing of information and much more
between devices from around the world through a WAN provider.

Data management & Business processes in IoT

Data management:Modern enterprises need to be agile and dynamically support

multiple decision-making processes taken at several levels. In order to achieve this,
critical information needs to be available at the right point in a timely manner, and in
the right form. All this info is the result of data being acquired increasingly by M2M
interactions, which in conjunction with the processes involved, assist in better
decision-making.

Some of the key characteristics of M2M data include:

• Big Data: Huge amounts of data are generated, capturing detailed aspects of the
processes where devices are involved.

• Heterogeneous Data: The data is produced by a huge variety of devices and is itself
highly heterogeneous, differing on sampling rate, quality of captured values, etc.
• Real-World Data: The overwhelming majority of the M2M data relates to real-
world processes and is dependent on the environment they interact with.

• Real-Time Data: M2M data is generated in real-time and overwhelmingly can be

communicated also in a very timely manner. The latter is of pivotal importance since
many times their business value depends on the real-time processing of the info they
convey.

• Temporal Data: The overwhelming majority of M2M data is of temporal nature,

measuring the environment over time.

• Spatial Data: Increasingly, the data generated by M2M interactions are not only
captured by mobile devices, but also coupled to interactions in specific locations, and
their assessment may dynamically vary depending on the location their assessment
may dynamically vary depending on the location

● Polymorphic Data: The data acquired and used by M2M processes may be
complex and involve various data, which can also obtain different meanings
depending on the semantics applied and the process they participate in.
● Proprietary Data: Up to now, due to monolithic application development, a
significant amount of M2M data is stored and captured in proprietary formats.
However, increasingly due to the interactions with heterogeneous devices and
stakeholders, open approaches for data storage and exchange are used.
● Security and Privacy Data Aspects: Due to the detailed capturing of
interactions by M2M, analysis of the obtained data has a high risk of leaking
private information and usage patterns, as well as compromising security.

Billions of devices interact and generate data at exponential growth rates, data
management is of critical importance as it sets the basis upon which any other
processes can rely and operate. Several aspects of data management need to be
addressed in order to fully take advantage of the M2M data and their business
relevance.

Managing M2M data

The data flow from the moment it is sensed (e.g. by a wireless sensor node) up
to the moment it reaches the backend system has been processed manifold
(and often redundantly), either to adjust its representation in order to be easily
integrated by the diverse applications, or to compute on it in order to extract
and associate it with respective business intelligence (e.g. business process
affected, etc.). We see a number of data processing network points between
the machine and the enterprise that act on the datastream (or simply
forwarding it) based on their end-application needs and existing context.

Dealing with M2M data may be decomposed into several stages, which we
briefly outline below. Not all of the stages are necessary in every solution, and
may be used in orders other than those described below.
Data generation: Data generation is the first stage within which data is
generated actively or passively from the device, system, or as a result of its
interactions. The sampling of data generation depends on the device and its
capabilities as well as potentially the application needs. Usually default
behaviors for data generation exist, which are usually further configurable to
strike a good benefit between involved costs, e.g. frequency of data collection.

Data acquisition: Data acquisition deals with the collection of data (actively
or passively) from the device, system, or as a result of its interactions .The
data acquisition systems usually communicate with distributed devices over
wired or wireless links to acquire the needed data, and need to respect
security, protocol, and application requirements. The nature of acquisition
varies, e.g. it could be continuous monitoring, interval-poll, event-based, etc.

Data validation: Data acquired must be checked for correctness and

meaningfulness within the specific operating context. Data validation in the
M2M, where the acquired data may not conform to expectations, is a must as
data may be intentionally or unintentionally corrupted during transmission,
altered, or not make sense in the business context. As real-world processes
depend on valid data to draw business-relevant decisions, this is a key stage,
which sometimes does not receive as much attention as it should.

