INTERNET OF

THINGS

- Department of Software
Engineering
- Dr. Bushra Bashir Chaoudhry
(S10)
IoT ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES
Fixed & Short Range
1. IEEE 802.15.4
2. IEEE 802.15.4g & IEEE 802.15.4e
3. IEEE 1901.2a
4. IEEE 802.11ah

Long Range technologies

Non 3GPP Standards (LPWAN)
5. LoRaWAN
3GPP Standards
6. NB-IoT
IOT ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES
1. IEEE 802.15.4
IEEE 802.15.4 is a wireless access technology for low-cost
and low-data-rate devices, powered or run on batteries.
IEEE 802.15.4, enables easy installation using a compact
protocol stack while remaining both simple and flexible.
IEEE 802.15.4 is commonly found in the following types of
deployments:
i. Home and building automation
ii. Automotive networks
iii. Industrial wireless sensor networks
iv. Interactive toys and remote controls
1. IEEE 802.15.4

Table 4.2: Protocol stack utilizing 802.15.11

1. IEEE 802.15.4

Table 4.2: Protocol stack utilizing 802.15.11

1. IEEE 802.15.4 (PHY LAYER)
The original IEEE 802.15.4-2003 standard specified only three
PHY options based on direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS)
modulation.
DSSS is a modulation technique in which a signal is intentionally
spread in the frequency domain, resulting in greater bandwidth.
The original physical layer transmission options were as follows:
2.4 GHz*, 16 channels, with a data rate of 250 kbps
915 MHz, 10 channels, with a data rate of 40 kbps
868 MHz, 1 channel, with a data rate of 20 kb

Note: Only 2.4 GHz operates worldwide.

1. IEEE 804.15.4
Figure 4-5 shows the frame for the 802.15.4 physical layer.
The synchronization header for this frame is composed of the
Preamble and the Start of Frame Delimiter fields.
 The Preamble field is a 32-bit, 4-byte pattern that identifies the start of the frame and is used to
synchronize the data transmission.
 The Start of Frame Delimiter field informs the receiver that frame contents start immediately after this
byte.

 The PHY Header portion of the PHY frame is simply a frame

length value. It lets the receiver know how much total data to
expect in the PHY service data unit (PSDU) portion of the
802.4.15 PHY.
 The PSDU is the data field or payload.
1. IEEE 804.15.4 (MAC LAYER)
The IEEE 802.15.4 MAC layer manages access to the PHY
channel by defining how devices in the same area will share the
frequencies allocated.
At this layer, the scheduling and routing of data frames are also
coordinated.
The 802.15.4 MAC layer performs the following tasks:
Network beaconing for devices acting as coordinators (New devices
use beacons to join an 802.15.4 network)
PAN association and disassociation by a device
Device security
Reliable link communications between two peer MAC entities
1. IEEE 804.15.4

 The MAC Header field is composed of the Frame Control, Sequence Number and the Addressing fields.
1. Frame Control field defines attributes such as frame type, addressing modes, and other control flags.
2. The Sequence Number field indicates the sequence identifier for the frame.
3. The Addressing field specifies the Source and Destination PAN Identifier fields as well as the Source
and Destination Address fields.
 The MAC Payload field varies by individual frame type.
1. IEEE 802.15.4 (TOPOLOGY)
IEEE 802.15.4–based networks can be built as star, peer-to-peer,
or mesh topologies.
Mesh networks tie together many nodes.
This allows nodes that would be out of range if trying to
communicate directly to leverage intermediary nodes to transfer
communications.
ZIGBEE
Based on IEEE 804.15.4.
operates on 2.4GHz wireless communication spectrum.
range up to 100 meters.
It also has a slightly lower data rate 250kbps.
ZigBee is a mesh network protocol. Much depends on the position of the
device in the mesh and whether they need to act as routers or controllers
within the mesh.
 used for home automation and smart energy applications.
ZigBee specifies the network and security layer and application support layer
that sit on top of the lower layers.
The ZigBee network and security layer provides mechanisms for network
startup, configuration, routing, and securing communications. i.e.,
calculating routing paths
changing topology,
discovering neighbors,
and managing the routing tables as devices join for the first time.
ZIGBEE
The traditional ZigBee stack is illustrated in Figure 4.3.
As mentioned previously, ZigBee utilizes the IEEE80
2.15.4 standard at the lower PHY and MAC layers.
2. IEEE 802.15.4e AND
802.15.4g
Amendments to IEEE 802.15.4: 802.15.4e-2012 and 802.15.4g-2012,
both of which are especially relevant to the subject of IoT.
 IEEE 802.15.4e
The IEEE 802.15.4e amendment expands the MAC layer feature set to
remedy the disadvantages associated with 802.15.4, including MAC
reliability, unbounded latency, and multipath fading.

