Chapter 1

Introduction to IoT
 Outline

• IoT definition
• Characteristics of IoT
• Physical Design of IoT
• Logical Design of IoT
• IoT Protocols
• IoT Levels & Deployment Templates

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 Definition of IoT

A dynamic global network infrastructure with self-configuring

capabilities based on standard and interoperable communication
protocols where physical and virtual "things" have identities, physical
attributes, and virtual personalities and use intelligent interfaces, and
are seamlessly integrated into the information network, often
communicate data associated with users and their environments.

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 Characteristics of IoT

• Dynamic & Self-Adapting

• Self-Configuring
• Interoperable Communication Protocols
• Unique Identity
• Integrated into Information Network

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 Physical Design of IoT

• The "Things" in IoT usually refers to IoT devices which have unique
identities and can perform remote sensing, actuating and
monitoring capabilities.
• IoT devices can:
• Exchange data with other connected devices and applications (directly or
indirectly), or
• Collect data from other devices and process the data locally or
• Send the data to centralized servers or cloud-based application back-ends for
processing the data, or
• Perform some tasks locally and other tasks within the IoT infrastructure,
based on temporal and space constraints

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 Generic block diagram of an IoT Device

• An IoT device may consist of

several interfaces for
connections to other devices,
both wired and wireless.
• I/O interfaces for sensors
• Interfaces for Internet
connectivity
• Memory and storage
interfaces
• Audio/video
interfaces.

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 IoT Protocols
• Link Layer
• 802.3 – Ethernet
• 802.11 – WiFi
• 802.16 – WiMax
• 802.15.4 – LR-WPAN
• 2G/3G/4G
• Network/Internet Layer
• IPv4
• IPv6
• 6LoWPAN
• Transport Layer
• TCP
• UDP
• Application Layer
• HTTP
• CoAP
• WebSocket
• MQTT: Message Queue Telemetry Transport
• XMPP
• DDS
• AMQP
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 Logical Design of IoT

• Logical design of an IoT system

refers to an abstract
representation of the entities
and processes without going
into the low-level specifics of
the implementation.

• An IoT system comprises of a

number of functional
blocks that provide the
system the capabilities
for identification,
sensing, actuation,
communication, and
management.

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 Request-Response communication model

• Request-Response is a
communication model in which
the client sends requests to
the server and the server
responds to the requests.

• When the server receives a

request, it decides how to
respond, fetches the data,
retrieves resource
representations, prepares
the response,
and then sends the
response to the client.

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 Publish-Subscribe communication model

• Publish-Subscribe is a
communication model that
involves publishers, brokers and
consumers.
• Publishers are the source of data.
Publishers send the data to the
topics which are managed by the
broker. Publishers are not aware
of the consumers.
• Consumers subscribe to the topics
which are managed by the broker.
• When the broker receives data for
a topic from the publisher, it
sends the data to all the
subscribed consumers.

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 Push-Pull communication model

• Push-Pull is a communication
model in which the data
producers push the data to
queues and the consumers pull
the data from the queues.
Producers do not need to be
aware of the consumers.
• Queues help in decoupling the
messaging between the producers
and consumers.
• Queues also act as a buffer which
helps in situations when there is a
mismatch between the rate at
which the producers push data
and the rate rate at which the
consumers pull data.

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 Exclusive Pair communication model

• Exclusive Pair is a
bidirectional, fully duplex
communication model that
uses a persistent connection
between the client and
server.
• Once the connection is setup
it remains open until the
client sends a request to
close the connection.
• Client and server can send
messages to each other after
connection setup.

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 REST-based Communication APIs

• Representational State Transfer

(REST) is a set of architectural
principles by which you can design
web services and web APIs that
focus on a system’s resources and
how resource states are
addressed and transferred.
• REST APIs follow the request-
response communication model.
• The REST architectural constraints
apply to the components,
connectors, and data elements,
within a distributed hypermedia
system.

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 WebSocket-based Communication APIs

• WebSocket APIs allow bi-

directional, full duplex
communication between
clients and servers.
• WebSocket APIs follow the
exclusive pair
communication model

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 Exclusive Pair communication model

• Exclusive Pair is a
bidirectional, fully duplex
communication model that
uses a persistent connection
between the client and
server.
• Once the connection is setup
it remains open until the
client sends a request to
close the connection.
• Client and server can send
messages to each other after
connection setup.

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 IoT Levels & Deployment Templates

An IoT system comprises of the following components:

• Device: An IoT device allows identification, remote sensing, actuating and
remote monitoring capabilities. You learned about various examples of IoT
devices in section
• Resource: Resources are software components on the IoT device for
accessing, processing, and storing sensor information, or controlling
actuators connected to the device. Resources also include the
software components that enable network access for the device.
• Controller Service: Controller service is a native service that runs on
the device and interacts with the web services. Controller service sends
data from the device to the web service and receives commands from
the application (via web services) for controlling the device.

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 IoT Levels & Deployment Templates

• Database: Database can be either local or in the cloud and stores the data
generated by the IoT device.
• Web Service: Web services serve as a link between the IoT device,
application, database and analysis components. Web service can be
either implemented using HTTP and REST principles (REST service) or using
WebSocket protocol (WebSocket service).
• Analysis Component: The Analysis Component is responsible for analyzing
the IoT data and generate results in a form which are easy for the user to
understand.
• Application: IoT applications provide an interface that the users can use to
control and monitor various aspects of the IoT system. Applications also
allow users to view the system status and view the processed data.

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 IoT Level-1

• A level-1 IoT system has a

single node/device that
performs sensing and/or
actuation, stores data,
performs analysis and hosts
the application
• Level-1 IoT systems are
suitable for modeling low-
cost and low-complexity
solutions where the data
involved is not big and the
analysis requirements are
not computationally
intensive.

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 IoT Level-2

• A level-2 IoT system has a

single node that performs
sensing and/or actuation
and local analysis.
• Data is stored in the cloud and
application is usually cloud-
based.
• Level-2 IoT systems are
suitable for solutions where
the data involved is big,
however, the primary analysis
requirement is not
computationally intensive and
can be done locally itself.

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 IoT Level-3

• A level-3 IoT system has a

single node. Data is
stored and
analyzed in the cloud
and application is cloud-
based.
• Level-3 IoT systems are
suitable for solutions
where the data involved is
big and the analysis
requirements are
computationally intensive.

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 IoT Level-4

• A level-4 IoT system has multiple

nodes that perform local analysis.
Data is stored in the cloud and
application is cloud-based.
• Level-4 contains local and cloud-
based observer nodes which can
subscribe to and receive
information collected in the cloud
from IoT devices.
• Level-4 IoT systems are suitable
for solutions where multiple
nodes are required, the data
involved is big and the analysis
requirements are computationally
intensive.

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 IoT Level-5

• A level-5 IoT system has multiple end

nodes and one coordinator node.
• The end nodes that perform sensing
and/or actuation.
• Coordinator node collects data from
the end nodes and sends to the cloud.
• Data is stored and analyzed in the
cloud and application is cloud-based.
• Level-5 IoT systems are suitable for
solutions based on wireless sensor
networks, in which the data involved
is big and the analysis requirements
are computationally intensive.

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 IoT Level-6

• A level-6 IoT system has multiple

independent end nodes that
perform sensing and/or actuation
and send data to the cloud.
• Data is stored in the cloud and
application is cloud-based.
• The analytics component analyzes
the data and stores the results in
the cloud database.
• The results are visualized with the
cloud-based application.
• The centralized controller is aware
of the status of all the end nodes
and sends control commands to
the nodes.

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Comparing WSN and IoT
Both Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and the
Internet of Things (IoT) involve connecting devices to
collect and exchange data, but they differ in scope,
architecture, and application.
Wireless Sensor Network (WSN):
Definition: A WSN is a network of spatially
distributed sensor nodes that autonomously monitor
physical or environmental conditions (such as
temperature, humidity, or pressure) and
cooperatively transmit the collected data to a central
location or base station.
Scope: Primarily focused on sensing and monitoring
in a defined area. WSNs are typically designed for
specific applications like environmental monitoring,
industrial process control, or disaster detection.
Internet of Things (IoT)

• Definition: IoT refers to the broader

concept of interconnecting a wide array
of physical devices—from simple sensors
and actuators to complex machines—
with internet connectivity, enabling them
to collect, exchange, and act on data.
• Scope: Encompasses a vast range of
devices and applications, including smart
homes, healthcare, smart cities,
industrial automation (IIoT), connected
vehicles, and much more. It’s not limited
to sensing but also includes control,
analytics, and integration with cloud
services.
 IoT vs WSN: Communication and Connectivity
WSN: •IoT:
•Communication Protocols: Typically relies on low- • Communication Protocols: Uses a diverse set of
power, short-range wireless communication protocols depending on the application,
protocols such as Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy including Wi-Fi, cellular (3G/4G/5G), LoRaWAN,
(BLE), or proprietary protocols optimized for sensor NB-IoT, and even Ethernet. The choice of
networks. protocol often balances range, data rate, and
•Network Topology: Often employs multi-hop power consumption.
• Network Topology: Can involve both local (e.g.,
routing where data is passed from one sensor node
within a home or building) and wide-area
to another until it reaches a central base station. networks, often with direct internet connectivity.
•Connectivity: Generally designed for localized, IoT systems may use edge devices to preprocess
sometimes ad hoc networks where nodes data before sending it to cloud servers.
communicate directly or indirectly over a limited • Connectivity: Focused on ubiquitous
geographical area. connectivity, allowing devices to communicate
over the internet, regardless of their physical
location.
 Power Constraints and Resource
Management
WSN: IoT:
• Energy Efficiency: Sensor nodes in • Diverse Power Sources: IoT devices vary
WSNs are usually battery-powered and widely—from battery-operated sensors
placed in environments where (similar to WSN nodes) to devices
connected to mains power. This diversity
replacing batteries is challenging. allows for more powerful processing and
Hence, energy efficiency is a critical continuous operation in many cases.
design parameter. • Computational Resources: While many IoT
• Computational Resources: Nodes devices are still resource-constrained, the
typically have limited processing ecosystem also includes gateways, edge
servers, and cloud services that can handle
power and memory, which restricts more intensive processing and data
the complexity of local data analytics.
processing.
 Data Processing and Analysis
WSN: IoT:
• Local Processing: Data processing is • Edge and Cloud Computing: IoT
often done locally or at a base architectures commonly use edge
station due to limited node computing to process data near the
capabilities. The focus is on source and cloud computing for
efficiently transmitting raw or extensive data analysis, storage, and
lightly processed data. advanced analytics.
• Centralized Analysis: A base station • Complex Analytics: IoT systems often
or a nearby computer typically integrate with big data platforms and
performs the bulk of the data machine learning algorithms to
aggregation and analysis. derive insights, automate decisions,
and even predict future trends.
 Applications
WSN Applications: IoT Applications:
• Environmental monitoring (e.g., • Smart homes (e.g., connected
tracking forest fires, monitoring air appliances, security systems)
quality) • Healthcare (e.g., wearable health
• Industrial monitoring (e.g., monitors, remote patient monitoring)
machinery condition monitoring) • Smart cities (e.g., traffic management,
• Agriculture (e.g., soil moisture and public safety, energy management)
temperature monitoring) • Industrial IoT (IIoT) for manufacturing,
• Disaster management (e.g., logistics, and supply chain management
earthquake or flood detection) • Connected vehicles and transportation
systems
• And many more
 Interrelationship
Subset Relationship: Integration:
In many cases, WSNs serve as a IoT systems often integrate data from
foundational technology within the various sources—including WSNs—to
broader IoT ecosystem. A WSN can be provide a comprehensive view of the
viewed as a specialized type of IoT environment, enable smart decision-
network focused primarily on sensing making, and facilitate automation
and monitoring in a localized area. across different sectors.