What Is IoT Architecture?

IoT architecture consists of the devices, network structure, and cloud technology that allows IoT devices
to communicate with each other. A basic IoT architecture consists of three layers:

 Perception (the sensors, gadgets, and other devices)

 Network (the connectivity between devices)
 Application (the layer the user interacts with)

These layers support IoT devices through data collection and processing. This architecture goes beyond
the OSI model to include the transformation of data into usable information. These insights allow
businesses to take immediate action through the use of automation, machine learning, and artificial
intelligence.

The Importance of IoT Architecture

Administrators use IoT architecture to manage and support IoT devices. IoT devices can be anything
from an internet-connected light bulb to pressure safety sensors in a chemical plant.

These devices use small sensors to collect data about their environment and send that data to a server
for processing. Servers process this data to create information and insights for businesses. Many times,
this information is used to automate tasks that improve uptime and efficiency across multiple business
systems.

IoT architecture makes this all possible by ensuring data gets where it needs to and is processed
correctly. Without proper IoT architecture, networks would become unreliable, defeating the entire
purpose of investing in IoT in the first place.

The Five Layers of IoT Architecture

IoT architecture can be explained in either three or five layers.
Many agree that the three-layer model is simple to understand
but leaves out some key details regarding how the data is used.
Below is a breakdown of each layer, what it does, and why it’s
important.

Perception
The perception layer represents the physical IoT devices
themselves. This can include health monitors, lighting systems,
autonomous vehicles, robotics, and security systems. Each IoT
device collects data that requires processing.

IoT sensors are inexpensive and can collect hundreds of different data points for processing. The data
collected will vary depending on the goals of the organization. For example, agricultural IoT devices can
record atmospheric data, moisture levels, solid temperature, and airflow to improve crop yield and
revenue.
Transport
The transport layer is responsible for sending collected data to the cloud or edge device for processing.
The transport layer relies on internet gateways to move data from the physical perception layer into the
processing phase.

Administrators typically rely on cellular and Wi-Fi networks to move data through the transport layer.
There are a few different technologies system admins can use during this stage:

 Cellular 4G LTE / 5G
 Wi-Fi
 Bluetooth
 Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN)

Administrators can design their IoT architecture with a mix and match of transport protocols. Ultimately
the transport protocol you use should be able to reliably support data from the sensor to the closest
internet gateway

Processing
Once the data reaches the cloud or edge device the server can transform this data into information.
Modern IoT architectures leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence that create value by
analyzing this data.

For example, if an IoT sensor is recording a high fluctuation in temperature, artificial intelligence can
alert to this anomaly by monitoring the current temperature compared to its baseline. In this case, the
server might be able to send a command to an HVAC unit to lower the temperature and resolve the
issue.

Application
Processing typically occurs without human intervention, but humans still need to tell the server what to
do when certain rules are met or thresholds are broken. The application layer is where administrators
manage IoT device orchestration, create rule sets, and set service-level agreements for their IoT
architecture.

If you’ve ever used an app to turn your lights on at home, you’ve used the application layer to do so.
Reliable IoT architectures use the application layer to control and manage their networks from a
centralized dashboard.

Business
Finally, we arrive at the business layer, where information is transformed into business intelligence that
drives decision-making. Stakeholders and executives can use the insights collected at the application
layer to make better business decisions.

The business layer typically relies on reports and live dashboards for business intelligence. Information
collected from the application layer can be enriched further at this level through other integrations. For
example, business intelligence analysts can correlate cost savings based on electricity consumption
before and after smart lighting sensors were installed.
IoT Architecture Use Cases
It’s clear how IoT architecture transforms data, but where is it most useful? Below we’ll explore a few
real-world IoT architecture examples to show how these networks create value.

IoT in Healthcare
Hospitals and clinics can generate a lot of untapped data that could be used to improve patient care and
increase operational efficiency. IoT architecture can help bridge the gap between isolated patient data
and the health insights doctors can use to make better decisions and respond to alerts more quickly.

