Module 3
IP as the IoT Network Layer, The Business Case for IP, The need for Optimization, Optimizing IP for IoT,
Profiles and Compliances, Application Protocols for IoT, The Transport Layer, IoT Application
Transport Methods.
Chapter 5
IP as the IoT Network Layer
5.1 The Business Case for IP
Data flowing from or to “things” is consumed, controlled, or monitored by data center servers
either in the cloud or in locations that may be distributed or centralized.
5.1.1 The Key Advantages of Internet Protocol
One of the main differences between traditional information technology (IT) and operational
technology (OT) is the lifetime of the underlying technologies and products.
Followings are the key advantages of the IP suite for the Internet of Things:
1. Open and standards-based: TheInternet of Things creates a new paradigm in which
devices, applications,and users can leverage a large set of devices and functionalities
whileguaranteeing interchangeability and interoperability, security, andmanagement. This
calls for implementation, validation, and deployment ofopen, standards-based solutions.
While many standards developmentorganizations (SDOs) are working on Internet of
Things definitions,frameworks, applications, and technologies, none are questioning the
roleof the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as the foundation forspecifying and
optimizing the network and transport layers.
2. Versatile: Even if physical and data link layers such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and cellular are
widely adopted, the history of data communications demonstrates that no given wired or
wireless technology fits all deployment criteria. Furthermore, communication
technologies evolve at a pace faster than the expected 10- to 20-year lifetime of OT
solutions. So, the layered IP architecture is well equipped to cope with any type of
physical and data link layers.
3. Ubiquitous: All recent operating system releases, from general-purpose computers and
servers to lightweight embedded systems (TinyOS, Contiki, and so on), have an
integrated dual (IPv4 and IPv6) IP stack that gets enhanced over time. In addition, IoT
Dept. of CSE, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 1
, application protocols in many industrial OT solutions have been updated in recent years
to run over IP. While these updates have mostly consisted of IPv4 to this point, recent
standardization efforts in several areas are adding IPv6. In fact, IP is the most pervasive
protocol when you look at what is supported across the various IoT solutions and industry
verticals.
4. Scalable: Adding huge numbers of “things” to private and public infrastructures may
require optimizations and design rules specific to the new devices. However, you should
realize that this is not very different from the recent evolution of voice and video
endpoints integrated over IP. IP has proven before that scalability is one of its strengths.
5. Manageable and highly secure: Communications infrastructure requires appropriate
management and security capabilities for proper operations. Adopting IP network
management also brings an operational business application to OT. Well known network
and security management tools are easily leveraged with an IP network layer.
6. Stable and resilient:IP has a large and well-established knowledge base and, more
importantly, it has been used for years in critical infrastructures, such as financial and
defense networks. In addition, IP has been deployed for critical services, such as voice
and video, which havealready transitioned from closed environments to open IP
standards.
7. Consumers’ market adoption: When developing IoT solutions and products targeting the
consumer market, vendors know that consumers’ access to applications and devices will
occur predominantly over broadband and mobile wireless infrastructure. The main
consumer devices range from smart phones to tablets and PCs. The common protocol that
links IoT in the consumer space to these devices is IP.
8. The innovation factor: IP is the underlying protocol for applications ranging from file
transfer and e-mail to the World Wide Web, e-commerce, social networking, mobility,
and more.
5.1.2 Adoption or Adaptation of the Internet Protocol
How to implement IP in data center, cloud services, and operation centers hosting IoT
applications may seem obvious, but the adoption of IP in the last mile is more complicated and
often makes running IP end-to-end more difficult.
The use of numerous network layer protocols in addition to IP is often a point of contention
between computer networking experts. Typically, one of two models, adaptation or adoption, is
proposed:
• Adaptation means application layered gateways (ALGs) must be Implemented to ensure
the translation between non-IP and IP.layers.
• Adoption involves replacing all non-IP layers with their IP layer Counterparts,
simplifying the deployment model and operations.
