UNIT-1

SUB CODE: KOT 601

SUB NAME: IoT ARCHITECTURE AND PROTOCOLS
SYLLABUS
• IoT-An Architectural Overview: 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
What is Internet of Things?
• The idea of connecting any gadget to the Internet and other linked
devices.

• The Internet of Things (IoT) is a vast network of interconnected

devices and people, all of which gather and exchange information
about their environments and how they are used.
How does it function?
• Gadgets and objects having built-in sensors are connected to an IoT
platform that combines data from many devices and applies analytics
to share the most useful information with applications created to
answer particular needs.
• These robust IoT solutions can precisely identify which information is
helpful. This data can be used to identify trends, generate
recommendations, and identify potential issues before they arise.
Building an architecture
• The IoT system's fundamental building parts include sensors,
processors, gateways, and applications. To create a useful IoT
system, each of these nodes must have unique properties.
Basic building blocks of the IoT
• Sensors
• They make up the IoT devices' front end. These are the system's
"Things." Their primary function is to gather data from their
environment (sensors) or to disseminate data to their environment
(actuators).

• To be easily recognized across a wide network, these must be

uniquely recognizable devices having a unique IP address.
• Sensors
• They must be active, which means they must be able to gather data in
real time. Depending on the user's demands, these can either
function independently (autonomous in nature) or be modified to
function independently (user-controlled).

• Gas sensors, water quality sensors, moisture sensors, and other types
of sensors are examples.
• Processors
• The IoT system's brain is its processor. Their primary duty is to process
the information obtained by the sensors and separate the useful
information from the vast amounts of raw information gathered. In a
single sentence, we may claim that it offers the data intelligence.
• Most processors operate in real-time and are simple for programs to
regulate. They are also in charge of encrypting and decrypting data in
order to secure the data.
• Because they have processors attached to them, embedded hardware
devices, microcontrollers, etc., are the ones that process the data.
• Gateways
• Gateways are in charge of sending the processed data to the
appropriate areas for proper utilization.
• In other words, we can say that a gateway facilitates the
communication of data between two points. It gives the data network
connectivity. Any IoT system must have network connectivity in order
to interact.
• Network gateways include LAN, WAN, PAN, etc.
• Applications

• Another component of an IoT system is applications. Apps are

necessary for the effective use of all obtained data.
• These cloud-based applications are in charge of giving the obtained
data an effective meaning. Users control applications, which are used
to deliver certain services.
• Applications include things like security systems, industrial control
hubs, and apps for home automation.
Main design principles and needed capabilities
• Designing IoT solutions presents whole new design difficulties for designers.

• IoT solutions are made up of several components, including physical devices like
sensors, actuators, and interactive devices, the network that connects them, the
data collected from these devices and analyzed to produce a meaningful
experience, and last but not least, the actual physical environment in which the
user interacts with the solution.

• A variety of design tasks, including service and business design as well as

industrial product design are required. The whole user experience (UX) of the IoT
system is influenced by all of these aspects, and designing in this environment is a
challenging task. Following points represents the design principles and
considerations of IoT.
1. Focus on value
• User research and service design are more important.

• User demands must be studied to identify where a problem actually

merits solving and what the solution's true end user value is if you
want your IoT solution to be broadly embraced.

• Also, you need to be aware of any potential obstacles to the adoption

of your particular solution as well as new technology in general.

• You also need to conduct study to choose your feature set. You must
carefully consider which features to include and in what order.
2. Take a holistic view
• IoT solutions frequently include both physical and digital touchpoints,
as well as a variety of devices with various capabilities.

• It is not sufficient to effectively design just one of the touchpoints;

rather, you must consider the entire system, the function of each
device and service, and the conceptual model of how the user
understands and perceives the system.
3. Put safety first
• IoT solutions are used in the real world, so when something goes wrong, the repercussions
could be severe.

• Understanding potential mistake scenarios connected to the use environment, hardware,

software, and network, as well as user interactions, is the first step in trying to prevent
them. The user must be properly informed about mistake circumstances and assisted in
recovering if they continue to occur.

• Second, it involves making data security and privacy important design components. Users
must have the confidence that their personal information is secure, that their homes, places
of employment, and ordinary items cannot be compromised, and that their loved ones are
not in danger.