Devices such as health monitors, EKG machines, ventilators, and staff devices generate data that can be
transformed into valuable healthcare insights. Below are a few examples:

 Real-time patient health monitoring and alerts through IoT health sensors.
 Equipment and inventory tracking with GPS/Bluetooth -enabled sensors.
 Preventive maintenance with IoT sensors that automatically create work orders.
 Remote surgeries through IoT-enabled robotic equipment.

IoT in Manufacturing
The manufacturing industry was one of the earliest adopters of IoT technology with many companies
seeking a competitive advantage. IoT sensors can help manufacturers gain insight into processes that
aren’t even connected to the internet.

For example, replacing manufacturing equipment is expensive and requires downtime. This leaves many
factories relying on older machines that don’t support internet connectivity. Businesses in this case can
use IoT sensors to collect data and wirelessly transmit that information without having to replace the
machine.

Below are some examples of how manufacturers can benefit from IoT architecture:

 Measuring change over time through short-range IoT sensors.

 Developing demand forecasts by monitoring production rate in real time.
 Tracking the cycle time to understand your baseline efficiency.
 Monitoring fluid levels, conductivity, and other data points for preventive maintenance.

IoT in Agriculture
When we think of IoT, many of us forget that farmers are taking advantage of IoT architecture to help
improve their yield, predict outputs, and even autonomously manage their crops. A major challenge
with IoT architecture on farms was the limited infrastructure and level of coverage required.

Thanks to private 5G, farmers are now able to design and build their own 5G networks to support their
IoT architecture across hundreds of acres of land. A few different ways farmers use IoT architecture
include the following:
 Monitoring soil temperature to plant crops as early as possible.
 Using autonomous tractors and farmer equipment powered by GPS.
 Finding the root cause of machinery issues with root cause analysis via a mobile app.
  Automatically adjusting water, temperature, and humidity levels for indoor growing
operations.

The Future of IoT Architectures with Private 5G

The future of IoT architecture is quickly evolving to keep pace with advancements in enterprise
5G network evolution, which will help administrators deploy more reliable IoT architectures and
process data faster than ever before.

Private 5G allows administrators to launch their own 5G mobile network similar to how organizations
own and control their own Wi-Fi networks. Organizations using the private model have full control over
their cellular resources, budget, and coverage.

In the past, IoT architecture using cellular for transport had to rely on commercial networks for service.
This presented a few problems, especially for enterprise-level operations. Commercial cellular networks
can throttle bandwidth, limit speeds, or charge coverage fees if data usage surpasses a set amount.

This can prove disastrous for networks using IoT architecture in environments like healthcare facilities or
enterprise systems. Unfortunately, commercial 5G plans can leave IoT networks with little resources
during peak traffic times when they’re needed the most.

Another common issue on commercial cellular networks is the lack of interoperability between the
cellular network and internal applications. Commercial cellular networks fail to identify internal
applications, devices, and enterprise systems. This leaves administrators with little control over how
they divide and control cellular resources across their IoT architecture, and apply the crucial network
security policies that are in place for enterprise connectivity.

Private 5G solves these problems by giving administrators full control over their IoT network resources,
infrastructure, and service levels. For example, with a 5G IoT network, administrators can set granular
throughput and latency SLAs for specific applications across their environment. These rules are enforced
by artificial intelligence algorithms that continuously monitor and change network conditions to ensure
SLAs are met.
What Are The 4 Stages of IoT Architecture?

The Internet of Things concerns the mass connectivity of several devices including consumer products
like watches, wearable technology, remotes, tabs, home appliances, as well as sensors, and more, with
people using them. The solution is designed to capture data from the devices and send the captured
data to data centers and servers for further analytics that drives actions and automation. 

The IoT architecture plays a crucial role in guiding the data to its right path, defining the format to use,
and what action to take. 

What is IoT network architecture?  