In addition to making general enhancements to the MAC layer, IEEE

802.15.4e also made improvements in factory and process automation and
smart grid domains.

IEEE 802.15.4e-2012 enhanced the IEEE 802.15.4 MAC layer capabilities

in the areas of frame format, security, determinism mechanism, and
frequency hopping.
2. IEEE 802.15.4e AND
802.15.4g
IEEE 802.15.4g
The focus of this specification is the smart grid or, more specifically,
smart utility network communication.
802.15.4g seeks to optimize large outdoor wireless mesh networks for
field area networks (FANs).
New PHY definitions are introduced, as well as some MAC
modifications needed to support their implementation.
This technology applies to IoT use cases such as the following:
• Distribution automation and industrial supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) environments
for remote monitoring and control
• Public lighting
• Environmental wireless sensors in smart cities
• Electrical vehicle charging stations
• Smart parking meters
• Microgrids
• Renewable energy
2. IEEE 802.15.4e AND 802.15.4g
In IEEE 802.15.4g-2012,
 the original IEEE 802.15.4 maximum PSDU or payload size of 127
bytes was increased for the SUN PHY to 2047 bytes. For example, the
default IPv6 MTU setting is 1280 bytes. Fragmentation is no longer
necessary at Layer 2 when IPv6 packets are transmitted over IEEE
802.15.4g MAC frames.
 Also, the error protection was improved in IEEE 802.15.4g by
evolving the CRC from 16 to 32 bits.
 The SUN PHY, as described in IEEE 802.15.4g-2012, supports
multiple data rates in bands ranging from 169 MHz to 2.4 GHz.
These bands are covered in the unlicensed ISM (Industry,
Science, Medical) frequency spectrum specified by various
countries and regions.
2. IEEE 802.15.4e AND
802.15.4g
2. IEEE 802.15.4e AND 802.15.4g
(TOPOLOGY)
Deployments of IEEE 802.15.4g-2012 are mostly
based on a mesh topology. This is because a mesh
topology is typically the best choice for the
industrial and smart cities areas.
 A mesh topology allows deployments to be done in
urban or rural areas, expanding the distance
between nodes that can relay the traffic of other
nodes.
3. IEEE 1901.2a
While most of the constrained network technologies relate to wireless, IEEE
1901.2a-2013 is a wired technology that is an update to the original IEEE
1901.2 specification.
This is a standard for Narrowband Power Line Communication (NB-PLC). NB-
PLC leverages a narrowband spectrum for low power, long range, and
resistance to interference over the same wires that carry electric power.
NB-PLC is often found in use cases such as the following:
• Smart metering: NB-PLC can be used to automate the reading of utility meters, such as
electric, gas, and water meters.
• Distribution automation: NB-PLC can be used for distribution automation, which
involves monitoring and controlling all the devices in the power grid.
• Public lighting: A common use for NB-PLC is with public lighting—the lights found in
cities and along streets, highways, and public areas such as parks.
• Electric vehicle charging stations: NB-PLC can be used for electric vehicle charging
stations, where the batteries of electric vehicles can be recharged.
• Microgrids: NB-PLC can be used for microgrids, local energy grids that can disconnect
from the traditional grid and operate independently.
• Renewable energy: NB-PLC can be used in renewable energy applications, such as
solar, wind power, hydroelectric, and geothermal heat.
3. IEEE 1901.2a

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 For CENELEC A band, the data rate ranges from 4.5 kbps in
ROBO (robust modulation) mode to 46 kbps with D8PSK
modulation.
 For the FCC-above-CENELEC frequencies, throughput varies from
21 kbps in ROBO mode to a maximum of 234 kbps using D8PSK.
3. IEEE 1901.2a (MAC LAYER)

As shown in Figure 4-12, IEEE 1901.2 has a Segment Control field.

