Networking

Gateway

• Connects IoT devices to internet
• Operator deployed
  • LTE etc
• Self-deployed
  • Wi-Fi

Roles

• Machine-to-machine connections
  • Cheaper telecoms cost
  • Cheaper hardware
    • Not everything has to be LTE connected
  • Simpler config
• Translate protocols between IoT and internet
• Processing data
  • Encrypting, filtering, consolidating
• Boundary between networks
  • Security

Network Module

• 802.15.4 only a channel
  • End-to-end provided by network module
• Multi-hop wireless network
  • Wireless sensor networks (WSN)
  • Wireless mobile ad hoc networks (MANET)
  • Wireless mesh network (WMN)
  • Vehicular ad hoc network (VANET)

Roles

• Management
  • Packet
    • Adapting size and format
  • Address
    • Adapting and/or resolving addresses
  • Device
    • Joining/leaving of nodes
  • Service
    • Add-ons such as security
• Operational
  • Route discovery & maintenance
  • Packet forwarding

Performance

• Power consumption
  • Limited supply
  • Significant power in communications
• Network Lifetime
  • Duration of proper operation
  • Before no longer provides services
    • When a node fails
  • Design-time
    • Design deployment that will last
  • Run-time
    • Dynamic operation to conserve energy usage
    • All layers
      • App
        • Consolidating data
        • Adaptive frequency for data grouping
      • Network
        • Avoid aggressive topology maintenance
      • MAC
        • Duty-cycle MAC to keep radio asleep
      • Physical
        • Power level control

Issues

• Bottleneck
  • One node relaying lots of data
  • Bad placement of gateway

• Low power devices
• Multi-hop