It is a network system of several elements such as sensors, actuators, cloud services, protocols, and IoT
architecture layers. Different layers let administrators evaluate, monitor, and maintain system
consistency. The system design plan is carefully integrated with the existing infrastructure systems for
optimal impact.  

Organizations with great IoT architecture have a better chance of improving business processes and
driving better outcomes. Such organizations are known to maintain an IoT system architecture that is
customized to specific IoT projects, as well as other general-purpose Internet of Things architecture
formats. 

In addition to this, the system includes IoT architecture layers that help in tracking system consistency.
In fact, the layers need to be put in place long before the process of IoT architecture framing begins. A
common IoT architecture would be made up of these 3 layers: 
 Perception, or the IoT Device Layer – the client layer that collects data;
 Network, or the IoT Gateway Layer – the server-side operators who connect devices to smart objects,
servers, and network devices;
 Application, or the Platform Layer  – the final application that connects the operator, and the client;

These layers ensure that the IoT architecture is fully functional, scalable, available, and maintainable.

Once this is achieved, we move on to the 4 stages of the IoT architecture layout:

 Stage 1: Sensors and Actuators;

 Stage 2: Gateways and Data Acquisition Systems;
 Stage 3: Edge IT Data Processing;
 Stage 4: Datacenter and Cloud;

A more detailed review of each of the 4 stages of IoT architecture follows:

Stage 1: Sensors and Actuators 

Sensors and actuators are the connected devices that monitor, and control the physical processes
respectively. Sensors capture process status data or the environmental conditions such as humidity,
temperature, fluid flow in a pipeline, the fluid level in a tank, and so much more.  At times, some of the
condition data requires an immediate response by the actuator to carry out real-time remediation
actions. An example is that of adjusting the liquid flow rate to maintain a consistent level. 

It is crucial to maintain low latency between Sensors, and the data analysis to trigger the actuator’s
action. Data processing is carried out in close proximity to monitor, and control system to avoid delay in
data relay to the server, its analysis, and the final signal to control the ‘thing.’ 

Stage 2: Gateways and Data Acquisition Systems

The data sent by the sensors is collected by a Data Acquisition System (DAS) and converted into a
digital-analog format. The DAS aggregates and formats this data before it sends it through Internet
gateways such as wireless WAN as in cellular or Wi-Fi, or wired WANs for the next stage of processing. 

In the case of industrial, and factory settings, the data at this stage can be enormous with 1000s of
sensors gathering them simultaneously. This necessitates data filtration and compression to an optimal
size before its transmission. 

Stage 3: Edge IT Data Processing

The IoT data that has been digitized and aggregated undergoes further processing before reaching the
cloud center. The edge devices1 carry out advanced analytics and pre-processing, sometimes using
Machine Learning and visual representation. Machine Learning helps provide ever-improving feedback
into the system and further improves the process without waiting for instructions from the cloud data
center. Such processing is often carried out in a device that is close to the sensor, such as in an on-site
wiring closet. This stage then enables data capturing at the local sensors and its transfer to remote
locations after analysis and processing. 

Stage 4: Data Center and Cloud

In this last leg, data centers carry out in-depth processing with the help of high-end applications
designed and run by skilled analytics professionals. Powerful IT systems analyze, manage, and store data
in the cloud, or corporate data centers. Here, multiple site sensors combine to give a broader picture of
the overall IoT system, and its deliverable actions. When operations are spread across geographies,
these cloud data centers analyze and identify key trends, patterns, or spot anomalies to help optimize
operations.

This is the stage when a company or industry-specific application carries out an in-depth analysis with
unique or custom business rules in mind to determine the course of action to be taken. The incoming

1
An edge device is a device that provides an entry point into enterprise or service provider core networks. Examples include routers, routing switches, integrated access
devices, multiplexers, and a variety of metropolitan area network and wide area network access devices.
data may indicate that changes be done to device settings or suggest other corrective measures to
optimize processes. It is part of a continual development loop that also stores data for future analysis.

