The IOT arena!

Welcome to the arena of IOT that is,?internet of things! It is a network of interrelated devices that connect and exchange data with other IoT devices and the cloud. IOT devices?are typically embedded with technology like sensors and software.?

So you may wonder, what is an embedded system??

Let us quickly understand that with an analogy.

An embedded system is a computer system, a combination of a computer processor, memory, and input/output peripheral devices, that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. For example, do you remember the red telephone coin boxes in metro cities like Mumbai before arrival of mobile phones? People put a coin and get fixed time to speak. If you want to continue conversation, you need to add one more coin and so on. There is a circuit inside the box which has a microcontroller IC, in which a computer program in assembly language is hardcoded via a simulator. Based on customer needs, you can change the program inside the IC to modify settings. Another example is, the digital weighing machines.?So in the same way, you can compare it with the embedded software in IOT devices.?

So coming back to IOT, it?is a technology which is used to communicate between human and machine or a machine to machine with the help of internet.?IOT?has become one of the most powerful technologies of modern era, having the internet as its backbone.?

A thing:?

In the context of the Internet of things (IoT), "thing" is an entity or physical object that has a unique identifier, an embedded system and the ability to transfer data over a network. Sometimes a human can also be called as a "thing" here.

Characteristics of IoT:

• Dynamic and self adapting
• Self configuring
• Inter-operable communication protocols
• Unique identity
• Integrated into information network
• Scalability
• Autonomous operation
• Context awareness
• Data driven

Components and requirements of IOT:

• Devices
• Internet
• Connectivity
• Sensors and actuators
• Data processing
• User interface
• Intelligence

Below are few examples of IOT:

• Smart appliances.
• Connected security systems.
• Connected retail.?
• Connected healthcare monitors.
• Connected manufacturing equipment.
• Connected cities.?

Let us take a few examples of smart appliances:

?A smart oven:?It works by scanning QR or bar codes and connecting to Wi-Fi, which it then uses to determine the best temperature and time to cook the food to avoid undercooking or burning.

Smart bulbs:?They don't need extra fittings to run. We can just plug into your wall socket and turn them on. They can light up in millions of colors and can be scheduled to turn on at specific times. They?offer many ways to control lighting and create a colorful ambiance in your home. The best ones can sync with your gameplay, the movies you watch, and the music you love.

A smart cooker:?A smart pressure cooker lets you cook a tasty meal with minimal effort. You can weigh food, chop it, mince, and blend in one single pot. You can preheat the cooker from your phone or tell Alexa to do it from your bedroom. Some smart cookers come with a touchscreen to tune settings. High-end smart cookers come with a built-in cooking calculator with thousands of preset recipes. You can just add the ingredients and it will guide you through the cooking process.

Let us take a quick look at what is a connected manufacturing equipment??

It is a system designed through the integration of IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and cloud computing to enable intelligent communication, automation, and control of manufacturing processes. It helps in better quality control, improved safety, reduced costs and greater flexibility.

IOT Protocols:?

Though here I can not cover the networking fundamentals in detail, I tried to explain protocols used in different layers in IOT.

What is a protocol?

Network protocols are a set of rules describing how connected devices communicate across a network to exchange information easily and safely. Protocols serve as a common language for devices to enable communication irrespective of differences in software, hardware, or internal processes.

The IOT protocols used are different at different layers of network.

Link layer (Layer 2):?

In computer networking, the link layer is the lowest layer in the Internet protocol suite, the networking architecture of the Internet. The link layer is the group of methods and communications protocols confined to the link that a host is physically connected to. That is communication between devices.

802.3 Ethernet: IEEE 802.3 is also known as the Ethernet standard and defines the physical and media access control (MAC) of the data link layer for wired Ethernet networks. MAC address is a physical address of a device while IP address is used to locate a device in networks.

802.11 WiFi: 802.11 deploys six half-duplex, over-the-air modulation techniques that share the same network protocol layer

802.16 WiMax: IEEE 802.16 standard communicates wirelessly over a range of 50 km with a data rate of 0.4–1 Gbps (IEEE standard for local and metropolitan area networks).

