Architecture:Protocols:Main Page: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:31, 7 April 2026

AOWIS will need to have an LPWAN (Low-Power Wide-Area Network) as its main backbone to communicate between Sensors, Controllers, Actuators. Here is an overview about the most common technologies available:

ISO/OSI Layer	LoRa	LoRaWAN	MQTT	AMQP	Zigbee	Z-Wave	EnOcean	Sigfox	NB-IoT
7. Application			✔	✔	✔	✔	✔		✔
6. Presentation
5. Session
4. Transport			✔	✔					✔
3. Network		✔			✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
2. Data Link		✔			✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
1. Physical	✔	✔			✔	✔	✔	✔	✔

For AOWIS, the most interesting is LoRaWAN for Layers 1 - 3 and MQTT for Layer 7:

LoRa/LoRaWAN: Low-Power, Long-Range Radio transmission up to 15 km.
MQTT: MQTT is optimized as the Application Layer for LPWANs.
NB-IoT: Narrowband Internet of Things: LPWAN using 3GPP (part of LTE/4G family) mobile networks run by cellular operators.

MQTT vs AMQP

Feature	MQTT	AMQP
Full Name	Message Queuing Telemetry Transport	Advanced Message Queuing Protocol
Purpose	Lightweight pub/sub messaging for constrained devices	Enterprise-grade messaging with queues, routing, and transactions
Typical Use	IoT sensors, mobile devices, low-bandwidth systems	Backend systems, enterprise integration, cloud services
Transport	TCP/IP (often with TLS)	TCP/IP (often with TLS)
Complexity	Simple, minimal implementation	Complex, feature-rich
Messaging Pattern	Publish / Subscribe	Publish/Subscribe, Queues, Request/Reply
Broker	Required	Required
Routing	Topic-based	Exchanges, routing keys, queues (flexible routing)
Delivery Guarantees	QoS 0, 1, 2	Acknowledgments, durable queues, transactions
Bandwidth Usage	Very low	Higher overhead
Device Suitability	Excellent for constrained devices	Typically server-side, not for small devices
Scalability	High (many devices, simple topics)	High (complex distributed systems)
Best Fit	IoT, telemetry, real-time updates	Enterprise workflows, reliable processing, integration

SigFox vs LoRaWAN

Feature	Sigfox	LoRaWAN
Type	LPWAN (proprietary)	LPWAN (open standard)
Frequency	Sub-GHz ISM bands (868 MHz EU, 902 MHz US)	Sub-GHz ISM bands (868 MHz EU, 915 MHz US)
Network Topology	Star (device → base station → cloud)	Star-of-stars (device → gateway → network server → cloud)
Ownership	Operator-managed (public network)	Public or private gateways
Protocol	Ultra-narrowband	LoRa modulation + LoRaWAN MAC
Typical Range	3–10 km urban, 10–50 km rural	0.5–2 km urban, 2–15 km rural
Indoor Coverage	Moderate	Good, depends on gateway placement
Infrastructure Needed	Base stations operated by Sigfox	1–2 gateways per farm/field usually sufficient
Max Payload per Message	12 bytes	51–242 bytes (depends on settings)
Max Messages per Day	~140	Hundreds (depends on duty cycle & spreading factor)
Latency	High / asynchronous	Low to moderate (depends on class: A/B/C)
Device Battery Life	5–10 years (ultra-low power)	5–10 years (ultra-low power)
Duty Cycle	Very low	Flexible, can handle more frequent messages
Network Cost	Subscription fee per device	One-time gateway cost + optional server
Flexibility	Limited to Sigfox network	Can deploy private networks; mix public/private
Scalability	Limited by network policies	Scales well for thousands of devices per gateway
Best Fit	Very low-frequency sensor updates, minimal infrastructure	Large-scale farms or water networks, more frequent updates, private control

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-There are various protocols out there that could be used in AOWIS:
+AOWIS will need to have an LPWAN (Low-Power Wide-Area Network) as its main backbone to communicate between Sensors, Controllers, Actuators. Here is an overview about the most common technologies available:
 {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:100%;"
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 |}
+For AOWIS, the most interesting is LoRaWAN for Layers 1 - 3 and MQTT for Layer 7:
-* [[Architecture:Protocols:MQTT|MQTT]] - lightweight publish/subscribe messaging for telemetry and asynchronous updates
+* [[Architecture:Protocols:LoRa/LoRaWAN|LoRa/LoRaWAN]]: Low-Power, Long-Range Radio transmission up to 15 km.
-* [[Architecture:Protocols:AMQP|AMQP]] - robust messaging with guaranteed delivery
+* [[Architecture:Protocols:MQTT|MQTT]]: MQTT is optimized as the Application Layer for LPWANs.
-* [[Architecture:Protocols:Zigbee|Zigbee]] - low-power mesh networks for local sensors and actuators
+* '''NB-IoT''': ''Narrowband Internet of Things'': LPWAN using 3GPP (part of LTE/4G family) mobile networks run by cellular operators.
-* [[Architecture:Protocols:LoRa/LoRaWAN|LoRa/LoRaWAN]] - long-range, low-power communication suitable for large setups and sparse sensor deployments
-* [[Architecture:Protocols:Z-Wave|Z-Wave]] - low-power mesh for automation devices and actuators
-* [[Architecture:Protocols:EnOcean|EnOcean]] - energy-harvesting wireless sensors and switches
-[[AOWIS:Research_Form_Guide|Research]] will be needed to be done here to decide which of these we could or should focus on while building AOWIS.
+== MQTT vs AMQP ==
+{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; width:100%;"
+! Feature !! MQTT !! AMQP
+|-
+| Full Name || Message Queuing Telemetry Transport || Advanced Message Queuing Protocol
+|-
+| Purpose || Lightweight pub/sub messaging for constrained devices || Enterprise-grade messaging with queues, routing, and transactions
+|-
+| Typical Use || IoT sensors, mobile devices, low-bandwidth systems || Backend systems, enterprise integration, cloud services
+|-
+| Transport || TCP/IP (often with TLS) || TCP/IP (often with TLS)
+|-
+| Complexity || Simple, minimal implementation || Complex, feature-rich
+|-
+| Messaging Pattern || Publish / Subscribe || Publish/Subscribe, Queues, Request/Reply
+|-
+| Broker || Required || Required
+|-
+| Routing || Topic-based || Exchanges, routing keys, queues (flexible routing)
+|-
+| Delivery Guarantees || QoS 0, 1, 2 || Acknowledgments, durable queues, transactions
+|-
+| Bandwidth Usage || Very low || Higher overhead
+|-
+| Device Suitability || Excellent for constrained devices || Typically server-side, not for small devices
+|-
+| Scalability || High (many devices, simple topics) || High (complex distributed systems)
+|-
+| Best Fit || IoT, telemetry, real-time updates || Enterprise workflows, reliable processing, integration
+|}
+== SigFox vs LoRaWAN ==
+{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; width:100%;"
+! Feature !! Sigfox !! LoRaWAN
+|-
+| Type || LPWAN (proprietary) || LPWAN (open standard)
+|-
+| Frequency || Sub-GHz ISM bands (868 MHz EU, 902 MHz US) || Sub-GHz ISM bands (868 MHz EU, 915 MHz US)
+|-
+| Network Topology || Star (device → base station → cloud) || Star-of-stars (device → gateway → network server → cloud)
+|-
+| Ownership || Operator-managed (public network) || Public or private gateways
+|-
+| Protocol || Ultra-narrowband || LoRa modulation + LoRaWAN MAC
+|-
+| Typical Range || 3–10 km urban, 10–50 km rural || 0.5–2 km urban, 2–15 km rural
+|-
+| Indoor Coverage || Moderate || Good, depends on gateway placement
+|-
+| Infrastructure Needed || Base stations operated by Sigfox || 1–2 gateways per farm/field usually sufficient
+|-
+| Max Payload per Message || 12 bytes || 51–242 bytes (depends on settings)
+|-
+| Max Messages per Day || ~140 || Hundreds (depends on duty cycle & spreading factor)
+|-
+| Latency || High / asynchronous || Low to moderate (depends on class: A/B/C)
+|-
+| Device Battery Life || 5–10 years (ultra-low power) || 5–10 years (ultra-low power)
+|-
+| Duty Cycle || Very low || Flexible, can handle more frequent messages
+|-
+| Network Cost || Subscription fee per device || One-time gateway cost + optional server
+|-
+| Flexibility || Limited to Sigfox network || Can deploy private networks; mix public/private
+|-
+| Scalability || Limited by network policies || Scales well for thousands of devices per gateway
+|-
+| Best Fit || Very low-frequency sensor updates, minimal infrastructure || Large-scale farms or water networks, more frequent updates, private control
+|}