What is IoT Architecture?

IoT architecture will change across different IoT projects, but will always involve large amounts of data
The Internet of Things (IoT) is part of our lives in many ways, much more than we tend to think about. It
helps to make our lives easier and more comfortable. In enterprises, it helps to automate processes and
make entire industries safer and more efficient. However, there are many considerations to take into
account when planning an IoT solution.

What is IoT?
IoT is a concept that refers to all the objects that are now connected to the internet and how they can
communicate with each other or with the people around them. At first, when thinking about IoT, most
people think of wireless sensors or smart home gadgets that are connected to the internet. In reality,
IoT is a lot more than that. It’s mostly about large data and how this data is being processed and
communicated across networks.

Billions of devices are now connected and they produce trillions of bytes of data daily. Having the right
architecture will help with managing this incredible volume of data.

What is IoT architecture?

Due to the ever-evolving nature of IoT devices, and the wide diversity of sensors, there is no one-size-
fits-all architecture for IoT projects. However, some of the building blocks will be similar from project to
project. First, you will need to build with scalability in mind. The amount of data that you will collect
over time will take on enormous proportions and you will need a platform that can accommodate this in
the long run. You will also need to ensure that you have high availability at any given time. Having
system failures could make you lose some business in the best case, or could have fatal consequences in
the worst cases. Finally, you will need a system that is flexible enough to accommodate quick and
frequent changes. As your architecture evolves, or your business needs change, you will need to iterate
quickly without breaking the existing architecture.

What are the three major layers of IoT architecture?

While it is true that no two IoT projects are the same, the main layers have always stayed consistent.
Ever since the first research on IoT was done, the three-layer architecture has been the dominant model
for IoT applications. The three layers are Perception (or Devices), Network, and Application.
  Perception: The sensors themselves are on this layer. This is where the data comes from. The
data could be gathered from any number of sensors on the connected device. Actuators, which
act on their environment, are also at this layer of the architecture.
 Network: The network layer describes how large amounts of data are moving throughout the
application. This layer connects the various devices and sends the data to the appropriate back-
end services.
 Application: The application layer is what the users see. This could be an application to control a
device in a smart-home ecosystem, or a dashboard showing the status of the devices which are
part of a system.

What are the five additional layers of IoT architecture?

The three-layer architecture is a great way to describe an IoT project, but it is somewhat limited in
scope. For this reason, many proposed architectures have different or additional layers. A popular one is
called the five-layer architecture, which includes Transport (replacing the Network), Processing, and
Business layers, in addition to the Perception and Application layers from the three-layer architecture
model.

In addition to the Perception and Application layers, which are the same, you will usually see the
following three layers.

 Transport: This layer describes the transfer of data between the sensors in the Perception layer
and the Processing layer through various networks.
 Processing: Sometimes referred to as the Middleware layer, this one stores, analyzes, and pre-
processes the data coming from the Transport layer. In modern software applications, this is
often located on the edge of the cloud for low latency communications.
 Business: This layer is often referred to as the Business Intelligence layer. Located at a higher
level than the Application layer, the Business layer describes everything that has to do with the
stakeholders. Decision-making will be done here based on the data found and consumed at the
Application layer.

What are the four main stages of IoT architecture?