• Thirdly, quality assurance is essential, and it should concentrate on evaluating the entire
system in a real-world setting rather than just the SW
4. Consider the text
• Digital interface commands may have real-world consequences, but unlike
digital commands, real-world consequences often cannot be reversed.
Many unanticipated events can occur in the real world, but users still need
to feel secure and in control.

• Depending on the physical environment, the objective can be to reduce

user distraction or, for example, to design equipment that can withstand
changing weather conditions.

• IoT solutions are often multi-user systems in homes, offices, and public
spaces, making them less personal than, say, screen-based solutions used
in smartphones. This also considers the social context in which the solution
is utilized and its design needs.
5. Build a strong brand
• No matter how carefully you design things and try to establish trust,
something unexpected will happen at some point and your solution is
going to fail in some way because of the real-world environment of
IoT solutions.

• It is crucial in times like this that you have developed a powerful

brand that connects with them on an authentic level.

• Trust should be a crucial component of your brand and one of its

basic brand principles.
6. Prototype early and often
• Normally, HW and SW have lifespans that are somewhat dissimilar, but since a
successful IoT solution requires both HW and SW components, the lifespans
should be coordinated.

• IoT solutions are also difficult to upgrade because once a connected object is
installed, it is difficult to replace it with a newer model.

• Moreover, the connected object's software may be difficult to update for

security and privacy concerns.

• It's essential to get the solution right from the start of implementation due to
these factors and to prevent expensive hardware iterations. From a design
standpoint, this means that early project stages require quick prototyping and
iteration of both the HW and the entire solution. We need new, inventive
approaches to fake the solution and prototype it.
7. Use data responsibly
• IoT systems can potentially produce enormous amounts of data. The
goal is to discover the data points required to make the solution work
and be valuable, not to collect as much data as you can.
• The designer must comprehend the potential of data science and how
to interpret the data because the volume of data may be enormous.
• Data science offers several chances to lower user friction, i.e., to
consume less time, energy, and attention, or to experience less stress.
• Designing successful IoT services requires a thorough understanding
of the data that is available and how it can be used to benefit the
user.
An IoT architecture outline
• The complex arrangement of elements that make up IoT networking
systems, including sensors, actuators, cloud services, protocols, and
layers, is referred to as IoT architecture.
• It is typically separated into layers that let administrators assess, keep
an eye on, and uphold the integrity of the system. Data moves from
connected devices to sensors, through a network, to the cloud for
processing, analysis, and storage in a four-step process known as the
IoT architecture. The Internet of Things is poised to expand much
further with time, offering users fresh and enhanced experiences.
Different layers of IoT architecture
• Depending on the particular business job at hand, different
architectural layers and levels of complexity are used. The most
common and standard architecture is a four-layer one.
• There are four layers present i.e., the Perception Layer, Network
Layer, Processing Layer, and Application Layer.
• Perception/ Sensing layer

• Any IoT system's first layer is made up of "things" or endpoint devices

that act as a link between the real world and the digital one. The
physical layer, which contains sensors and actuators capable of
gathering, accepting, and processing data across a network, is
referred to as perception.
• Wireless or wired connections can be used to connect sensors and
actuators.
• Network layer
• An overview of the data flow throughout the program is given by the
network layers.
• Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) and Internet/Network gateways are
present in this layer. Data aggregation and conversion tasks are carried out
by a DAS (collecting and aggregating data from sensors, then converting
analogue data to digital data, etc.). Data gathered by the sensor devices
must be transmitted and processed. The network layer performs that
function. It enables connections and communication between these
gadgets and other servers, smart gadgets, and network gadgets. Also, it
manages each device's data transmission.
• Processing layer
• The IoT ecosystem's processing layer functions as its brain. Before
being transported to the data center, data is typically evaluated, pre
processed, and stored here. It is then retrieved by software
applications that handle the data and prepare future actions. This is
where edge analytics or edge IT comes into play.
• Application layer

• The application layer, which provides the user with application

specific services, is where user interaction occurs.
• Example: a smart home application where users may turn on a coffee
maker by touching a button in an app.
• The Internet of Things can be used in a variety of applications,
including smart homes, smart cities, and smart health.
Stages of IoT solutions architecture
• How can organizations take advantage of the IoT layers after learning about
them and how can they increase the value of IoT ?
• Although linked devices and protocols are referred to as part of IoT, the
data produced by these devices is actually siloed, fragmented, and isolated.
• As a result, these fragmented insights do not alone offer sufficient data to
support an IoT strategy that entails a large resource investment.
• Enterprises must leverage device and system synergies and allow devices to
freely interact in order to benefit from IoT. Make sure your infrastructure is
compatible with the IoT architecture. The various phases of IoT
architecture implementation in businesses are as follows:
Connected objects/devices
• The physical layer within the environment must be built as a first step
towards IoT architecture. The Internet of Things would not exist
without "smart" or linked objects. On the perception layer, these are
frequently wireless sensors or actuators. Sensors gather and process
environmental data to make it useful for additional research. The
change that the sensors register is measured by actuators. Wired or
wireless connections can be made between sensors and actuators to
accomplish sensing and actuation. Sensors and actuators can be
connected using Personal Area Networks (PANs) and Local Area
Networks (LANs).
Internet gateway
• After properly completing step one, the next task is to set up an internet
gateway. We need a way to convert analog data that is being collected by
the sensors and actuators into digital data so that we can process it. The
internet gateway is used to do this activity. Before being transferred to the
cloud, raw data from the devices will be received at the internet gateway
stage and pre-processed. Analog data can be transformed into digital data
using data acquisition systems. It establishes connections with the sensors
and actuators, collects all the data, and transforms it into digital form so
that the internet gateway may send it across the network. It is in charge of
conversion and data aggregation. To improve performance and
effectiveness, we can also add extra features like analytics and security.
Edge IT systems
• Pre-processing and improved data analytics are part of the third stage of an
IoT architecture. Edge IT systems are essential in easing the burden on the
main IT infrastructure due to the sizeable volume of data collected by IoT
systems and the ensuing bandwidth requirements. Machine learning and
visualization techniques are used by edge IT systems to derive insights from
gathered data. While visualization tools make the data more
comprehensible, machine learning algorithms offer insights into the data.
The system's speed, as well as the LAN or routers' bandwidth, would suffer
if data is sent directly to the server or data center. Analog data is produced
very quickly and takes up a lot of storage space. As a result, it is always
advised to convert data to digital format. Only the necessary data is
processed and communicated to data centers and servers because the
majority of the data acquired by sensors and actuators is not valuable to
the enterprise.
Data centers and cloud storage
• The data is delivered to the data centers and servers for final analysis
and reporting once it has been appropriately preprocessed,
examined, and any gaps have been filled. The management services
area includes data centers and cloud services, which often handle
data using analytics, device management, and security controls. Data
can also be transferred to end-user applications like healthcare, retail,
environment, emergency, energy, etc. thanks to the cloud.
Standards considerations
• Manufacturers who want to maintain their competitiveness in their
sector must connect their devices to the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT
capabilities expand the options available to users. Additionally, it
enables the manufacturer to maintain contact with their clientele
while they explore new product use cases and applications that
present them with opportunities for new revenue streams. There are
ten considerations to make while creating your first Internet of Things
device:
• Cost

• IoT or "smart" products benefit producers and customers equally,

although they are more expensive.
• Network

• The network technology you choose for your IoT product has
concerns with gateways and routers as well as distance. Ethernet/Wi
Fi is required if you need to connect to the Internet; ZigBee, Z-Wave,
and Bluetooth are available if you are self-contained in a room or
building.
• Features

• Businesses may now add features to their products that were either
impossible or unimaginable without an IoT-connected product. For
updates, maintenance, and new revenue opportunities, you can
obtain direct access to the consumer with the help of these
capabilities.
• User interface

• It matters how a user interacts with a product. On the product, are

you intending to use buttons, LEDs, or a display? What web and app
interfaces will you offer as well?
• Power

• The choice of a power source should be among the first. All design
choices must take power conservation into account if the item will be
battery-powered. Many networking technologies won't operate well
on batteries. Power selection is also influenced by communication
frequency.
• Size

• Size does matter. Think about how the size of the device will be
affected by the network. Certain networks' requirements for
connectors and antennae will increase the size.
• Antenna

