Internet of Things (P22ETC1055)

Module - 3
IoT Processing Topologies and Types
Topics Covered:
✓ Data Format
✓ Importance of Processing in IoT
✓ Processing Topologies
✓ IoT Device Design and Selection Considerations
✓ Processing Offloading
Data Format:
Data is a raw collection of facts and figures such as numbers, words,
measurements, or observations about things. Raw form collected data are not useful to any
organization. So, processing or analyzing is very essential.
Data processing is the method (series of operations) to analyze and transform collected raw
data into usable information. Information is the meaning that we get from raw data after
processing.

➢ Nowadays, the Internet is indeed a powerhouse to generate huge quantities and

varieties of data regularly and freely.
➢ As of January 2018, there are a reported 4.021 billion Internet users worldwide.
➢ Internet users: As of October 2024, there were 5.52 billion internet users
worldwide, which is 67.5% of the world's population. This means that the number
of internet users is more than double the number of people who are not
connected to the internet.

PUTTASWAMY B S Assistant Professor, Dept. of CS&BS

 Internet of Things (P22ETC1055)
➢ Data creation: In 2024, an estimated 402.74 million terabytes of data are created
every day, which is around 147 zettabytes per year. This is an increase of 74 times
from 2010, when only 2 zettabytes were generated.
In addition to these data-generating sources, non-human data generation sources
such as sensor nodes and automated monitoring systems further add to the data load
on the Internet.
This huge data volume is composed of a variety of data such as e-mails, text documents
(Word docs, PDFs, and others), social media posts, videos, audio files, and images,
as shown in Figure 6.1.

Fig. Various data generating and storage sources connected to the Internet
However, these data can be broadly grouped into two types based on how they can
be accessed and stored:
1) Structured data
2) unstructured data
Structured data:
➢ Type of data that is highly organized and follows a predefined format or schema
(length-limited data fields), making it easy to store, search, and analyze.

PUTTASWAMY B S Assistant Professor, Dept. of CS&BS

 Internet of Things (P22ETC1055)
➢ length-limited data fields such as phone numbers, social security numbers etc.
➢ It is stored in relational databases in the form of tabular structures with rows and
columns.
➢ Each column represents a specific data type or attribute, while each row represents a
single record or instance.
➢ Common usage of this type of data is associated with flight or train reservation
systems, banking systems, inventory controls, and other similar systems.
➢ Structured Query Language (SQL) are used for accessing these data in RDBMS.
Unstructured data:
➢ It is a type of information or data that does not have a predefined structure or
schema, and can vary according to applications and data-generating sources
➢ More challenging to store, manage, and analyze.
➢ It includes data that is often qualitative, complex, and stored in formats that don't fit
neatly into rows and columns of a relational database.
➢ human-generated unstructured data include text, e-mails, videos, images, phone
recordings, chats, and others [2].
➢ Some common examples of machine-generated unstructured data include sensor
data from traffic, buildings, industries, satellite imagery, surveillance
videos, and others.
➢ Querying languages such as NoSQL are generally used for this data type.

PUTTASWAMY B S Assistant Professor, Dept. of CS&BS

 Internet of Things (P22ETC1055)

Importance of Processing in IoT:

➢ Processing in IoT refers to the methods and technologies used to handle, analyze,
and derive insights from the vast amount of data generated by IoT devices.
➢ This involves collecting raw data from sensors or devices, performing
computations (locally or remotely), and using the results for decision-
making, automation, or further analysis.
➢ The vast amount and types of data flowing through the Internet require the need
for intelligent and resourceful processing techniques.
➢ It is important to decide when to process and what to process?
➢ The data to be processed is categorized into three types based on the urgency of
processing:
1. Very time critical
2. Time critical
3. Normal
Example:
➢ Very time critical: Flight control data, healthcare etc. : Few milliseconds to make decision

PUTTASWAMY B S Assistant Professor, Dept. of CS&BS

 Internet of Things (P22ETC1055)
➢ Time critical: vehicle, traffic, home automation, surveillance: Few seconds
➢ Normal: Less data sensitive domains: Agriculture, environmental monitoring: Few
minutes to hours
Processing Requirements:
➢ The processing requirements of data from very time-critical sources are
exceptionally high. Here, the need for processing the data in place or almost
nearer to the source is crucial in achieving the deployment success of such
domains.
➢ Similarly, considering the requirements of processing from time-critical data
sources, the processing requirements allow for the transmission of data to be
processed to remote locations/processors such as clouds or through collaborative
processing.
➢ Finally, normal category of data sources typically have no particular time
requirements for processing urgently and are pursued leisurely as such.
Processing Topologies:
Topology: The physical and logical arrangement of devices
and connections in a computer network.
Processing topologies in IoT:
Describe how data flows and is processed within an
IoT network.
➢ These topologies define the structure, organization, and relationship between
devices, gateways, edge processors, and cloud systems to ensure efficient data
handling.
➢ The identification and intelligent selection of processing requirement of an
IoT application are one of the crucial steps in deciding the architecture of the
deployment.

PUTTASWAMY B S Assistant Professor, Dept. of CS&BS

 Internet of Things (P22ETC1055)
➢ A well-designed IoT architecture would provide the appropriate and
permitted processing latencies for the architecture's related solutions, save a
substantial amount of energy overall, and lead to enormous savings in
network bandwidth.
We can divide the various processing solutions into two large topologies:
1) On-site processing topologies
2) Off-site processing topologies
The off-site processing topology can be further divided into the following:
1) Remote processing
2) Collaborative processing.
On-site processing:
➢ On-site processing in IoT refers to processing data locally at or near the source,
without depend on cloud servers or remote data centers.
➢ This is typically achieved using edge computing, where IoT devices, gateways, or
localized servers perform computations.
➢ It is often used in scenarios where low latency (delay between a user's action and the
response they receive from a network or web application.) data privacy, or offline
functionality is critical.
How On-Site Processing Works in IoT

o Data Collection: Sensors and IoT devices capture raw data (e.g., temperature,
motion, video feeds).