Another way to describe an IoT solution architecture is using a four-stage approach. This architecture
describes the various building blocks that constitute the IoT solution. In this scenario, more emphasis is
put on edge computing than the other proposed designs.
  Devices: This stage is about the actual devices in the IoT solutions. These devices could be
sensors or actuators in the Perception layer. Those devices will generate data (in the case of
sensors) or act on their environment (in the case of actuators). The data produced is converted
in a digital form and transmitted to the internet gateway stage. Unless a critical decision must be
made, the data is typically sent in a raw state to the next stage due to the limited resources of
the devices themselves.
 Internet gateways: The internet gateway stage will receive the raw data from the devices and
pre-process it before sending it to the cloud. This internet gateway could be physically attached
to the device or a stand-alone device that could communicate with sensors over low power
networks and relay the data to the internet.
 Edge or fog computing: In order to process data as quickly as possible, you might want to send
your data to the edge of the cloud. This will let you analyze the data quickly and identify if
something requires immediate attention. This layer typically would only be concerned with
recent data that is required for time-critical operations. Some pre-processing might be done at
this stage, too, to limit the data that is ultimately transferred to the cloud.
 Cloud or data center: In this final stage, the data is stored for later processing. The application
and business layers live in this stage, where dashboards or management software can be fed
through the data stored in the cloud. Deep analysis or resource-intensive operations such as
machine learning training will happen at this stage.

IoT architecture in business

IoT use cases are varied and can take multiple shapes. In order to understand the different layers, we
can look at an example. Commercial airlines have many planes, and each of the planes has a plethora of
sensors.

The Perception layer consists of all those sensors in the plane. Those will indicate the current state of
the aircraft, along with the data about the current flight. The sensors will monitor things such as the
altitude, the position, the airspeed, and the vertical speed. Other sensors are gathering data to ensure
that the integrity of the plane is good, monitoring feedback such as vibrations in the engines.

This data, coming from multiple different sensors from different manufacturers, will be sent to a central
unit on the plane as part of the Network layer. This data will be converted into a standard format and
will be pre-processed there. If something critical happens, such as an engine failure, actuators will be
immediately triggered, rather than waiting for a full round trip to the cloud. Once the plane has internet
connectivity, the data will be sent to the cloud and move to the Application layer.

Now that the data made its way to the cloud, the data can be processed and analyzed in the Application
layer. Here, dashboards are produced to verify anomalies, flag issues for maintenance, and provide
business insights for the airline operator. With this data, the operator can make better decisions and
automate some tasks in order to make the flights safer.
Internet of Things: Architectures, Protocols, and Applications
The Internet of Things (IoT) is defined as a paradigm in which objects equipped with sensors, actuators,
and processors communicate with each other to serve a meaningful purpose. In this paper, we survey
state-of-the-art methods, protocols, and applications in this new emerging area. This survey paper
proposes a novel taxonomy for IoT technologies, highlights some of the most important technologies,
and profiles some applications that have the potential to make a striking difference in human life,
especially for the differently abled and the elderly. As compared to similar survey papers in the area, this
paper is far more comprehensive in its coverage and exhaustively covers most major technologies
spanning from sensors to applications.

