UNIT II IOT PROTOCOLS

• Protocol Standardization for IoT

• Efforts
• – M2M and WSN Protocols
• – SCADA and RFID Protocols
• – Issues with IoT Standardization
• – Unified Data Standards
• Protocols
• – IEEE802.15.4
• –BACNet Protocol
• – Modbus
• – KNX
• – Zigbee
• Network layer
• APS layer
• Security
Protocol Standardization for IoT
• The rapid evolution of the IoT market has caused an
explosion in the number and variety of IoT solutions.
• Consequently, the focus of the industry has been on
manufacturing and producing the right types of hardware to
enable those solutions.
• In current model, most IoT solution providers have been
building all components of the stack, from the hardware
devices to the relevant cloud services or as they would like to
name it as “IoT solutions”, as a result, there is a lack of
consistency and standards across the cloud services used by
the different IoT solutions.
• As the industry evolves, the need for a standard model to perform
common IoT backend tasks, such as processing, storage, and firmware
updates, is becoming more relevant.
• In that new model, we are likely to see different IoT solutions work with
common backend services, which will guarantee levels of interoperability,
portability and manageability that are almost impossible to achieve with
the current generation of IoT solutions.
• Creating that model will never be an easy task by any level of imagination,
there are hurdles and challenges facing the standardization and
implementation of IoT solutions and that model needs to overcome all of
them.
Protocol Standardization for IoT
• The hurdles facing IoT standardization can be divided into 4 categories;
Platform, Connectivity, Business Model and Killer Applications:
• Platform:
• This part includes the form and design of the products (UI/UX),
• analytics tools used to deal with the massive data streaming from all products in a
secure way,
• and scalability which means wide adoption of protocols like IPv6 in all vertical and
horizontal markets is needed.
• Connectivity: This phase includes all parts of the consumer’s day and night
routine,
• from using wearables, smart cars, smart homes, and in the big scheme, smart cities.
• From the business prospective we have connectivity using IIoT (Industrial Internet of
Things) where M2M communications dominating the field.
• Business Model:
• The bottom line is a big motivation for starting, investing in, and operating any
business, without a sound and solid business models for IoT we will have another
bubble , this model must satisfied all the requirements for all kinds of e-commerce;
vertical markets, horizontal markets and consumer markets.
• But this category is always a victim of regulatory and legal scrutiny.
• Killer Applications:
• In this category there are three functions needed to have killer applications:
• control “things”, collect “data”, and analyze “data”.
• IoT needs killer applications to drive the business model using a unified platform.
• All four categories are inter-related, you need all them to make all them work.
• Missing one will break that model and stall the standardization process.
• A lot of work needed in this process, and many companies are involved in
each of one of the categories, bringing them to the table to agree on a
unifying model will be daunting task.
IOT IMPLEMENTATION
• The second part of the model is IoT implementations;
• implementing IoT is not an easy process by any measure for many
reasons including the complex nature of the different components of
the ecosystem of IoT.
• To understand the gravity of this process, we will explore all
the five components of IoT Implementation: Sensors, Networks,
Standards, Intelligent Analysis, and Intelligent Actions.
IoT Protocol Standardization Efforts
• IoT standardization efforts focusing on data representations and API.
• Because in most cases, the data representation and APIs are intertwined
with architecture and framework, it is hard to separate; so there may be
some overlaps.
• The IoT-A (Internet of Things architecture is one of the few efforts targeting
a holistic architecture for all IoT sectors.
• This consortium consists of 15 European organizations from nine countries
• A consortium is a public or private association or a group of two or
more institutes, businesses, and companies that collaborate to
achieve common goals (IoT Solutions).
What's the role of IoT alliances and consortiums?
Alliances and consortiums provide for the
following:
•Help to promote standards and product
certifications in a particular area (Examples:
RFID Consortium, NFC Forum, Wi-Fi
Alliance, Zigbee Alliance, LoRa Alliance )
•Facilitate joint R&D efforts, influence
direction of the industry, promote best
practices, and provide testbeds
(Example: IIC)
•Help new entrants or startups to start
quickly by providing required licenses,
ecosystem or access to standards so that
they can concentrate on building their
differentiators
M2M Technology
• M2M technology was first adopted in manufacturing and industrial
sectors. Now its move to other sectors, such as healthcare, business
and insurance.
• How M2M works
• The main purpose of machine-to-machine technology is to tap
into sensor data and transmit it to a network.
• M2M systems often use public networks and access methods -- for example,
cellular or Ethernet -- to make it more cost-effective.
• The main components of an M2M system include sensors, RFID, a Wi-Fi or
cellular communications link, and autonomic computing software
programmed to help a network device interpret data and make decisions.
• These M2M applications translate the data, which can trigger
preprogrammed, automated actions.
M2M (Machine to Machine)
• Key features of M2M
• Key features of M2M technology include:
• Low power consumption, in an effort to improve the system's ability to effectively
service M2M applications.
• A Network operator that provides packet-switched service
• Monitoring abilities that provide functionality to detect events.
• Time tolerance, meaning data transfers can be delayed.
• Time control, meaning data can only be sent or received at specific predetermined
periods.
• Location specific triggers that alert or wake up devices when they enter particular
areas.
• The ability to continually send and receive small amounts of data.
M2M protocol standards
• Data transport protocol standards - M2MXML, JavaScript Object Notation
(JSON), BiTXML, WMMP, MDMP
• Extend OMA DM to support M2M devices protocol management objects
• M2M device management, standardize M2M gateway
• M2M security and fraud detection
• Network API’s M2M service capabilities
• Remote management of device behind gateway/firewall
• Open REST-based API for M2M applications
WSN Protocols
• There are no. of standardisation bodies in the field of WSN.
• IEEE – focuses on PHY and MAC layer
• IETF – works on layer 3 and above
• IEEE 1451 is a set of smart transducer interface standards developed by
the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society’s Sensor Technology
Technical Committee that describe a set of open, common, network-
independent communication interfaces for connecting transducers
(sensors or actuators) to microprocessors, instrumentation systems and
control networks.
• One of the key elements of these standards is the definition of transducer
electronic data sheets (TEDS) for each transducer.
• The TEDS is a memory device attached to the transducer, which stores
transducer identification, calibration, correction data, and manufacturer-
related information.
IEEE 1451 family of standards includes the
following:
• ◾ 1451.0-2007 Common Functions, Communication Protocols, and TEDS
Formats
• ◾ 1451.1-1999 Network Capable Application Processor Information Model
• ◾ 1451.2-1997 Transducer to Microprocessor Communication Protocols &
TEDS Formats
• ◾ 1451.3-2003 Digital Communication & TEDS Formats for Distributed Multi-
drop Systems
• ◾ 1451.4-2004 Mixed-mode Communication Protocols & TEDS Formats
• ◾ 1451.5-2007 Wireless Communication Protocols & TEDS Formats
• ◾ 1451.7-2010 Transducers to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems
Communication Protocols and TEDS Formats
SCADA and RFID Protocols
• Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
• One of the IoT pillars to represent the whole industrial automation arena
• IEEE created standard specification called Std C37.1™, for SCADA &
automation systems in 2007
• In recent years, network-based industrial automation has greatly evolved
• With the use of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs), or IoT devices in our
terms, in substations and power stations.
• SCADA is a system that refers to a combination of telemetry and data
acquisition. This consists of gathering information, transferring it back to
the control center, carrying out the necessary analysis and control, and
then displaying this data on a number of display operators.
• Earlier SCADA was mostly hardware and less on software.