Dept. of CSE, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 2
, The IP adaptation versus adoption model still requires investigation for particular last-mile
technologies used by IoT. You should consider the following factors when trying to determine
which model is best suited for last-mile connectivity:
1. Bidirectional versus unidirectional data flow :As defined in RFC 7228, may only
infrequently need to report a few bytes of data to an application. These sorts of devices,
particularly ones that communicate through LPWA technologies, include fire alarms
sending alerts or daily test reports, electrical switches being pushed on or off, and water
or gas meters sending weekly indexes. if there is only one-way communication to upload
data to an application, then it is not possible to download new software or firmware to the
devices. This makes integrating new features and bug and security fixes more difficult.
2. Overhead for last-mile communications paths: IPv4 has 20 bytes of header at a
minimum, and IPv6 has 40 bytes at the IP network layer. For the IP transport layer, UDP
has 8 bytes of header overhead, while TCP has a minimum of 20 bytes. If the data to be
forwarded by a device is infrequent and only a few bytes, you can potentially have more
header overhead than device data—again, particularly in the case of LPWA technologies.
3. Data flow model:Any node can easily exchange data with any other node in a network,
although security, privacy, and other factors may put controls and limits on the “end-to-
end” concept. However, in many IoT solutions, a device’s data flow is limited to one or
two applications. In this case, the adaptation model can work because translation of
traffic needs to occur only between the end device and one or two application servers.
Depending on the network topology and the data flow needed, both IP adaptation and
adoption models have roles to play in last-mile connectivity.
4. Network diversity: One of the drawbacks of the adaptation model is a general
dependency on single PHY and MAC layers. Integration and coexistence of new physical
and MAC layers or new applications impact how deployment and operations have to be
planned. This is not a relevant consideration for the adoption model.
5.2 The Need for Optimization
Optimizations are needed at various layers of the IP stack to handle the restrictions that are
present in IoT networks. The followings area require optimization
1. Constrained Nodes
Different classes ofdevices coexist. Depending on its functions in a network, a “thing”
architecturemay or may not offer similar characteristics compared to a generic PC or serverin an
IT environment.
Another limit is that this network protocol stack on an IoT node may be required to communicate
through an unreliable path. Even if a full IP stack is available on the node, this causes problems
such as limited or unpredictable throughput and low convergence when a topology change
occurs.
Dept. of CSE, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 3
IP as the IoT Network Layer, The Business Case for IP, The need for Optimization, Optimizing IP for IoT,
Profiles and Compliances, Application Protocols for IoT, The Transport Layer, IoT Application
Transport Methods.
Chapter 5
IP as the IoT Network Layer
5.1 The Business Case for IP
Data flowing from or to “things” is consumed, controlled, or monitored by data center servers
either in the cloud or in locations that may be distributed or centralized.
5.1.1 The Key Advantages of Internet Protocol
One of the main differences between traditional information technology (IT) and operational
technology (OT) is the lifetime of the underlying technologies and products.
Followings are the key advantages of the IP suite for the Internet of Things:
1. Open and standards-based: TheInternet of Things creates a new paradigm in which
devices, applications,and users can leverage a large set of devices and functionalities
whileguaranteeing interchangeability and interoperability, security, andmanagement. This
calls for implementation, validation, and deployment ofopen, standards-based solutions.
While many standards developmentorganizations (SDOs) are working on Internet of
Things definitions,frameworks, applications, and technologies, none are questioning the
roleof the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as the foundation forspecifying and
optimizing the network and transport layers.
2. Versatile: Even if physical and data link layers such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and cellular are
widely adopted, the history of data communications demonstrates that no given wired or
wireless technology fits all deployment criteria. Furthermore, communication
technologies evolve at a pace faster than the expected 10- to 20-year lifetime of OT
solutions. So, the layered IP architecture is well equipped to cope with any type of
physical and data link layers.
3. Ubiquitous: All recent operating system releases, from general-purpose computers and
servers to lightweight embedded systems (TinyOS, Contiki, and so on), have an
integrated dual (IPv4 and IPv6) IP stack that gets enhanced over time. In addition, IoT
Dept. of CSE, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 1
, application protocols in many industrial OT solutions have been updated in recent years
to run over IP. While these updates have mostly consisted of IPv4 to this point, recent
standardization efforts in several areas are adding IPv6. In fact, IP is the most pervasive
protocol when you look at what is supported across the various IoT solutions and industry
verticals.
4. Scalable: Adding huge numbers of “things” to private and public infrastructures may
require optimizations and design rules specific to the new devices. However, you should
realize that this is not very different from the recent evolution of voice and video
endpoints integrated over IP. IP has proven before that scalability is one of its strengths.
5. Manageable and highly secure: Communications infrastructure requires appropriate
management and security capabilities for proper operations. Adopting IP network
management also brings an operational business application to OT. Well known network
and security management tools are easily leveraged with an IP network layer.
6. Stable and resilient:IP has a large and well-established knowledge base and, more
importantly, it has been used for years in critical infrastructures, such as financial and
defense networks. In addition, IP has been deployed for critical services, such as voice
and video, which havealready transitioned from closed environments to open IP
standards.
7. Consumers’ market adoption: When developing IoT solutions and products targeting the
consumer market, vendors know that consumers’ access to applications and devices will
occur predominantly over broadband and mobile wireless infrastructure. The main
consumer devices range from smart phones to tablets and PCs. The common protocol that
links IoT in the consumer space to these devices is IP.
8. The innovation factor: IP is the underlying protocol for applications ranging from file
transfer and e-mail to the World Wide Web, e-commerce, social networking, mobility,
and more.
5.1.2 Adoption or Adaptation of the Internet Protocol
How to implement IP in data center, cloud services, and operation centers hosting IoT
applications may seem obvious, but the adoption of IP in the last mile is more complicated and
often makes running IP end-to-end more difficult.
The use of numerous network layer protocols in addition to IP is often a point of contention
between computer networking experts. Typically, one of two models, adaptation or adoption, is
proposed:
• Adaptation means application layered gateways (ALGs) must be Implemented to ensure
the translation between non-IP and IP.layers.
• Adoption involves replacing all non-IP layers with their IP layer Counterparts,
simplifying the deployment model and operations.
Dept. of CSE, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 2
, The IP adaptation versus adoption model still requires investigation for particular last-mile
technologies used by IoT. You should consider the following factors when trying to determine
which model is best suited for last-mile connectivity:
1. Bidirectional versus unidirectional data flow :As defined in RFC 7228, may only
infrequently need to report a few bytes of data to an application. These sorts of devices,
particularly ones that communicate through LPWA technologies, include fire alarms
sending alerts or daily test reports, electrical switches being pushed on or off, and water
or gas meters sending weekly indexes. if there is only one-way communication to upload
data to an application, then it is not possible to download new software or firmware to the
devices. This makes integrating new features and bug and security fixes more difficult.
2. Overhead for last-mile communications paths: IPv4 has 20 bytes of header at a
minimum, and IPv6 has 40 bytes at the IP network layer. For the IP transport layer, UDP
has 8 bytes of header overhead, while TCP has a minimum of 20 bytes. If the data to be
forwarded by a device is infrequent and only a few bytes, you can potentially have more
header overhead than device data—again, particularly in the case of LPWA technologies.
3. Data flow model:Any node can easily exchange data with any other node in a network,
although security, privacy, and other factors may put controls and limits on the “end-to-
end” concept. However, in many IoT solutions, a device’s data flow is limited to one or
two applications. In this case, the adaptation model can work because translation of
traffic needs to occur only between the end device and one or two application servers.
Depending on the network topology and the data flow needed, both IP adaptation and
adoption models have roles to play in last-mile connectivity.
4. Network diversity: One of the drawbacks of the adaptation model is a general
dependency on single PHY and MAC layers. Integration and coexistence of new physical
and MAC layers or new applications impact how deployment and operations have to be
planned. This is not a relevant consideration for the adoption model.
5.2 The Need for Optimization
Optimizations are needed at various layers of the IP stack to handle the restrictions that are
present in IoT networks. The followings area require optimization
1. Constrained Nodes
Different classes ofdevices coexist. Depending on its functions in a network, a “thing”
architecturemay or may not offer similar characteristics compared to a generic PC or serverin an
IT environment.
Another limit is that this network protocol stack on an IoT node may be required to communicate
through an unreliable path. Even if a full IP stack is available on the node, this causes problems
such as limited or unpredictable throughput and low convergence when a topology change
occurs.
Dept. of CSE, ATMECE, Mysuru Page 3