1. Introduction
Today the Internet has become ubiquitous, has touched almost every corner of the globe, and is
affecting human life in unimaginable ways. However, the journey is far from over. We are now entering
an era of even more pervasive connectivity where a very wide variety of appliances will be connected to
the web. We are entering an era of the “Internet of Things” (abbreviated as IoT). This term has been
defined by different authors in many different ways. Let us look at two of the most popular definitions.
Vermesan et al. [1] define the Internet of Things as simply an interaction between the physical and
digital worlds. The digital world interacts with the physical world using a plethora of sensors and
actuators.
Another definition by Pe˜na-L´opez et al. [2] defines the Internet of Things as a paradigm in which
computing and networking capabilities are embedded in any kind of conceivable object. We use these
capabilities to query the state of the object and to change its state if possible.
In common parlance, the Internet of Things refers to a new kind of world where almost all the devices
and appliances that we use are connected to a network. We can use them collaboratively to achieve
complex tasks that require a high degree of intelligence. For this intelligence and interconnection, IoT
devices are equipped with embedded sensors, actuators, processors, and transceivers. IoT is not a single
technology; rather it is an agglomeration of various technologies that work together in tandem.
Sensors and actuators are devices, which help in interacting with the physical environment. The data
collected by the sensors has to be stored and processed intelligently in order to derive useful inferences
from it. Note that we broadly define the term sensor; a mobile phone or even a microwave oven can
count as a sensor as long as it provides inputs about its current state (internal state + environment). An
actuator is a device that is used to effect a change in the environment such as the temperature
controller of an air conditioner. The storage and processing of data can be done on the edge of the
network itself or in a remote server. If any preprocessing of data is possible, then it is typically done at
either the sensor or some other proximate device. The processed data is then typically sent to a remote
server. The storage and processing capabilities of an IoT object are also restricted
by the resources available, which are often very constrained due to limitations of size, energy, power,
and computational capability. As a result, the main research challenge is to ensure that we get the right
kind of data at the desired level of accuracy. Along with the challenges of data collection, and handling,
there are challenges in communication as well. The communication between IoT devices is mainly
wireless because they are generally installed at geographically dispersed locations. The wireless
channels often have high rates of distortion and are unreliable. In this scenario reliably communicating
data without too many retransmissions is an important problem and thus communication technologies
are integral to the study of IoT devices.
Now, after processing the received data, some action needs to be taken on the basis of the derived
inferences. The
nature of actions can be diverse. We can directly modify the physical world through actuators. Or we
may do something virtually. For example, we can send some information to other smart things. The
process of effecting a change in the physical world is often dependent on its state at that point of time.
This is called context awareness. Each action is taken keeping in consideration the context because an
application can behave differently in different contexts. For example, a person may not like messages
from his office to interrupt him when he is on vacation.
Sensors, actuators, compute servers, and the communication network form the core infrastructure of an
IoT
framework. However, there are many software aspects that need to be considered. First, we need a
middleware that can be used to connect and manage all of these heterogeneous components. We need
a lot of standardization to connect many different devices. We shall discuss methods to exchange
information and prevailing standards in Section 7. The Internet of Things finds various applications in
health care, fitness, education, entertainment, social life, energy conservation, environment monitoring,
home automation, and transport systems. We shall focus on these application areas in Section 9. We
shall find that, in all these application areas, IoT technologies have significantly been able to reduce
human effort and improve the quality of life.
2. Architecture of IoT
There is no single consensus on architecture for IoT, which is agreed universally. Different architectures
have been proposed by different researchers.

 Three- and Five-Layer Architectures. The most basic architecture is a

three-layer architecture [3–5] as shown in Figure 1. It was introduced
in the early stages of research in this area. It has three layers, namely,
the perception, network, and application layers.
I. The perception layer is the physical layer, which has sensors
for sensing and gathering information about the environment.
It senses some physical parameters or identifies other smart
objects in the environment.
 II. The network layer is responsible for connecting to other smart things, network devices, and
servers. Its features are also used for transmitting and processing sensor data.
III. The application layer is responsible for delivering application specific services to the user. It
defines various applications in which the Internet of Things can be deployed, for example,
smart homes, smart cities, and smart health.

The three-layer architecture defines the main idea of the Internet of Things, but it is not sufficient for
research on IoT because research often focuses on finer aspects of the Internet of Things. That is why,
we have many more layered architectures proposed in the literature. One is the five-layer architecture,
which additionally includes the processing and business layers [3–6]. The five layers are perception,
transport, processing, application, and business layers (see Figure 1B). The role of the perception and
application layers is the same as the architecture with three layers. We outline the function of the
remaining three layers.

IV. The transport layer transfers the sensor data from the perception layer to the processing
layer and vice versa through networks such as wireless, 3G, LAN, Bluetooth, RFID, and NFC.
V. The processing layer is also known as the middleware layer. It stores, analyzes, and
processes huge amounts of data that comes from the transport layer. It can manage and
provide a diverse set of services to the lower layers. It employs many technologies such as
databases, cloud computing, and big data processing modules.
VI. The business layer manages the whole IoT system, including applications, business and
profit models, and users’ privacy. The business layer is out of the scope of this paper. Hence,
we do not discuss it further.