802.15.4-LR-WPAN: Specifies the physical and data link layer protocols for low-rate wireless personal area network (LR-WPAN) and it was defined in 2003. It also defines two types of network topologies: star topology and peer-to-peer topology.

2G/3G/4G: Mobile Communication.

Network/Internet Layer (Layer 3):?

The "network layer" is the part of the Internet communications process where these connections occur, by sending packets of data back and forth between different networks. That is communication between different networks.

IPv4 type of ip address: Old ip addresses naming. It is a 32-bit numeric address. Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is the fourth version of the Internet Protocol (IP). It is one of the core protocols of standards-based inter-networking methods in the Internet, and was the first version deployed for production in the ARPANET in 1983. Contains only numbers.?Example: 3.5.134.76

IPv6 type of ip address: New IP address naming. It is 128- bit hexadecimal address. The IPv4 IP range is running out due to over expanding network and devices connectivity hence new type IPv6 is designed. Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP), the communications protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the Internet. IPv6 was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to deal with the long-anticipated problem of IPv4 address exhaustion. IPv6 is intended to replace IPv4. Contains numbers and alphabets.

Example: 2001:db8:3333:4444:5555:6666:7777:8888

6LoWPAN: 6LoWPAN is an acronym of IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks. 6LoWPAN is the name of a concluded working group in the Internet area of the IETF. 6LoWPAN is an IPv6 protocol, and It’s extended from is IPv6 over Low Power Personal Area Network. As the name itself explains the meaning of this protocol is that this protocol works on Wireless Personal Area Network i.e., WPAN.

Transport Layer (Layer 4):?

The transport layer lies just above the network layer in the protocol stack. Whereas a transport-layer protocol provides logical communication between processes running on different hosts, a network-layer protocol provides logical communication between hosts.

TCP: The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a core protocol of the Internet protocol suite. It is connection oriented protocol and guarantees all data is received and in correct order.

UDP: The User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is one of the core members of the Internet protocol suite. It is faster than TCP but doesn't establish a connection or session. It doesn't guarantee data delivery. It is fire and forget protocol.

Application layer:?

A network application is a software program which operates over a network and allows communication and data sharing between multiple devices and users. A number of network applications are used on devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops, servers, etc. The Application Layer is topmost layer in the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model. This layer is basically highest level of open system, which provides services directly for application process.

HTTP: The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web.

CoAP: Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) is a software protocol intended to be used in very simple electronics devices that allows them to communicate interactively over the Internet. It is particularly targeted for small low power sensors, switches, valves and similar components that need to be controlled or supervised remotely, through standard Internet networks.?

WebSocket: WebSocket is a protocol providing full-duplex communication channels over a single TCP connection. The WebSocket protocol was standardized by the IETF as RFC 6455 in 2011, and the WebSocket API in Web IDL is being standardized by the W3C.'

MQTT: Message Queue Telemetry Transport is an ISO standard (ISO/IEC PRF 20922) publish-subscribe based "light weight" messaging protocol for use on top of the TCP/IP protocol. It is designed for connections with remote locations where a "small code footprint" is required or the network bandwidth is limited.?

XMPP: Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) is a communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML (Extensible Markup Language). It enables the near-real-time exchange of structured yet extensible data between any two or more network entities.?

DDS: The Data Distribution Service for Real-Time Systems (DDS) is an Object Management Group (OMG) machine-to-machine middleware "m2m" standard that aims to enable scalable, real-time, dependable, high-performance and interoperable data exchanges between publishers and subscribers.?

AMQP: The Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) is an open standard application layer protocol for message-oriented middleware. The defining features of AMQP are message orientation, queuing, routing (including point-to-point and publish-and-subscribe), reliability and security.

IOT Communication Models:

Request-Response: Request–response, or request–reply, is one of the basic methods computers use to communicate with each other, in which the first computer sends a request for some data and the second computer responds to the request. Usually, there is a series of such interchanges until the complete message is sent; browsing a web page is an example of request–response communication. Request–response can be seen as a telephone call, in which someone is called and they answer the call.

Publish-Subscribe: In software architecture, publish–subscribe is a messaging pattern where senders of messages, called publishers, do not program the messages to be sent directly to specific receivers, called subscribers, but instead characterize published messages into classes without knowledge of which subscribers, if any, there may be. Similarly, subscribers express interest in one or more classes and only receive messages that are of interest, without knowledge of which publishers, if any, there are.

Push-Pull: Most of the business communication tools we use today are “push” tools, where the sender of the message decides who will receive it. Email is the classic example of this; the sender of the message chooses who to put on the To and Cc lines. The recipient gets no choice about whether they receive the message or not, and anyone who is not copied on the message doesn’t even know of its existence. The sender is firmly in control. Instant messaging, SMS and even phone calls are all examples of push.

Exclusive Pair: Paired sockets are very similar to regular sockets. The communication is bidirectional. There is no specific state stored within the socket. There can only be one connected peer. The server listens on a certain port & a client connects to it.

IOT communication APIs:

Let us first understand what is an API?

APIs (Applications Programming Interface) are mechanisms that enable two software components to communicate with each other using a set of definitions and protocols. In other words, APIs are any software component that serves as an intermediary between two disconnected applications. For example, the weather bureau's software system contains daily weather data. The weather app on your phone “talks” to this system via APIs and shows you daily weather updates on your phone.

Types of APIs by architecture are: Monolithic APIs, Microservices APIs, Composite APIs and Unified APIs.

Communications APIs provide a standard framework for connecting a company's systems with other business applications like CRMs, IoT devices, and e-commerce platforms. They allow for secure exchanges of data between systems that wouldn't otherwise be able to communicate without the risk of manual errors or tampering.

Benefits of Communication APIs in IoT:

• They give a standardized method of connecting with IoT devices, making it simpler for developers to construct apps and services that work with many types of devices.
• Save developers a lot of time and effort because they don't have to establish specific communication protocols for each device with which they want to interact.
• They might make the development process easier. Developers can utilize high-level APIs that abstract away the specifics of communication protocols and interfaces instead of writing low-level code to handle communication with IoT devices. This can assist minimize the amount of code required and make it easier to construct reliable and scalable systems.
• It also helps in the enhancement of security. APIs may ensure that devices communicate securely and that data is encrypted and secured from unauthorized access by offering a standardized communication method with IoT devices. This can aid in the prevention of data breaches and other security issues.

Sensors in IoT:?

Without sensors, the IOT arena would be incomplete. Sensors can be found anywhere people gather, like homes, offices, malls, hospitals, and even schools. They are an important part of the IOT. Sensors pick up on changes in their environment and respond to them. Some examples of inputs are light, temperature, motion, and pressure. If sensors are connected to a network, they can share the information they collect with other devices and management systems. With the help of these early warning systems, businesses can do maintenance before it breaks down and avoid costly downtime.

Temperature Sensors: Temperature sensors tell us useful things about the temperature. The temperature controls in a factory often decide what will happen to a product. However, a single wrong temperature reading can ruin a whole batch of food in a factory.

Optical Sensors: They send light waves which are converted into electrical impulses. Optical sensors are used in autonomous vehicles. They are also used in smartphones like waving on camera to perform certain functions, which is called gesture control.?

Level Sensors: Level sensors measure the height of liquids, powders, granules, and other solids. Level sensors are used in many fields, from oil to cleaning water to food and drinks. Since level sensors can tell if a dustbin or water tank is full and further can take action.

Humidity Sensors: Water vapor sensors measure humidity of air or a mixture of gases. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, both at businesses and homes, use humidity sensors a lot. They are used to predict the weather in weather stations.

Infrared Sensors: These sensors send out or pick up infrared radiation to learn about their surroundings. They can also measure how much heat an object gives off. They are used to monitor blood flow and blood pressure in healthcare. Infrared sensors are used by a TV remote controls. Using 3D IR depth sensors, we can count people at an entry of a temple. This is used to monitor people entering/leaving a specific area in real-time with exceptional accuracy and complete anonymity.

Proximity Sensors: With proximity sensors, you can find things nearby without touching them. These sensors send out beams of electromagnetic or infrared radiation. A store's proximity sensor tracks how close a customer gets to an item of interest. Malls and airports use proximity sensors to let drivers know where open parking spots are.

Chemicals sensors: They use real-time data to find chemical leaks in drums or tanks. These sensors ensure that hazardous materials are handled safely and securely making factory a safer and more productive place to work.

Pressure Sensors: With a pressure sensor, you can find out when the pressure of a gas or liquid changes. The sensor detects changes in pressure and sends that information to any other devices that are linked to it. A common use is to test for leaks, which could be caused by wear and tear.

Speed Sensors: It measures the rate of change in speed as a function of time, can be used to figure out how fast a vehicle is moving. An accelerometer can also be used to measure changes in the force of gravity. They can also protect against theft by setting off an alarm if something fixed is moved without permission.

IoT Product Liability and Security Concerns:

Developers need to be aware that they could be held directly responsible for any software breach or threat to security, and this is a significant liability for IOT products.

Device malfunction: A device malfunction can have adverse consequences, putting our health and safety at risk. If a monitoring device records incorrect blood pressure levels and sends the same wrong data to the doctor, then without realizing that it is false data, the doctor may prescribe the wrong medication or treatment, causing severe harm to the patient.

Data theft: Data security is essential because, we know there is large amount of user-generated data that these IOT devices collect, big databases are used to hold sensitive personal data that could be stolen. A single network or device compromise might expose sensitive information, endangering the security of billions of people. Such a breach has major impact when it's difficult to detect where the leak originated. The stolen data can be used for malicious advertising or blackmailing.

Cyberattacks: Cyberattacks are growing in the digital era. If devices are not properly secured, cybercriminals and hackers can readily access important information. If not adequately secured, the IOT devices might leave entire networks open to criminal activity.

Limited Device Resources:?Most IoT devices possess minimal computing capacities, memory, and power. Thus, advanced security?measures cannot be easily implemented. This is a risk to entire IOT network.

Authentication methods not uniform: Various IoT devices and systems can be built?on alternative authentication solutions. Different devices can have different authentication methods.

To ensure security in IOT we should implement below measures:

• Establish Secure IoT Lifecycle Guidelines on Software and Hardware Development.?
• A significant redesigning of the existing IoT infrastructure may be required to execute?standard security protocols because of technical limitations.?
• Different authentication methods across different IOT devices must be integrated and interoperable.?
• Strong and complex passwords prevent illegal access or login to private devices such as smart cars or smart homes.
• The best way to protect data is not to collect the data in the first place. Since nonessential data or data which is not needed to meet requirements simply puts privacy at risk. Responsibility for securing the data begins the moment we collect it, so it is always advisable only to collect the data that is required and ensure the protection of the collected data.?For example, a patient health record should be only accessible by the patient and the doctor and necessary steps should be taken to ensure the protection of this data unless the patient provides consent to share.
• Devices with built-in security features are less susceptible to cyber-attacks than those with weak or absent security measures.
• It is essential to have a proper system to assess the risks of incorporating any functionality in IoT devices and hardware.
• Support the Establishment of IoT Security Strategies and Regulations.
• Implement Roles Separation in the Application Architecture.
• Software, data, and configuration files will be safe if kept in non-volatile memory, especially when using encryption.
• Authenticated and Secure Boot implementation.
• Hardware resources are segregated such that they can perform functions individually up to the maximum possible degree.
• Software should be well-defined, self-contained, and isolated.
• Attack Surface Reduction by minimizing dependencies and trusted computing base, minimizing codebase and implementing limited and well-defined interfaces.
• Least privileges and mandatory access control.
• Communication with external sources is only allowed after authentication.
• Information received from untrusted sources should be validated before using them in our software applications.
• Systems monitor the integrity and logging the audits of security-related events.

IOT and cloud computing:

One component that improves the success of the Internet of Things is Cloud Computing. Cloud computing enables users to perform computing tasks using services provided over the Internet. These are true technologies of the future that will bring many benefits.?Due to the rapid growth of IOT, the problem of storing, processing, and accessing large amounts of data has arisen. It will be possible to use powerful processing of sensory data streams and new monitoring services. As an example, sensor data can be uploaded and saved using cloud computing for later use as intelligent monitoring and activation using other devices. The goal is to transform data into insights and thus drive cost-effective and productive action.