• Presently, SCADA is 85% software and 15 % hardware.

• SCADA software can be divided into two types, proprietary or open.

• The important SCADA protocols can be classified into the following

• DNP3 (Distributed Network Protocol)

• IEC (International Electro Technical Commission) 60870

IEEE Std. C37.1 SCADA architecture.
DNP3 Protocol
• DNP3 stands for distributed network protocol and it consist of a set of
communication protocols used between components which are used in process
automation systems like electric utility, chemical process plants, etc.

• The purpose of DNP3 is to accomplish communication between various types of

monitoring, data acquisition systems and control equipment.

• This protocol forms an integral part in SCADA systems while interconnecting the
RTUs and IEDs named as the Inter –Control Center Communications (ICCP)
protocol. ICCP is a part of IEC 60870 and is widely used in inter- master station
communications.
Important Features of DNP3
• 1. DNP3 protocol is characterized by important features that makes it inter-
operable with related protocols like MODBUS, etc. This makes it more
efficient for communicating between components in SCADA systems.
• 2. DNP3, with reference to the widely used OSI model for communicating
networks, corresponds to layer 2, which provides multiplexing of various
features like error checking, link control, data fragmentation, etc.
• 3. DNP3 provides a transport function (layer 4) and Application layer (Layer
7) corresponding to SCADA applications.
• 4. DNP3 has improved bandwidth efficiency which is accomplished through
event oriented data reporting.
• 5. DNP3 has good ability to handle error detection.
IEC60870 Protocol
• IEC standard 60870 is widely used for controlling electric power transmission
grids and other process plants. This standard can be used for interoperating
various equipment from different suppliers through standardized protocols.
• IEC standard 60870 has six parts,
• defining general information related to the standard,
• operating conditions,
• electrical interfaces,
• performance requirements, and
• data transmission protocols.
• IEC 60870 provides a communication profile for tele-control messages
between two directly connected systems. This protocols provides tele-control
and tele-protection of electric power systems through associated tele-
communication.
Other standards for IEC 60870
• IEC 60870-5-1: Transmission Frame Formats
• IEC 60870-5-2: Data Link Transmission Services
• IEC 60870-5-3; General Structure of Application Data
• IEC 60870-5-4; Definition and Coding of Information Elements
• IEC 60870-5-5; Basic Application Functions
• The two widely used protocols for SCADA Applications are
• HDLC (High Level Data Link Control)
• MODBUS
• HDLC
• HDLC (High Level Data Link Control) is a bit oriented code transparent
synchronous data link layer protocol developed by ISO. HDLC provides
connection – oriented and connection – less service.
• Though HDLC can be used for point to point multi point connections, but is
preferable to use one to one connections, known as asynchronous balanced
mode (ABM). It forms the basis for all modern protocols.
• Modbus
• MODBUS is a serial communications protocol originally published by
MODICON in 1979 for use with its programmable logic controllers.
• MODBUS protocol is simple and robust which has become a widely used
standard communication protocol for connecting industrial electronic
devices.
• The advantages of MODBUS protocol from an industry point of view are
• 1. Industry centric.
• 2. Open Source
• 3. Easy to use and deploy
• 4. Vendor independent
RFID protocol standards