Another architecture proposed by Ning and Wang [7] is inspired by the layers of processing in the
human brain. It is inspired by the intelligence and ability of human beings to think, feel, remember,
make decisions, and react to the physical environment. It is constituted of three parts. First is the human
brain, which is analogous to the processing and data management unit or the data center. Second is the
spinal cord, which is analogous to the distributed network of data processing nodes and smart gateways.
Third is the network of nerves, which corresponds to the networking components and sensors.

 Cloud and Fog Based Architectures. Let us now discuss two kinds of systems architectures: cloud and
fog computing (see the reference architectures in [8]). Note that this classification is different from
the classification in Section 2.1, which was done on the basis of protocols. In particular, we have
been slightly vague about the nature of data generated by IoT devices, and the nature of data
processing. In some system architectures the data processing is done in a large centralized fashion
by cloud computers. Such a cloud centric architecture keeps the cloud at the center, applications
above it, and the network of smart things below it [9]. Cloud computing is given primacy because it
provides great flexibility and scalability. It offers services such as the core infrastructure, platform,
software, and storage. Developers can provide their storage tools, software tools, data mining, and
machine learning tools, and visualization tools through the cloud. Lately, there is a move towards
another system architecture, namely, fog computing [10–12], where the sensors and network
gateways do a part of the data processing and analytics.
 A fog architecture [13] presents a layered approach as shown in
Figure 2, which inserts monitoring, preprocessing, storage, and
security layers between the physical and transport layers.
 The monitoring layer monitors power, resources,
responses, and services.
 The preprocessing layer performs filtering, processing,
and analytics of sensor data.
 The temporary storage layer provides storage
functionalities such as data replication, distribution, and
storage.
 The security layer performs encryption/decryption and
ensures data integrity and privacy.

Monitoring and preprocessing are done on the edge of the network before sending data to the cloud.

Often the terms “fog computing” and “edge computing” are used interchangeably. The latter term
predates the former and is construed to be more generic. Fog computing originally termed by Cisco
refers to smart gateways and smart sensors, whereas edge computing is slightly more penetrative in
nature.

This paradigm envisions adding smart data preprocessing capabilities to physical devices such as motors,
pumps, or lights. The aim is to do as much of preprocessing of data as possible in these devices, which
are termed to be at the edge of the network. In terms of the system architecture, the architectural
diagram is not appreciably different from Figure 2. As a result, we do not describe edge computing
separately. Finally, the distinction between protocol architectures and system architectures is not very
crisp. Often the protocols and the system are codesigned. We shall use the generic 5-layer IoT protocol
stack (architectural diagram presented in Figure 2) for both the fog and cloud architectures.

 Social IoT. Let us now discuss a new paradigm: social IoT (SIoT). Here, we consider social
relationships between objects the same way as humans form social relationships (see [14]). Here are
the three main facets of an SIoT system:
 The SIoT is navigable. We can start with one device and navigate through all the devices that
are connected to it. It is easy to discover new devices and services using such a social
network of IoT devices.
 A need of trustworthiness (strength of the relationship) is present between devices (similar
to friends on Facebook).
 We can use models similar to studying human social networks to also study the social
networks of IoT devices.