PUTTASWAMY B S Assistant Professor, Dept. of CS&BS

 Internet of Things (P22ETC1055)
o Local Processing: Data is processed on the device itself, on a nearby gateway, or on a
local server.
o Operations include filtering, aggregation, or applying machine learning models.
o Decision Making: Based on processed data, actions are taken locally (e.g., triggering
alarms, controlling machinery).
o Optional Data Transmission: Only relevant data or results are sent to the cloud for
further analysis or storage.
o In some cases, data might not be transmitted at all, maintaining complete on-site
control.
Benefits of On-Site Processing
o Low Latency: Critical for real-time applications like autonomous vehicles or industrial
automation.
o Reduced Bandwidth Usage: Local processing reduces the need to transmit large
volumes of raw data to the cloud.
o Improved Data Privacy: Sensitive data remains on-site, minimizing risks of exposure
during transmission.
o Offline Functionality: Enables operations in areas with poor or no internet
connectivity.
o Cost Efficiency: Avoids recurring cloud service costs for data transmission and
processing.
Off-site processing:
➢ Off-site processing in IoT refers to the processing of data at remote locations,
typically in centralized data centers or cloud platforms, rather than at the data
source or near the edge.
➢ This approach involves transmitting data collected by IoT devices to these off-
site locations for storage, analysis, and decision-making.

PUTTASWAMY B S Assistant Professor, Dept. of CS&BS

 Internet of Things (P22ETC1055)
How Off-Site Processing Works in IoT
o Data Collection: Sensors and IoT devices generate raw data.
o Data Transmission: Data is sent to the off-site facility (e.g., cloud servers) using
network protocols.
o Remote Processing: Data is analyzed and processed using advanced tools like machine
learning, data analytics platforms, or other computational frameworks.
o Insights and Actions: Results are sent back to IoT devices for actions or stored for
future use.
o Example: Notifications to a mobile app based on processed data.
Benefits of Off-Site Processing
o Scalability: Cloud platforms can handle vast amounts of data and scale as IoT networks
grow.
o High Processing Power: Centralized servers and cloud platforms provide superior
computational resources for complex tasks.
o Cost Efficiency for Small Deployments: Avoids the need for investing in high-
performance hardware at the edge.
o Access to Advanced Analytics: Enables the use of sophisticated machine learning
models and large-scale data aggregation.
o Centralized Data Storage: Allows for efficient data management and accessibility from
multiple locations.
There are two ways of offsite processing. They are,
➢ Remote processing
➢ Collaborative Processing
Remote processing:
Remote processing in IoT is the process of analyzing (processing) data collected by IoT
devices at a remote location such as a cloud server or centralized data center using internet-connected
devices. Then, this data can be used to monitor, manage, and control IoT devices from a distance.

PUTTASWAMY B S Assistant Professor, Dept. of CS&BS

 Internet of Things (P22ETC1055)

➢ Data Collection: Sensors on IoT devices collect data (e.g., temperature, humidity, location).
➢ Data Transmission: Data is transmitted to a remote server via the communication layer (internet).
➢ Data Processing: The server processes the data, applies algorithms, and generates actionable insights.
➢ Decision and Feedback: Insights or decisions are sent back to IoT devices or users for action.
Advantages of Remote Processing:
o Enhanced Computing Power: Offloads computationally intensive tasks from resource-constrained
IoT devices to powerful servers.
o Centralized Data Analysis: Facilitates large-scale analytics and machine learning model training.
o Cost-Effective: Reduces the need for high-end hardware on individual IoT devices.
o Scalability: Easily scale up by adding more processing nodes to handle additional devices or data
streams.
o Improved Maintenance: Centralized software updates and security patches are easier to manage.
Collaborative processing:
Collaborative processing in IoT refers to the concept of distributing
computational tasks across multiple systems in the IoT ecosystem to achieve efficient, scalable, and reliable
data processing. Instead of depend on on centralized servers or single-device computation, collaborative
processing influences the collective capabilities of IoT devices, edge nodes, gateways, fog computing layers,
and cloud servers.
In simple words, collaborative processing in the IoT involves devices working together to improve lives and
organizational efficiency.
How Collaborative Processing Works
o Task Distribution: Tasks are divided into smaller units and assigned to different processing nodes based
on available resources.
o Data Aggregation: IoT devices collect raw data, which is partially processed locally or sent to nearby
nodes for further processing.

PUTTASWAMY B S Assistant Professor, Dept. of CS&BS

 Internet of Things (P22ETC1055)
o Communication: Devices use communication protocols to exchange data and processing results.
o Feedback and Insights: Processed information is shared among devices or sent back to users, enabling
coordinated actions.

Benefits of Collaborative Processing:

o Reduced Latency: By processing data closer to the source, collaborative systems ensure faster
responses, especially for real-time applications.
o Bandwidth Optimization: Reduces the volume of raw data transmitted to the cloud by preprocessing
data at the edge or fog layers.
o Energy Efficiency: Distributing tasks reduces the energy burden on individual devices, improving
battery life.
o Fault Tolerance: If one node fails, other nodes can take over its tasks, ensuring system reliability.
o Enhanced Privacy: Sensitive data can be processed locally without being transmitted to the cloud,
reducing the risk of breaches.
o Scalability: The system can handle a growing number of devices and data streams without overloading
any single node.

PUTTASWAMY B S Assistant Professor, Dept. of CS&BS