• The standards are created by different regulatory organizations,

including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), EPC
Global, and the American Standards Institute (ANSI).
RFID tags
• There are primarily two types of RFID tags.
• One is active and the other is passive.
• An active tag is powered using internal battery, where a passive tag
gets energized using a the power from a tag reader.
• A passive RFID tag will not have a battery or any kind of power source
by itself. It extracts the required energy from a reader.
 By function, there are six categories:

By industry, the common applications :

• ISO/IEC 18000 Series
• ISO/IEC 18000 series standards are widely used RFID wireless interface
standards, which cover the communication frequency from 125 kHz to
2.45GHz, with reading distances ranging from a few centimeters to dozens
of meters, mainly passive tags but also active tags for containers.
• There are seven standards with the ISO 18000 series as follows:
• 18000–1: Generic parameters for air interfaces for globally accepted
frequencies
• 18000–2: Air interface for 135 kHz
• 18000–3: Air interface for 13.56 MHz
• 18000–4: Air interface for 2.45 GHz
• 18000–5: Air interface for 5.8 GHz
• 18000–6: Air interface for 860 MHz to 930 MHz
• 18000–7: Air interface at 433.92 MHz
• ISO 11784/11785 (134.2 kHz)
• ISO 11784 and ISO 11785 are international standards that regulate the RFID
of animals, which is usually accomplished by implanting, introducing, or
attaching a transponder containing a microchip to an animal.
• ISO 11784- Code Structure
• ISO 11784 specifies the structure of the identification code, including
transponder data transmission method and reader specification, working on
134.2 kHz.
• ISO 11785- Technical Standard
• ISO 11785 specifies how a transponder is activated and how the stored
information is transferred to a transceiver.
• RFID tags from different manufacturers can be read using a common reader
according to this standard. Besides, transponder size is not specified in the
standard, so it can be designed in a variety of shapes to suit different
animals, such as glass tubes, earmarks, or collars.
• ISO/IEC 14443 (13.56 MHz)
• ISO/IEC 14443 is one of a series of International Standards describing the
parameters for identification cards as defined in ISO 7810 and the use of such
cards for international interchange.
• ISO/IEC14443 protocol is divided into two types: TypeA & TypeB, both operating
at 13.56 MHz (RFID HF). They are close-reading protocols. Label read-write
distance is 0~10cm. The main difference between A and B lies in their
modulation, coding schemes, and anti-collision methods.
• ISO/IEC 14443A
• Strong anti-interference ability but poor power stability, mainly used in the field
of transportation, urban construction access cards, bus cards, and small stored
value consumption cards, with a high market share.
• ISO/IEC 14443B
• Good stability, high security, but relatively vulnerable to external environment
interference. Because the encryption is relatively high, it is more suitable for CPU
card, generally used for ID card, passport, bank card, etc.
• ISO/IEC 15693(13.56 MHz)
• ISO/IEC 15693 is a long-distance reading protocol and also a popular HF
(13.56 MHz) standard for High RFIDs widely used for non-contact smart
payment and credit cards.
• It is compatible with ISO 18000-3 and allows long-distance communication.
• The maximum reading distance is 100mm, and the application is more
flexible.
• It widely used in production automation, medical management, jewelry
inventory, asset management, parking management and product anti-
counterfeiting, access control, asset management, logistics & supply chain,
library management, etc.
RFID Standards Sheet
RFID Standard Detail
ISO 10536 ISO RFID standard for close-coupled cards

ISO 14223 Radiofrequency identification of animals – Advanced transponder

ISO 11784 ISO RFID standard that defines the way in which data is structured on an RFID tag.s

ISO 11785 ISO RFID standard that defines the air interface protocol.

ISO RFID standard that provides the definitions for air interface protocol for RFID tags used in proximity
ISO 14443
systems – aimed for use with payment systems

ISO 15459 Unique identifiers for transport units (used in supply chain management)

ISO 15693 ISO RFID standard for use with what are termed neighborhood cards
ISO RFID standard for Item Management (includes application interface (part 1), registration of RFID data
ISO 15961
constructs (part 2), and RFID data constructs (part 3).

ISO 15962 ISO RFID standard for item management – data encoding rules and logical memory functions.

ISO 16963 ISO RFID standard for item management – unique identifier of RF tag.
ISO 18000 ISO RFID standard for the air interface for RFID frequencies around the globe
ISO 18001 RFID for item management – application requirements profiles.

ISO 18046 RFID tag and interrogator performance test methods.

The ISO RFID standard that defines the testing including conformance testing of RFID tags and readers. This is
ISO 18047
split into several parts that mirror the parts for ISO 18000.
This is the industry standard for electronic seals or “e-seals” for tracking cargo containers using the 433 MHz
ISO 18185
and 2.4 GHz frequencies.
Information technology—Telecommunications and information exchange between systems—Near Field
ISO 18092
Communication—Interface and Protocol (NFCIP-1)
Information technology—Telecommunications and information exchange between systems—Near Field
ISO 21481
Communication Interface and Protocol −2 (NFCIP-2)
Information technology, automatic identification, and data capture techniques – RFID for item management
ISO 24710
– Elementary tag license plate functionality for ISO 18000 air interface.
RFID implementation guidelines – part : RFID enabled labels; part 2: recyclability of RF tags; part 3: RFID
ISO 24729
interrogator / antenna installation.
RFID real-time locating system: Part 1: Application Programming Interface (API); Part 2: 2.4 GHz; Part 3: 433
ISO 24730
MHz; Part 4: Global Locating Systems
ISO 24752 System management protocol for automatic identification and data capture using RFID
ISO 24753 Air interface commands for battery assist and sensor functionality
ISO 24769 Real Time Locating System (RTLS) device conformance test methods
ISO 24770 Real Time Locating System (RTLS) device performance test methods
ISO 28560-2 Specifies encoding standards and data model to be used within libraries
 Standard Test Method for Rotary Stretch Wrapper Method for Determining the Readability of Passive RFID
ASTM D7580
Transponders on Homogenous Palletized or Unitized Loads
Standard Test Method for Determining the Performance of Passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
ASTM D7434
Transponders on Palletized or Unitized Loads
Standard Test Method for Determining the Performance of Passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
ASTM D7435
Transponders on Loaded Containers
Unified Data Standards in IoT for data Exchange
• IoT has the combination of different technologies, protocols and
different devices.
• Each of the devices have their own data.
• Instead of using the different data format, trying to use same data
format in all kind of IoT devices.
• So we need a common set of data standards for IoT.
• The message translation is replaced with a unified message structure, to
communicate among embedded, gateway, and cloud machines.
Solutions for Unified data
• The Resource Description Framework (RDF)
• it is the conceptual description or modeling of information that is implemented in web resources.
• SOAP and REST Frameworks.
• Both are light weighted protocols, used to provide data exchange protocols for IoT applications.
• SOAP – Simple Object Access Protocol
• It is a messaging protocol for data transfer between clients and servers.
• REST – Representational State Transfer architecture
• M2M/IoT Protocol Stack
• it is a unified IoT data format and protocol standards for e-commerce and e-business.
• EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
• It is for exchanging electronics data through the internet.
• ebXML
• Some ideas borrow from EDI & XML, used to build an interoperable e-commerce infrastructures.
• It specifies the rules for how different devices talk to each others.
• These standards are designed for independent of communication and software
technologies.
• What is RDF?
• The Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a general framework for
representing interconnected data on the web. RDF is used to integrate data
from multiple sources.
• RDF statements are used for describing and exchanging metadata, which
enables standardized exchange of data based on relationships.
• RDF statements express relationships between resources, such as the
following:
• documents
• physical objects
• people
• abstract concepts
• data objects
• Collections of related RDF statements comprise a directed graph that
maps the relationships among entities.
• A collection of RDF statements about related entities can be used to
construct an RDF graph that shows how those entities are related.
• How does RDF work?
• RDF is a standard way to make statements about resources.
• An RDF statement consists of three components, referred to as
a triple:
1.Subject is a resource being described by the triple.
2.Predicate describes the relationship between the subject and the object.
3.Object is a resource that is related to the subject.

• The subject and object are nodes that represent things.