According to Amazon Web Services, there are below benefits of cloud computing:

• No need to pre-guess infrastructure capacity needs
• Saves money, because you only need to pay for those resources that you use, the larger the scale, the more savings
• In a few minutes, platforms can be deployed around the world
• Flexibility and speed in providing resources to developers.

How AWS is used in IoT?

AWS IoT Core is a managed cloud service that lets connected devices easily and securely interact with cloud applications and other devices. AWS IoT Core can support billions of devices and trillions of messages, and can process and route those messages to AWS endpoints and to other devices reliably and securely.

Is AWS IOT free to use?

AWS IoT Device Management's free tier includes 50 remote actions per month. The AWS Free Tier is available to you for 12 months starting with the date on which you create your AWS account. When your free usage expires or if your application use exceeds the free usage tiers, you simply pay the above rates.

What is Azure IOT Suite?

Azure IoT Suite provides a cloud-hosted solution back-end to connect virtually any device. Extend your solution from the cloud to the edge with per-device authentication, built-in device management, and scaled provisioning. Security-enhanced communication channel for sending and receiving data from IoT devices.

Which is better for IOT Azure or AWS?

AWS IOT provides a more comprehensive set of features and services and a larger ecosystem of third-party tools and services. Azure IOT on the other hand, offers better integration with Microsoft's other services and tools, making it an excellent choice for organizations that use Microsoft technologies.

Is Google IOT cloud free?

Google cloud IOT is very fast and reliable and its easy to integrate with hardware devices. its expensive.

Benefits of Azure IOT:

Secure (end to end): It is secure from the end-point, through the connections to data, applications and the cloud.

Fast (Start in minutes): Preconfigured solutions for the most common IoT scenarios.

Open (Connect anything): It can connect any device, OS, data source, software, or service.?

Scalable (grow effortlessly): Millions of devices, terabytes of data, on premises, in the cloud, in the most regions worldwide.

Overview Azure IoT Suite capabilities:

• Device Connectivity & Management
• Data Ingestion and Command & Control
• Stream Processing & Predictive Analytics
• Workflow Automation and Integration
• Dashboards and Visualization
• Preconfigured Solutions like Predictive Maintenance and Remote Monitoring
• Gets started in minutes
• Modify existing rules and alerts?
• Add your devices and tailor your needs
• Fine tune your specific assets and processes
• Highly visual representation of real-time data
• Can be integrated with backend systems

Azure IOT products based on specific need:

• Accelerate the creation of IoT solutions: Azure IoT Central
• Extend intelligence from the cloud to your edge devices: Azure IoT Edge
• Connect, monitor, and control billions of IoT assets: Azure IoT Hub
• Create a digital model of your physical space or assets: Azure Digital Twins
• Explore and gain insights from time-series IoT data in real time: Azure Time Series Insights
• Build and connect highly secure MCU-powered devices: Azure Sphere
• Making embedded IoT development and connectivity easy: Azure RTOS
• Consume Services privately on Azure Platform: Azure SQL Edge

Planning an architecture for IOT:

For that, we need to build and understand IOT stack. The IoT tech stack is the combination of technology, equipment, and components that your IoT solution needs to operate. It includes hardware and software, as well as protocols and standards. Even the most basic IoT devices need a range of technologies to function.

What are the 4 layers of IoT platform stack?

These four IoT architecture layers, each serving a particular purpose, are necessary for IoT solutions to function well.

• Device Layer.
• Communication Layer.
• Cloud Ingest, Data Storage and Processing Layer.
• Application Layer.

Device/things contains first layer of hardware and firmware and sensors attached to it. Then comes device hub/gateway and its management. Above that comes data management and intelligence. Above it comes API design and build and API management. Then, above it comes Application PaaS. Device, data, API and application communicates using middleware. Then websites, mobile apps etc comes into picture above all.