• Whether inside or exterior to the product, an antenna is used by all

wireless networks. If the enclosure is plastic, the antenna is
increasingly being moved inside. External antennas would be
necessary for all metal enclosures.
• Cloud

• Products have a user interface to the product and the data thanks to
cloud applications. There are public clouds and private clouds. Most
clouds have a common API that you may use to create your
application.
• Interoperability

• Is communication between your product and those of other vendors

required? If so, you must use a common set of protocols, like Apple's
HomeKit, to interact with other devices.
• Security

• You must incorporate as many layers of security as you can because

security is starting to become a serious concern. The bare minimum is
SSL and a password.
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 full featured
OS.
M2M and IoT Technology Fundamentals
• 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 gateway) handle
functionality such as device management and advanced applications, while letting the
devices focus on sensing and actuating
Device types
• 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.
Gateways
• A gateway serves as a translator between different protocols, e.g. Between IEEE
802.15.4 or IEEE 802.11, to Ethernet or cellular.
• There are many different types of gateways, which can work on different levels in
the protocol layers. Most often a gateway refers to a device that performs
translation of the physical and link layer, but application layer gateways (ALGs) are
also common.

• The latter is preferably avoided because it adds complexity and is a common

source of error in deployments.
• Some examples of ALGs include the ZigBee Gateway Device (ZigBee Alliance
2011), which translates from ZigBee to SOAP and IP, or gateways that translate
from Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) to HyperText Transfer
Protocol/Representational State Transfer (HTTP/REST).
Gateways
• For some LAN technologies, such as 802.11 and Z-Wave, the gateway
is used for inclusion and exclusion of devices.
• This typically works by activating the gateway into inclusion or
exclusion mode and by pressing a button on the device to be added or
removed from the network.
• For very basic gateways, the hardware is typically focused on
simplicity and low cost, but frequently the gateway device is also used
for many other tasks, such as data management, device management,
and local applications.
• In these cases, more powerful hardware with GNU/Linux is commonly
used.
Local and wide area networking
• The need for networking
• A network is created when two or more computing devices exchange data
or information.
• In modern computing, nodes range from personal computers, servers, and
dedicated packet switching hardware, to smartphones, games consoles,
television sets and, increasingly, heterogeneous devices that are generally
characterized by limited resources and functionalities.
• Limitations typically include computation, energy, memory, communication
(range, bandwidth, reliability, etc.) and application specificity (e.g. specific
sensors, actuators, tasks), etc. Such devices are typically dedicated to specific
tasks, such as sensing, monitoring, and control
• Network links rely upon a physical medium, such as electrical wires, air,
and optical fibers, over which data can be sent from one network node to
the next.
• When direct communication between two nodes over a physical
medium is not possible, networking can allow for these devices to
communicate over a number of hops.
• Therefore, if node A wishes to transfer data to node C, it must do so
through node B
• Beyond the basic ability to transfer data, the speed and accuracy with which data
can be transferred is of critical importance to the application.
• A Local Area Network (LAN) was traditionally distinguishable from a Wide Area
Network (WAN) based on the geographic coverage requirements of the network,
and the need for third party, or leased communication infrastructure.
• In the case of the LAN, a smaller geographic region is covered, such as a
commercial building, an office block, or a home, and does not require any leased
communications infrastructure.
• WANs provide communication links that cover longer distances, such as across
metropolitan, regional, or by textbook definition, global geographic areas.
• In practice, WANs are often used to link LANs and Metropolitan Area Networks
(MAN)
• Quantitatively, LANs tended to cover distances of tens to hundreds of meters,
whereas WAN links spanned tens to hundreds of kilometers.
• The most popular wired LAN technology is Ethernet. Wi-Fi is the most prevalent
wireless LAN (WLAN) technology.
• The current generation of WWAN technology includes LTE (or 4G) and WiMAX.
• A more intuitive example of a similar device is the wireless access point
commonly found in homes and offices.
• In the home, the “wireless router” typically behaves as a link between the Wi-Fi
(WLAN, and thus connected laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc. commonly found
in the home) and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) broadband connectivity,
traditionally arriving over telephone lines.
• “DSL” refers to Internet access carried over legacy (wired) telephone networks,