• The predicate is an arc, because it represents the relationship
between the nodes.
• The RDF standard provides for three different types of nodes:
• Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) & Internationalized Resource
Identifier (IRI) is a standardized format for identifying a resource,
whether abstract or physical.
• Literal is a specific data value and can be a string, a date or a
numerical value. Literal values are expressed using the URI or IRI
format.
• Blank node identifier is also known as an anonymous resource or
a bnode. It represents a subject about which nothing is known other
than the relationship. Blank node identifiers use special syntax to
identify them.
• Every component -- subject, predicate and object -- of an RDF triple
can be expressed as a URI or IRI. The URI can be a URL pointing to a
web resource, or it can contain arbitrary data.
• Multiple RDF statements about the same entity will all be RDF triples.
• They have the same subject, but different predicates and objects.
• When building an RDF graph from those triples,
• the subject can be displayed once, with multiple arrows branching out from the
subject, representing different predicates and different objects.
• The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) maintains the standards
for RDF, including the foundational concepts, semantics and
specifications for different formats.
• The first syntax defined for RDF was based on the Extensible
Markup Language (XML).
• Other syntaxes are now more commonly used, including
• Terse RDF Triple Language (Turtle),
• JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data (JSON-LD) and
• N-Triples.
• REST and SOAP are 2 different approaches to online data transmission.
• Specifically, both define how to build application programming interfaces
(APIs), which allow data to be communicated between web applications.
• Representational state transfer (REST) is a set of architectural principles.
• When a request for data is sent to a REST API, it’s usually done through hypertext
transfer protocol (commonly referred to as HTTP).
• Once a request is received, APIs designed for REST (called RESTful APIs or RESTful web
services) can return messages in a variety of formats: HTML, XML, plain text, and JSON.
• JSON (JavaScript object notation) is favored as a message format because it can be
read by any programming language (despite the name), is human- and machine-
readable, and is lightweight.
• In this way, RESTful APIs are more flexible and can be easier to set up.
• An application is said to be RESTful if it follows 6 architectural guidelines.
• A RESTful application must have:
1.A client-server architecture composed of clients, servers, and resources.
2.Stateless client-server communication, meaning no client content is stored
on the server between requests. Information about the session’s state is
instead held with the client.
3.Cacheable data to eliminate the need for some client-server interactions.
4.A uniform interface between components so that information is transferred
in a standardized form instead of specific to an application’s needs.
5.A layered system constraint, where client-server interactions can be
mediated by hierarchical layers.
6.Code on demand, allowing servers to extend the functionality of a client by
transferring executable code (though also reducing visibility, making this an
optional guideline).
• Simple object access protocol (SOAP) is an official protocol maintained by
the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
• SOAP is a standard protocol that was first designed so that applications built
with different languages and on different platforms could communicate.
• Because it is a protocol, it imposes built-in rules that decrease its complexity
and overhead, which can lead to longer page load times.
• However, these standards also offer built-in compliances that can make it
preferable for enterprise scenarios.
• The built-in compliance standards include security, atomicity, consistency,
isolation, and durability (ACID), which is a set of properties for ensuring
reliable data transactions.
• Common web service specifications include:
• Web services security (WS-security): Standardizes how messages are secured and
transferred through unique identifiers called tokens.
• WS-Reliable Messaging: Standardizes error handling between messages transferred
across unreliable IT infrastructure.
• Web services addressing (WS-addressing): Packages routing information as
metadata within SOAP headers, instead of maintaining such information deeper
within the network.
• Web services description language (WSDL): Describes what a web service does,
and where that service begins and ends.
• When a request for data is sent to a SOAP API, it can be handled through any of the
application layer protocols: HTTP (for web browsers), SMTP (for email), TCP, and
others.
• However, once a request is received, return SOAP messages must be returned as
XML documents—a markup language that is both human- and machine-readable.
• A completed request to a SOAP API is not cacheable by a browser, so it cannot be
accessed later without resending to the API.
SOAP vs. REST comparison table
SOAP REST
Meaning Simple Object Access Protocol Representational State Transfer
Design Standardized protocol with pre-defined rules to follow. Architectural style with loose guidelines and recommendations.

Approach Function-driven (data available as services, e.g.: Data-driven (data available as resources, e.g. “user”).
“getUser”)
Statefulness Stateless by default, but it’s possible to make a SOAP API Stateless (no server-side sessions).
stateful.
Caching API calls cannot be cached. API calls can be cached.
Security WS-Security with SSL support. Built-in ACID compliance. Supports HTTPS and SSL.
Performance Requires more bandwidth and computing power. Requires fewer resources.
Message Only XML. Plain text, HTML, XML, JSON, YAML, and others.
format
Transfer HTTP, SMTP, UDP, and others. Only HTTP
protocol(s)
Recommended Enterprise apps, high-security apps, distributed Public APIs for web services, mobile services, social networks.
for environment, financial services, payment gateways,
telecommunication services.
Advantages High security, standardized, extensibility. Scalability, better performance, browser-friendliness, flexibility.
Disadvantages Poorer performance, more complexity, less flexibility. Less security, not suitable for distributed environments.
• Protocols
• – IEEE802.15.4
• – BACNet Protocol
• – Modbus
• – KNX
• – Zigbee
• IEEE 802.15.4
• IEEE 802.15.4 is a wireless access technology for low-cost and low-data-rate
• devices that are powered or run on batteries. In addition to being low cost and
• offering a reasonable battery life, this access technology enables easy
• installation using a compact protocol stack while remaining both simple and
• flexible. Several network communication stacks, including deterministic ones,
• and profiles leverage this technology to address a wide range of IoT use cases
• in both the consumer and business markets. IEEE 802.15.4 is commonly
• found in the following types of deployments:
• Home and building automation
• Automotive networks
• Industrial wireless sensor networks
• Interactive toys and remote controls

• Criticisms of IEEE 802.15.4 often focus on its MAC reliability, unbounded

• latency, and susceptibility to interference and multipath fading. The negatives
• around reliability and latency often have to do with the Collision Sense
• Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) algorithm. CSMA/CA is
• an access method in which a device “listens” to make sure no other devices

• are transmitting before starting its own transmission. If another device is

• transmitting, a wait time (which is usually random) occurs before “listening”
• occurs again. Interference and multipath fading occur with IEEE 802.15.4
• because it lacks a frequency-hopping technique. Later variants of 802.15.4
• from the IEEE start to address these issues.
BACNet Protocol
• “Building Automation and Control Networks” (BACnet) is a data transfer
protocol for building automation and control.
• BACnet was developed by American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) in 1987.
• BACnet has been an ANSI standard and ISO standard since 1987 and 2003.
• BACnet simplifies communication between products from different
manufacturers within building automation.
• It provides vendor-independent interoperability networked equipment and
control devices supporting a wide range of building automation applications.
• Building automation designers use BACnet for connecting multiple devices
and systems to implement sophisticated energy management, occupant
comfort, and building security applications.

• They also use BACnet to integrate information and control for multiple
building systems into a single graphical user interface.

• The use of BACnet in building automation simplifies operations, reduces

training, streamlines maintenance, offers flexibility, and allows for
backward compatible extensions and cross-functional add-ons.
• Key BACnet Benefits
• Worldwide standardized data communication for building automation
• Independent of specific technologies and suppliers
• Comprehensive solution for building control and automation networks
• Compatibility with IT infrastructure and highly scalable solutions
• Validation at independent testing laboratories and product certification
• Continuously being maintained and upgraded while preserving current
investments
BACnet MSTP
• BACnet also uses Ethernet or IP-centric infrastructure and a simple, low cost
twisted pair communication called Master Slave Token Passing protocols a
network options.
• MSTP is based on EIA-485 and within the same unified standard it provides a
sophisticated routing capability allows scaling of BACnet inter networks into
large and efficient systems.
• MS as the name itself says that any device on MS/TP bus has to be a master or a
salve.
• Master can initiate the communication once it has the token and the slave
respond to the request, the slave cannot initiate communication or keep the
token in a hold state.
• TP indicates that entire MS/TP bus is controlled by a single token, this single
token is then passed from master to master in order of MS/TP MAC address and
any device can respond to a communication request but only the device with the
token can initiate the communication.
• BACnet Gateway / Controller Specification
• A BACnet device is typically a controller, gateway, or user interface
• BACnet uses an object-oriented model for abstracting and representing different
aspects of a control system. For example
1.A physical Device (i.e. device objects)
2.A temperature input (i.e. analog input)
3.A relay control (i.e. binary output)
• BACnet also has an extensive application services model that provides many types of
useful services that implementer may elect to support in their devices.
• Services are grouped into five categories of functionality
• a). Object access which performs write, read, create, delete;
• b). Device management i.e.time synchronization, initialize, backup and restore database;
• c). Alarm and Event i.e. alarms and changes of state;
• d). File Transfer i.e. trend data, program transfer;
• e). Virtual terminal i.e. human machine interface via prompts and menus. The objects that
provides a services can be a server or a client or else can be both depending on system, Server
is something which provides the service and Client is something that requests the service.
• BACnet Applications
• Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
• Lighting control
• Elevator monitoring
• Access control
• Security and fire alarm systems monitoring and integration
• Energy management and energy services
Zigbee
• zigbee is becoming very popular for low data rate wireless applications.
• Zigbee devices are used everywhere including smart energy, medical and in home
automation.
• In smart energy applications zigbee products are used to monitor and control use of
energy and water, which helps consumers save energy and water and save money too.
• In medical field it is used to connect unlimited number of health monitoring devices
and many more.
• In home automation it controls domestic lighting, such as switches, dimmers,
occupancy sensors and load controllers.
• It has two bands of operation 868/915MHz and 2450MHz.
• 868/915 band provides about 20-40Kb/s and
• 2450MHz band provides about 250 kb/s data rates.
• In addition to this uses zigbee end devices can go to sleep mode which saves battery
consumption and it also takes care of security of the information owing to security
layer.
Zigbee Network Overview:

• zigbee network is
comprised of
• coordinator(C),
• router(R) and
• end devices (E).
• Zigbee supports mesh-
routing.
• Coordinator:
• Always first coordinator need to be installed for establishing zigbee network
service,
• it starts a new PAN (Personal Area Network), once started other zigbee
components viz. router(R) and End devices(E) can join the network(PAN).
• It is responsible for selecting the channel and PAN ID.
• It can assist in routing the data through the mesh network and allows join
request from R and E.
• It has operated by mains powered (AC) and support child devices.
• It will not go to sleep mode.
• Router:
• First router needs to join the network then it can allow other R & E to join the PAN.
• It is mains powered (AC) and support child devices.
• It will not go to sleep mode.
• End Devices:
• It cannot allow other devices to join the PAN nor can it assist in routing the data through
the network.
• It is battery powered and do not support any child devices.
• This may sleep hence battery consumption can be minimized to great extent.
• There are two topologies, star and mesh, as mentioned Zigbee supports mesh routing.
• PAN ID is used to communicate between zigbee devices, it is 16 bit number.
• Coordinator will have PAN ID set to zero always and all other devices will receive a 16 bit
address when they join PAN.
• There are two main steps in completing Zigbee Network Installation.
• Forming the network by Coordinator and joining the network by Routers and End
devices.
• Forming the Zigbee Network
• Coordinator searches for suitable RF channel which is usable and not interfering with Wireless LAN
frequencies in use.
• This is because WLAN also operates in the same 2.4GHz bands. This is done on all the 16 channels. It is
also referred as energy scan.
• Coordinator starts the network by assigning a PAN ID to the network.
• Assignment is done in two ways.
• Manual (pre configured) and dynamic (obtained by checking other PAN IDs of networks
already in the operation nearby so that PAN ID does not conflict with other networks).
• Here Coordinator also assigns network address to itself i.e. 0x0000.
• Now coordinator completes its configuration and is ready to accept network joining
request queries from routers and end devices who wish to join the PAN.
• In addition to above, Coordinator(C) sends broadcast beacon request frame on remaining
quiet channel.
• This is also referred as beacon scan or PAN scan.
• By this Coordinator receives PAN ID of routers(R) and end devices(E) present nearby.
• It also comes to know whether R/E allow join or not.
• Now R/E can join by sending association request to C. C will respond with association
response.
• Joining the Zigbee Network
• how a router or end device joins zigbee network?
• There are two ways to join a zigbee network viz. MAC association and network re-join.
• First one is implemented by device underlying MAC layer and
• second one is implemented by network layer, despite the name may also be used to join a
network for the first time.
• MAC association can be performed between C and R/E or R and E or R and other R.
• Let us assume that Coordinator(C) has already established the PAN network.
• Hence next step for R or E is to find out whether C is allowing joining or not.
• So they do PAN scan or send beacon request frame.
• After they come to know that they can join the network, they will send association request
frame and will join the network as soon as they receive the association response.
• As mentioned above whether or not C or R allow a new device to join depends on two
main factors:
• -Permit joining attribute
• -Number of end device children it already has.
• Zigbee Applications
• Zigbee in Healthcare - For example to monitor blood pressure, to
monitor blood glucose level, bed sensor controller, weighing scale
etc.
• Zigbee in smart energy - For example safe plug, smart socket,
electricity consumption display, thermostats, energy manager etc.
• Zigbee in Home and building automation - For example remote
control of various home and building related stuff.
• Zigbee for Closures - For example smart lock, Door sensor,
occupancy sensor, etc.
• Zigbee for Home appliances - For example air conditioner, TV,
digital water meter etc.
• Zigbee for telecom services - For example router/gateway etc.
zigbee protocol stack

• zigbee IP consists of various protocol layers viz.