This is a new field that was not present in the MAC frame for 802.15.4
and 802.15.4e. This field handles the segmentation or fragmentation of
upper-layer packets with sizes larger than what can be carried in the
MAC protocol data unit (MPDU).
3. IEEE 1901.2a (Topology)
NB-PLC deployments use some sort of mesh topology. Mesh
networks offer the advantage of devices relaying the traffic of
other devices so longer distances can be segmented.
Figure 4-13 highlights a network scenario in which a PLC mesh
network is applied to a neighborhood.
4. IEEE 802.11ah
IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) is a key IoT wireless access technology, for connecting
• endpoints such as fog computing nodes,
• high-data-rate sensors,
• audio or video analytics devices
• For deploying Wi-Fi backhaul infrastructures (such as outdoor Wi-Fi mesh in smart
cities, oil and mining, or other environments).

Wi-Fi (works in 2.4 and 5 GHz bands) lacks sub-GHz support for better signal
penetration, low power for battery-powered nodes, and the ability to support a
large number of devices.
The IEEE 802.11 working group launched a task group named IEEE 802.11ah
to specify a sub-GHz version of Wi-Fi.
Three main use cases are identified for IEEE 802.11ah:
 Sensors and meters covering a smart grid: Meter to pole, environmental/agricultural
monitoring, industrial process sensors, indoor healthcare system and fitness sensors, home
and building automation sensors.
 Backhaul aggregation of industrial sensors and meter data: Potentially connecting
IEEE 802.15.4g subnetworks.
 Extended range Wi-Fi: For outdoor extended-range hotspot or cellular traffic offloading
when distances already covered by IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac are not good enough.
4. IEEE 802.11ah (PHYSICAL LAYER)

IEEE 802.11ah essentially provides an additional

802.11 physical layer operating in unlicensed sub-
GHz bands.
For example, various countries and regions use the
following bands for IEEE 802.11ah:
868–868.6 MHz for EMEAR (EU, Middle-East, Africa, Russia)
902–928 MHz and associated subsets for North America and Asia-Pacific
regions
314–316 MHz, 430–434 MHz, 470–510 MHz, and 779–787 MHz for China.

Based on OFDM modulation, IEEE 802.11ah uses

channels of 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 MHz.
4. IEEE 802.11ah (MAC LAYER)
The IEEE 802.11ah MAC layer is optimized to support the new sub-GHz Wi-Fi PHY
while providing low power consumption and the ability to support a larger number of
endpoints.
Enhanced features specified by IEEE 802.11ah for the MAC layer include the following:

• Number of devices: Has been scaled up to 8192 per access point.

• MAC header: Has been shortened to allow more efficient communication.
• Null data packet (NDP) support: Is extended to cover several control and management frames.
• Grouping and sectorization: Enables an AP to use sector antennas and also group stations. In
combination with RAW and TWT, this mechanism reduces contention in large cells with many clients
by restricting which group, in which sector, can contend during which time window.
• Restricted access window (RAW): Is a control algorithm that avoids simultaneous transmissions
when many devices are present and provides fair access to the wireless network.
• Target wake time (TWT): Reduces energy consumption by permitting an access point to define
times when a device can access the network. This allows devices to enter a low-power state until
their TWT time arrives.

P. S: You can see from this feature list that the 802.11ah MAC layer is focused on power
consumption and mechanisms to allow low-power Wi-Fi stations to wake up less often
and operate more efficiently. This sort of MAC layer is ideal for IoT devices that often
produce short, low-bit-rate transmissions.
4. IEEE 802.11ah (TOPOLOGY)

Fig: IEEE 802.11ah Sectorization

While IEEE 802.11ah is deployed as a star topology, it includes a simple
hops relay operation to extend its range. This relay option is not capped,
but the IEEE 802.11ah task group worked on the assumption of two hops.
It allows one 802.11ah device to act as an intermediary and relay data to
another. In some ways, this is similar to a mesh, and it is important to note
that the clients and not the access point handle the relay function.
REFERENCES
- IoT Fundamentals, Networking Technologies, Protocols, and Use Cases
for the Internet of things by David Hanes, Gonzalo Salgueiro
- Inter of Things Hype to Reality by Ammar Rayes, Samer Salam