and encompasses numerous standards and variants.
• “Broadband” indicates the ability to carry multiple signals over a number of
frequencies, with a typical minimum bandwidth of 256 kbps.
• In the office, the Wi-Fi wireless access points are typically connected
to the wired corporate (Ethernet) LAN, which is subsequently
connected to a wider area network and Internet backbone, typically
provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Wide area networking
• WANs are typically required to bridge the M2M Device Domain to the
backhaul network, thus providing a proxy that allows information (data,
commands, etc.) to traverse heterogeneous networks.
• Thus, the WAN is capable of providing the bi-directional communications
links between services and devices. This, however, must be achieved by
means of physical and logical proxy.
• The proxy is achieved using an M2M Gateway Device.
• As before, the M2M Gateway Device is typically an integrated microsystem
with multiple communications interfaces and computational capabilities.
• Transceivers (sometimes referred to as modems) are typically available as
hardware modules with which the central intelligence of the device
(gateway or cell phone) interacts by means of standardized (sometimes
vendor-specific) AT Commands.
• The Access and Core Network in the ETSI M2M Functional Architecture are
foreseen to be operated by a Mobile Network Operator (MNO), and can be
thought of simply as the “WAN” for the purposes of interconnecting
devices and backhaul networks (Internet), thus, M2M Applications, Service
Capabilities, Management Functions, and Network Management
Functions.
• The WAN covers larger geographic regions using wireless (licensed and un-
licensed spectra) as well as wire-based access.
• WAN technologies include cellular networks (using several generations of
technologies), DSL, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Satellite, and so forth.
• The WAN delivers a packet-based service using IP as default. However,
circuit-based services can also be used in certain situations.
• In the M2M context, important functions of the WAN include:
• The main function of the WAN is to establish connectivity between
capillary networks, hosting sensors, and actuators, and the M2M
service enablement. The default connectivity mode is packet-based
using the IP family of technologies.
• Many different types of messages can be sent and received. These
include messages originating as, for example, a message sent from a
sensor in an M2M Area Network and resulting in an SMS received
from the M2M Gateway or Application (e.g. by a relevant stakeholder
with SMS notifications configured for when sensor readings breach
particular sensing thresholds.).
• Use of identity management techniques (primarily of M2M devices)in cellular
and non-cellular domains to grant right-of-use of the WAN resource. The
following techniques are used for these purposes:
• MCIM (Machine Communications Identity Module) for remote provisioning
of SIM targeting M2M devices.
• xSIM (x-Subscription Identity Module), like SIM, USIM, ISIM.
• Interface identifiers, an example of which is the MAC address of the device,
typically stored in hardware.
• Authentication/registration type of functions (device focused).
• Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA), such as RADIUS
services.
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), e.g. Employing deployment-
specific configuration parameters specified by device, user, or application-
specific parameters residing in a directory.
• Subscription services (device-focused).
• Directory services, e.g., containing user profiles and various device (s)
parameter(s), setting(s), and combinations thereof. M2M-specific
considerations include, in particular:
• MCIM (cf. 3GPP SA3 work).
• User Data Management (e.g., subscription management).
• Network optimizations (cf. 3GPP SA2 work).
Local area networking
• Capillary networks are typically autonomous, self-contained systems of M2M
devices that may be connected to the cloud via an appropriate Gateway.
• They are often deployed in controlled environments such as vehicles, buildings,
apartments, factories, bodies, etc. in order to collect sensor measurements,
generate events should sensing thresholds be breached, and sometimes control
specific features of interest (e.g. Heart rate of a patient, environmental data on a
factory floor, car speed, air conditioning appliances, etc.).
• There will exist numerous capillary networks that will employ short-range wired
and wireless communication and networking technologies.
• For certain application areas, there is a need for autonomous local operation of
the capillary network. That is, not everything needs to be sent to, or potentially
be controlled via, the cloud.
• In the event that application-level logic is enforceable via the cloud, some
will still need to be managed locally.
• The complexity of the local application logic varies by application. For
example, a building automation network may need local control loop
functionality for autonomous operation, but can rely on external
communication for configuration of control schemas and parameters.
• The M2M devices in a capillary network are typically thought to be low-
capability nodes (e.g. battery operated, with limited security capabilities)
for cost reasons, and should operate autonomously.
• IPv6 will be the protocol of choice for M2M devices that operate a
6LoWPAN-based stack. IPv4 will still be used for capillary networks
operating in non-6LoWPAN IP stacks (e.g. Wi-Fi capillary networks).
Capillary networks and their inside view
Data management
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 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 can be
communicated also in a very timely manner.
Data management
• Temporal Data: The majority of M2M data is of temporal nature, measuring the
environment over time.
• Spatial Data: 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.
• 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.
Managing M2M data
• We see a number of data processing network points between the machine
and the enterprise that act on the data stream (or simply forwarding it)
based on their end application needs and existing context.
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 the application needs.
• Not all data acquired may actually be communicated as some of them
may be assessed locally and subsequently disregarded, while only the
result of the assessment may be communicated.
Data acquisition
• It 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. The frequency of data
acquisition depends on, or is customized by, the application
requirements.
Data validation
• Data acquired must be checked for correctness and meaningfulness
within the specific operating context. The latter is usually done based
on rules, semantic annotations, or other logic.
• Data validation in the era of 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.
• Several known methods are deployed for consistency and data type
checking; for example, imposed range limits on the values acquired,
logic checks, uniqueness, correct time-stamping, etc.
Data validation
• Another part of the validation may deal with fallback actions such as
requesting the data again if checks fail, or attempts to “repair”
partially failed data.
• As full utilization of this step may require significant computational
resources, it may be adequately tackled at the network level (e.g. in
the cloud), but may be challenging in direct M2M interactions, e.g.
between two resource constrained machines communicating directly
with each other.
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.
• This is 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.
• Due to the massive amounts of M2M data, as well as their envisioned
processing, 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.
• Typical examples include data adjustment during which it might be
necessary to normalize data, introduce an estimate for a value that is
missing, re-order incoming data by adjusting timestamps, etc.
• Similarly, aggregation of data or general calculation functions may be
operated on two or more data streams and mathematical functions applied
on their composition.
• 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
• 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.
• For M2M, points of interest are not only the DBs where the M2M
data is collected, but also the points of action, which generate the
data, or the individual nodes in between, which may cache it.
• For large-scale infrastructures the cost of potentially acquiring
“deleted” data may be large; hence, their hubs or collection end-
points, such as the DBs who have such low cost, may be more at risk.
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.
• Data mining focuses on discovering knowledge, usually in conjunction
with predictive goals.
• Statistics can also be used on the data to assess them quantitatively
(descriptive statistics), find their main characteristics (exploratory data
analysis), confirm a specific hypothesis (confirmatory data analysis),
discover knowledge (data mining), and for machine learning, etc.
Business processes in IoT
• A business process refers to a series of activities, often a collection of
interrelated processes in a logical sequence, within an enterprise,
leading to a specific result.
• There are several types of business processes such as management,
operational, and supporting, all of which aim at achieving a specific
mission objective.
• Managers and business analysis model an enterprise’s processes in an
effort to depict the real way an enterprise operates and subsequently
to improve efficiency and quality.
Business processes in IoT
• There has been a significant change with the dramatic reduction of the
data acquisition from the real world; this was attributed mostly to the
automation offered by machines embedded in the real world.
• Initially all these interactions were human-based (e.g. via a keyboard) or
human assisted (e.g. via a barcode scanner); however, with the prevalence
of RFID, WSNs, and advanced networked embedded devices, all
information exchange between the real-world and enterprise systems can
be done automatically without any human intervention and at fast speeds.
• In the M2M era, connected devices can be clearly identified, and with the
help of services, this integration leads to active participation of the devices
to the business processes.
Business processes in IoT