Basic Components. In a typical social IoT setting, we treat the devices and services as bots where
they can set up relationships between them and modify them over time. This will allow us to
seamlessly let the devices cooperate among each other and achieve a complex task. To make such a
model work, we need to have many interoperating components. Let us look at some of the major
components in such a system.
1. ID: we need a unique method of object identification. An ID can be assigned to an object
based on traditional parameters such as the MAC ID, IPv6 ID, a universal product code, or
some other custom method.
2. Metainformation: along with an ID, we need some metainformation about the device that
describes its form and operation. This is required to establish appropriate relationships with
the device and also appropriately place it in the universe of IoT devices.
3. Security controls: this is similar to “friend list” settings on Facebook. An owner of a device
might place restrictions on the kinds of devices that can connect to it. These are typically
referred to as owner controls.
4. Service discovery: such kind of a system is like a service cloud, where we need to have
dedicated directories that store details of devices providing certain kinds of services. It
becomes very important to keep these directories up to date such that devices can learn
about other devices.
5. Relationship management: this module manages relationships with other devices. It also
stores the types of devices that a given device should try to connect with based on the type
of services provided. For example, it makes sense for a light controller to make a
relationship with a light sensor.
6. Service composition: this module takes the social IoT model to a new level. The ultimate
goal of having such a system is to provide better integrated services to users. For example, if
a person has a power sensor with her air conditioner and this device establishes a
relationship with an analytics engine, then it is possible for the ensemble to yield a lot of
data about the usage patterns of the air conditioner. If the social model is more expansive,
and there are many more devices, then it is possible to compare the data with the usage
patterns of other users and come up with even more meaningful data. For example, users
can be told that they are the largest energy consumers in their community or among their
Facebook friends.
Seven Layers of Internet of Things | What Makes an IoT Solution
Comprehensive?

 it is important to know that there are 7 crucial layers on which IoT operates. Here is a list of all these 7
layers along with their functions in an IoT system.

1) Sensors:
Sensors and other data-collecting devices form the initial layer of any IoT system. They are the interface
between the real and digital world and are responsible to convert analog to digital signals. There are
different sensory devices such as meters, sensors, probes, gauges, and actuators that can read
parameters like temperature, distance, location, humidity, etc. These devices are installed on endpoints
(things) and collect required parameters in the form of raw data.

2) Sensors to Gateway Network:

This layer is the first network layer of any IoT system. It is responsible for the transmission of data from
the 1st layer (sensors) to the 3rd layer (gateways). The data is transferred from sensors to gateways
through a specific communication protocol with its unique rules, syntax, semantics, and synchronization
standards.

The data transfer can only occur if both the sensors and gateway support the transmission protocol.
Some common protocols that are used for connecting sensors with gateways are BLE, LoRaWAN, ZigBee,
and Sigfox.

3) Gateways:

Gateways are data aggregators that collect data from the sensors and send it to a backend
system. They are basically routers or modems that act as an interface between the local
sensor environment and the internet. They collect data from sensors within their range and
transmit it to a data ingesting platform.

The need for gateways and sensor-to-gateway networks is eliminated if the sensory device
itself has a built-in gateway or in other terms is capable of transmitting data to large
distances on its own. In such a case, the sensory device only requires to read data and
send it to a backend system.

4) Gateways to Internet Network:

Similar to the sensor to gateway network, this network facilitates the transmission of data
from gateway to the internet/backend systems. This network may span over a wide area
allowing the transmission of data to far-off locations. The protocols generally used for such
a wide-spread network are ethernet, Wi-Fi, satellite, or cellular.

5) Data Ingestion and Information Processing:

In this layer, the raw data collected from the previous 4 layers is converted into meaningful
information. The data in most cases is stored in cloud storage and accessed through the
backend system of a mobile app or web application. The ingested data is processed via
advanced analytics and other processing systems into value-added information which is
displayed on the screens of the user.

6) Internet to User Network:

This is the final network layer of any end-to-end IoT system. The raw data stored in the
cloud system is called by this network and displayed on the screen of the user in the form of
value-added information. The protocols that are generally used for accessing the data from
cloud storage systems are internet, ethernet, and Wi-Fi.

7) Value-added Information:

This final layer acts as the frontend of the whole IoT system. The collected data and value-
added information is displayed on the screen of the users, allowing them to track the
parameter pertaining to the asset they want to monitor. The information can be displayed in
the form of numbers, graphs, alerts, or charts; enabling the user to derive useful insights
and make smart decisions.

The information can be accessed from any smart device such as a smartphone or desktop
via a unique IoT platform that is tailored with features like real-time alert systems, analytics,
and remote monitoring.
CONCLUSION: