How do IoT Devices Communicate

An IoT Devices Overview

IoT connected devices exist in almost every industry, can be anything from a toaster to a doorbell, and are showing no signs of slowing down. According to data from Juniper Research, the total number of IoT devices is predicted to surpass 50 billion by 2022. In a past blog, we covered the security concerns associated with IoT technology, but here we will be going through the process by which IoT connected devices and sensors communicate or ‘talk’ to each other.

Network Communication Layers and Protocols

IoT devices can communicate with other devices, applications, and the cloud through networking technologies, such as the Internet, LAN, PAN, MAN, or WAN. These networking technologies operate off of standard protocols. IBM states that “standard protocols specify rules and formats that devices use to establish and manage networks and transmit data across those networks.” These protocols ensure that communication is secure and reliable.

A single, standard model goes through seven layers of protocols each time IoT devices communicate. These seven layers include physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation, and application. You can learn more about the seven layers of network communication here.

The Communication Process

The actual process of IoT devices talking to each other is quite complex. Protect America has a solid guide that puts this process into easily digestible laymen’s terms. Essentially, the physical IoT device sends data through a network into a session, then the presentation where the information can be seen, and lastly the application protocol where the data is used, manipulated, and retransmitted.

Network Constraints and Challenges

A final point of consideration is that all networking technologies are subject to the following constraints and challenges: range/distance, bandwidth, power usage, intermittent connectivity, interoperability, and security. These constraints are rather self-explanatory as the larger the distance between IoT devices the stronger the network technology has to be. Or that greater data volume can result in slower bandwidth.

Conectrix wants to create greater visibility in your business’ virtual environment be it through our informative blogs or a consultation with us. If you have any questions concerning IoT, cloud computing, cybersecurity, or other connectivity enabling technology, do not hesitate to contact us.