• The existence of SOA-ready devices (i.e. devices that offer their

functionalities as a web service) simplifies the integration and
interaction as they can be considered as a traditional web service that
runs on a specific device.
• M2M and IoT empower business processes to acquire very detailed
data about the operations and be informed about the conditions in
the real world in a very timely manner.
Decreasing cost of information exchange between
the real-world and enterprise systems with the
advancement of M2M
IoT integration with enterprise systems
• M2M communication and the vision of the IoT pose a new era where
billions of devices will need to interact with each other and exchange
information in order to fulfill their purpose.
• Much of this communication is expected to happen over Internet
technologies
• Cross-layer interaction and cooperation can be pursued:
• ✓ at the M2M level, where the machines cooperate with each other
(machine-focused interactions), as well as
• ✓ at the machine-to-business (M2B) layer, where machines cooperate
also with network-based services, business systems (business service
focus), and applications.
A collaborative infrastructure driven by M2M
and M2B
• As depicted in Figure, there are several devices in the lowest layer.
These can communicate with each other over short-range protocols
(e.g. over ZigBee, Bluetooth), or even longer distances (e.g. over Wi-
Fi, etc.).
• Some of them may host services (e.g. REST services), and even have
dynamic discovery capabilities based on the communication protocol
or other capabilities.
• Some of them may be very resource-constrained, which means that
auxiliary gateways could provide additional support such as mediation
of communication, protocol translation, etc.
Distributed business processes in IoT
• Today, the integration of devices in business processes merely implies
the acquisition of data from the device layer, its transportation to the
backend systems, its assessment, and once a decision is made,
potentially the control (management) of the device, which adjusts its
behavior.
• However, in the future, due to the large scale of IoT, as well as the
huge data that it will generate, such approaches are not viable.
• Transportation of data from the “point of action” where the device
collects or generates them, all the way to the backend system to then
evaluate their usefulness, will not be practical for communication
reasons, as well as due to the processing load that it will incur at the
enterprise side; this is something that the current systems were not
designed for. Enterprise systems trying to process such a high rate of
non- or minor-relevancy data will be overloaded.
• With the increase in resources (e.g. computational capabilities) in the
network, and especially on the devices themselves (more memory,
multi-core CPUs, etc.), it makes sense not to host the intelligence and
the computation required for it only on the enterprise side, but
actually distribute it on the network, and even on the edge nodes (i.e.
the devices themselves)
• Partially outsourcing functionality traditionally residing in backend
systems to the network itself and the edge nodes means we can
realize distributed business processes whose sub-processes may
execute outside the enterprise system.
• As devices are capable of computing, they can either realize the task
of processing and evaluating business relevant information they
generate by themselves or in clusters.
Distributed Business Processes in M2M era
Everything as a Service(XaaS)
• Everything as a Service" (XaaS) is a concept that extends the
"as a Service" (aaS) model beyond traditional offerings like
Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS),
and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). XaaS encompasses the
delivery of various services over the internet, typically on a
subscription basis, providing customers with access to
resources, software, platforms, or infrastructure without the
need for significant upfront investment or ownership.
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.
•.
• Several essential characteristics of cloud computing
• 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.
• Measured Service: 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 service models may be defined as:
• ✓ 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. 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 application hosting environment.

• ✓ Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): In this model, the provider offers virtual machines and other
resources such as hypervisors 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.
• Deployment Models:
• ✓ Private Cloud: The cloud infrastructure is provisioned for exclusive use by a single
organization comprising multiple consumers (e.g. business units). It may be owned,
managed, and operated by the organization, a third party, or some combination of them,
and it may exist on or off premises.

• ✓ Community Cloud: The cloud infrastructure is provisioned for exclusive use by a specific
community of consumers from organizations that have shared concerns (e.g. mission,
security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be owned, managed,
and operated by one or more of the organizations in the community, a third party, or some
combination of them, and it may exist on or off premises.

• ✓ Public Cloud: The cloud infrastructure is provisioned for open use by the general public.
It may be owned, managed, and operated by a business, academic, or government
organization, or some combination thereof. It exists on the premises of the cloud provider.

• ✓ Hybrid Cloud: The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more distinct cloud
infrastructures (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities, but are bound
together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application
portability (e.g. cloud bursting for load balancing between clouds).
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.
• 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.
• Purposes and considerations
• Regardless of whether you call it statistics, data mining, or machine
learning, there exist a multitude of methods to extract different types of
information from data.
• Some examples of methods and purposes are as follows:
• Descriptive Analytics: Use of means, variances, maxima, minima,
aggregates, and frequencies, optionally grouped by selected
characteristics.
Example: Create Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) that enable better
understanding of the performance of complex systems such as cellular
networks or oil pipelines.
• Predictive Analytics: Use current and historical facts to predict what
will happen next.
Example: Forecast demand and supply in a power grid and train a
model to predict how price affects electric usage to optimize the
performance and minimize peaks in the electricity consumption.