• physical layer(PHY), mac layer, network layer and application layer.
• IEEE 802.15.4 standard defined zigbee PHY and MAC specifications.
Zigbee alliance specifies network and application layers.
• Physical Layer is responsible for the following functions:
• Activation and deactivation of transmission and reception.
• Channel selection and its assessment.
• Sending and receiving of packets.
• Energy detection within the channel.
Zigbee Physical Layer
• There are three physical layer version in zigbee.
• These are categorized based on frequency band of use viz.
868/915MHz and 2450MHz.
Zigbee MAC Layer
• This layer provides interface between the physical and
network layers.
• It defines how multiple 802.15.4 radios operating in the
same area will share the airwaves.
• Data handling and data management are the two main
functions of the MAC layer.
• Data handling includes functions such as “Data Request”
and “Data Confirm”. The MAC layer adds destination address
and transmits options for the outgoing data frames.
• When the Zigbee network layer calls the “data request”
function, the data gets formatted into relevant MAC header
and frame length is added which is the physical header. The
data frame is ready to be transmitted.
• The purpose of “Data Confirm” function is to communicate
the status of the transmitted data. It sends a fail status
when the transmission frames exceeds or when there is no
response to transmitted data.
• Function of Medium Access Control (MAC) Layer in Zigbee
Architecture
• Medium Access Control (MAC) Layer is responsible for
the following:
• Beacon generation and management.
• CSMA-CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision
Avoidance) is implemented.
• Guaranteed Time Clot management (GTS).
• Data frame validation and acknowledgement.
• Data transfer for upper layers.
Zigbee MAC Layer
• zigbee MAC layer frame composed of MAC header, MAC
payload and FCS.
Network Layer & Security Layer:
• Ad-hoc on-demand Distance Vector Routing protocol (AODV) is used
at network layer.
• Security Layer:
• If security is enabled, zigbee device will start up using a 128 bit AES
encryption key.
• Devices having same security key can communicate on PAN.

• How to obtain this key?

1. Pre-installation
2. Key is received over the air during joining.
• Network Layer provides interface between MAC layer and
the application layer. It is responsible for routing and
establishing different Zigbee network topologies namely
Star, Mesh and Tree topologies.
• When a coordinator attempts to establish a Zigbee
network, an energy scan is initiated to find the best RF
channel for its new network.
• When a channel has been chosen, the coordinator assigns
a PAN-ID which will be applied to all the devices that join
the network.
• PAN-ID is a 16 bit number that is used as a network
identifier. A node is allowed to communicate on a network
only when it undergoes the association process.
• The association function is used to join a node to a parent.
• Function of Network Layer in Zigbee Architecture
• Network Layer in Zigbee architecture is responsible for
the following functions:
• Initiation of a network
• Assigning node addresses
• Configuring of new devices
• Providing secured transmission
• Application Layer in Zigbee Architecture
• The Application Layer in Zigbee architecture consists of
sub layers namely:
• Application Support Sub Layer
• Application Framework
• Function of Application Support Sub Layer (APS)
• Application Support Sub Layer (APS) is responsible for
the following functions:
• Maintaining binding tables.
• Address definition, mapping and management.
• Ensuring communication between devices.
• Filtering out packets for non-registered end devices or
profiles that don’t match and reassembling of the
packets.
Application frame work:
• There are two profiles at this layer.
• 1. Manufacturer specific application profile- Operate as closed
systems and also ensure that they can coexist with other zigbee
systems.
• 2. Public application profile- for this to work interoperability between
various zigbee devices is a must.
• A single zigbee node supports up to 240 application objects called
end points.
• An end point specifies specific application, for example,
• 0 dedicated to ZDO (Zigbee device object), provides control and
management commands.
• 6 used for control of light.
• 8 used for managing heating and air conditioning.
Web References
• https://www.rfwireless-world.com/Tutorials/Zigbee_tutorial.html
• https://electricalfundablog.com/zigbee-architecture-zigbee-stack-layers/
• https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/solutions/iot/iot-technology-protocols/
• https://www.iottechtrends.com/what-is-m2m/
• https://www.techtarget.com/iotagenda/definition/machine-to-machine-
M2M#:~:text=Several%20key%20M2M%20standards%2C%20many%20of%20which%20are,proto
col%208%20AllJoyn%2C%20an%20open%20source%20software%20framework
• https://tutorials.ducatindia.com/iot/what-is-m2m-in-iot/
• https://www.instructables.com/Free_Electronic_Samples/
• https://www.instructables.com/PCB-Hotplate-Mini-Edition/
• https://www.instructables.com/SPI-Nixie-Display/
• https://www.instructables.com/Simple-Bots-Hopscotch/
• https://www.instructables.com/How-To-Get-FREE-Electronic-parts/
• https://www.asiarfid.com/common-rfid-standards-and-protocols.html
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om0X7IVC6ns
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLb6ZlyD1qM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7AKX_aMTEs
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mukUZDiwY6U
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ScywAjBwcg
• https://www.speranzainc.com/security-standards-in-iot/
• https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/internet-of-things-blog/scale-
industrial-iot-with-unified-data-from-industrial-assets/ba-p/3341864