Data storage: The data generated by M2M interactions is what is commonly

referred to as “Big Data.” Machines generate an incredible amount of
information that is captured and needs to be stored for further processing. As
this is proving challenging due to the size of information, a balance between
its business usage vs. storage needs to be considered; that is, only the fraction
of the data relevant to a business need may be stored for future reference.

Data management: That in a specific scenario, (usually for on-the-fly data

that was used to make a decision) once this is done, the processed result can be
stored but not necessarily the original data. However, one has to carefully
consider what the value of such data is to business not only in current
processes, but also potentially other directions that may be followed in the
future by the company as different assessments of the same data may provide
other, hidden competitive advantages in the future. Due to the massive
amounts of M2M data, as well as their envisioned processing (e.g. searching),
specialized technologies such as massively parallel processing DBs,
distributed file systems, cloud computing platforms, etc. are needed.

Data processing Data processing enables working with the data that is either
at rest (already stored) or is in-motion (e.g. stream data). The scope of this
processing is to operate on the data at a low level and “enhance” them for
future needs. For example is the transformation of incoming data; for example,
a stream can be converted on the fly (e.g. temperature values are converted
from F to C), or repackaged in another data model, etc. Missing or invalid data
 that is needed for the specific time-slot may be forecasted and used until, in a
future interaction, the actual data comes into the system.

Data remanence: M2M data may reveal critical business aspects, and hence
their lifecycle management should include not only the acquisition and usage,
but also the end-of-life of data. However, even if the data is erased or
removed, residues may still remain in electronic media, and may be easily
recovered by third parties often referred to as data remanence. Several
techniques have been developed to deal with this, such as overwriting,
degaussing, encryption, and physical destruction.

Data analysis: Data available in the repositories can be subjected to analysis

with the aim to obtain the information they encapsulate and use it for
supporting decision-making processes. The analysis of data at this stage
heavily depends on the domain and the context of the data. For instance,
business intelligence tools process the data with a focus on the aggregation
and key performance indicator assessment.This stage is the basis for any
sophisticated applications that take advantage of the information hidden
directly or indirectly on the data, and can be used, for example, for business
insights, etc.

Business processes in IoT

IoT (Internet of Things) refers to the network of physical devices, vehicles, home
appliances, and other items embedded with sensors, software, and connectivity to
enable the exchange of data between them and other internet-enabled devices.
The business processes in IoT typically involve collecting, analyzing, and
utilizing the data generated by these devices to improve business operations and
enhance customer experiences. Some of the common business processes in IoT
include:

1. Data Collection: IoT devices generate a large amount of data, and the
first step in utilizing this data is to collect it. This can be done using
various sensors and devices that are connected to the IoT network.
2. Data Analytics: Once the data is collected, it needs to be analyzed to
extract meaningful insights. This involves using analytics tools and
techniques to identify patterns, trends, and anomalies in the data.
3. Predictive Maintenance: IoT devices can be used to monitor the
performance of equipment and predict when maintenance is needed. This
can help to prevent costly breakdowns and downtime.
4. Inventory Management: IoT sensors can be used to monitor inventory
levels in real-time, allowing businesses to optimize their inventory
management processes and reduce waste.
 5. Supply Chain Management: IoT devices can be used to track shipments
and monitor the condition of goods in transit. This can help businesses to
optimize their supply chain processes and reduce costs.
6. Customer Experience: IoT devices can be used to collect data on customer
behavior and preferences, allowing businesses to personalize their
products and services to meet customer needs.
7. Security: IoT devices can be vulnerable to security threats, and businesses
need to have processes in place to secure their IoT networks and protect
against cyber-attacks.

Overall, the use of IoT devices and data can help businesses to optimize their
operations, reduce costs, and improve customer experiences. However, it is
important to have robust business processes in place to effectively manage the
data generated by these devices and utilize it to drive business outcomes.

Everything as a service (XaaS)

• There is a general trend away from locally managing dedicated hardware

toward cloud infrastructures that drives down the overall cost for
computational capacity and storage. This is commonly referred to as “cloud
computing.”

• Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, on-demand network

access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g. networks,
servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be provisioned,
configured, and made available with minimal management effort or service
provider interaction.

• Cloud computing, however, does not change the fundamentals of software

engineering. All applications need access to three things: compute, storage,
and data processing capacities. With cloud computing, a fourth element is
added distribution services i.e. the manner in which the data and
computational capacity are linked together and coordinated.
 Figure.3.11. Conceptual Overview of Cloud Computing.

Several essential characteristics of cloud computing have been defined by NIST

(2011) as follows:

• On-Demand Self-Service. A consumer can unilaterally provision computing

capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed, or
automatically, without requiring human interaction with each service provider.
• Broad Network Access. Capabilities are available over the network and
accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous
thin or thick client platforms (e.g. mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and
workstations).

Resource Pooling.

• The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a
multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically
assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand.

• There is a sense of location independence in that the customer generally has no

control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources, but may be
able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g. country, state, or
datacenter). Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, and network
bandwidth.

• Rapid Elasticity. Capabilities can be elastically provisioned and released, in some

cases automatically, to scale rapidly outward and inward commensurate with demand.
To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be
unlimited, and can be appropriated in any quantity at any time.

• Measured Service. Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use
by leveraging a metering capability, at some level of abstraction, appropriate to the
type of service (e.g. storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts).
Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency
for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service.

• Cloud computing comes in several different service models and deployment options
for enterprises wishing to use it. The three main servicemodels may be defined as
(NIST 2011):

✓ Software as a Service (SaaS): Refers to software that is provided to consumers on

demand, typically via a thin client. The end-users do not manage the cloud
infrastructure in any way. This is handled by an Application Service Provider (ASP)
or Independent Software Vendor (ISV). Examples include office and messaging
software, email, or CRM tools housed in the cloud. The end-user has limited ability to
change anything beyond user-specific application configuration settings.

✓ Platform as a Service (PaaS): Refers to cloud solutions that provide both a

computing platform and a solution stack as a service via the Internet. The customers
themselves develop the necessary software using tools provided by the provider, who
also provides the networks, the storage, and the other distribution services required.
Again, the provider manages the underlying cloud infrastructure, while the customer
has control over the deployed applications and possible settings for the
applicationhosting environment (NIST 2011).

✓ Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): In this model, the provider offers virtual

machines and other resources such as hypervisors (e.g. Xen, KVM) to customers.
Pools of hypervisors support the virtual machines and allow users to scale resource
usage up and down in accordance with their computational requirements. Users install
an OS image and application software on the cloud infrastructure. The provider
manages the underlying cloud infrastructure, while the customer has control over OS,
storage, deployed applications, and possibly some networking components.

M2M and IoT analytics

✓ M2M data for advanced analytics and business intelligence are very promising. By
transforming raw data into actionable intelligence, it’s possible to improve many
areas, such as enhancement of existing products, cost-savings, service quality, as well
as operational efficiency.

✓ By applying technologies from the Big Data domain, it is possible to store more
data, such as contextual and situational information, and given a more open approach
to data, such as the open-data government initiatives (e.g. Data.gov and Data.gov.uk),
even more understanding can be derived, which can be used to improve everything
from Demand/Response in a power grid to wastewater treatment in a city
✓ Descriptive statistics can take you a long way from raw data to actionable
intelligence. Other opportunities are provided by data mining and machine learning,
with no clear distinction between the three, although data mining can be described as
the automatic or semiautomatic task of extracting previously unknown information
from a large quantity of data, while machine learning is focused on finding models for
specific tasks, e.g. separate spam from non-spam email.

✓ Big Data technologies such as MapReduce for massively parallel analytics, as well
as analytics on online streaming data where the individual data item is not necessarily
stored, will play an important role in the management and analysis of large-scale
M2M data. ✓ Apart from the software and services provided for analytics, a major
uptake in professional services for consultancy within M2M analytics is expected
(Figure).