• Clustering: Identification of groups with similar characteristics.

Example: Perform customer segmentation or find behavioral patterns
in a large set of M2M devices.
• Anomaly Detection: Detect fraud for smart meters by checking for
anomalous electricity consumption compared to similar customers, or
historic consumption for the subscriber.
• M2M data fulfills all the characteristics of Big Data, which is usually
described by the four “Vs”:
• Volume: The amount of historic data for M2M devices is expected to grow
rapidly.
• Velocity: High speed data transaction is required
• Variation: Given the multitude of device types used in M2M, it’s apparent
that the variation will be very high.
• Veracity: There are many pitfalls along the way, such as erroneous
timestamps, non-adherence to standards, proprietary formats with missing
semantics, wrongly calibrated sensors, as well as missing data. This
requires rules that can handle these cases, as well as fault-tolerant
algorithms
Knowledge Management
• Data: Data refers to “unstructured facts and figures that have the least
impact on the typical manager”. With regards to IoT solutions, however,
data includes both useful and irrelevant or redundant facts, and in order to
become meaningful, needs to be processed.

• Information: Within the context of IoT solutions, information is data that

has been contextualized, categorized, calculated, and condensed. This is
where data has been carefully curated to provide relevance and purpose
for the decision makers in question.

• Knowledge: Knowledge, meanwhile, relates to the ability to understand

the information presented, and using existing experience, the application
of it within a certain decision making context.
• Due to the nature of big data, two key issues emerge:
• Managing and storing the temporal knowledge created by IoT
solutions. IoT solutions data will evolve rapidly over time, the
temporal nature of the “knowledge” as understood at a particular
point in time will have large implications for the overall industry.
• Life-cycle management of knowledge within IoT systems.
knowledge management reference
architecture
• There are three levels to the diagram: (1) data sources, (2) data
integration, and (3) knowledge discovery and information access.

• Data sources: Data sources refer to the broad variety of sources that
may now be available to build enterprise solutions.
• Data integration: The data integration layer allows data from different
formats to be put together in a manner that can be used by the
information access and knowledge discovery tools.
• Staged Data:
• Staged data is data that has been abstracted to manage the rate at which it is received by the
analysis platform. Essentially, “staged data” allows the correct flow of data to reach information
access and knowledge discovery tools to be retrieved at the correct time.

• There are two main types of data: weak data and strong data.

• Strong Type Data: Strong type data refers to data that is stored in traditional database formats,
i.e. it can be extracted into tabular format and can be subjected to traditional database analysis
techniques. Strong data types often have the analysis defined beforehand, e.g. by SQL queries
written by developers towards a database.
• Weak Type Data: Weak type data is data that is not well structured according to traditional
database techniques. Examples are streaming data or data from sensors. Often, this sort of data
has a different analysis technique compared to strong type data. In this case, it may be that the
data itself defines the nature of the query, rather than being defined by developers and created in
advance. This may allow insights to be identified earlier than in strong type data.
• Processed data
• Processed data is combined data from both strong and weak typed
data that has been combined within an IoT context to create
maximum value for the enterprise in question.
• There are various means by which to do this processing from stripping
data separately and creating relational tables from it or pooling
relevant data together in one combined database for structured
queries.
• Retrieval layer
• Once data has been collated and processed, it is time to develop insights from the
data via retrieval. This can be of two main forms: Information Access and
Knowledge Discovery.
• Information access relates to more traditional access techniques involving the
creation of standardized reports from the collation of strong and weak typed data.
Information access essentially involves displaying the data in a form that is easily
understandable and readable by end users. A variety of information access tools
exist, from SQL visualization to more advanced visualization tools. Knowledge
discovery tools
• Knowledge Discovery, meanwhile, involves the more detailed use of ICT in order
to create knowledge, rather than just information, from the data in question.
• Knowledge Discovery means that decisions may be able to be taken on such
outputs for example, in the case where actuators (rather than just sensors) are
involved, Knowledge Discovery Systems may be able to raise an alert that a bridge
or flood control system may need to be activated.