85  Protocol Selector Wizard

Interactive Decision Support Tool for IoT Protocol Selection

85.1 Protocol Selector Wizard

NoteLearning Objectives

By using this interactive tool, you will be able to:

  • Systematically evaluate IoT protocol options against your project requirements
  • Understand trade-offs between range, power, bandwidth, latency, and cost
  • Make informed decisions about connectivity stacks for your IoT deployment
  • Compare protocols side-by-side with detailed technical specifications
  • Generate recommendations based on industry best practices

85.2 Prerequisites

Before using this wizard, you should understand:

Simple Analogy: Choosing a Vehicle

Selecting an IoT protocol is like choosing transportation for a journey:

Journey Need Vehicle Choice IoT Equivalent
Cross the room Walk NFC (< 10cm)
Across town Bicycle/Car Bluetooth/Wi-Fi
Cross country Airplane LoRaWAN/Cellular
Move furniture Truck Wi-Fi (high bandwidth)
Save fuel Hybrid/Electric LPWAN (low power)

Key Trade-offs to Understand:

  • Long range = Lower speed: Like a marathon runner vs. sprinter
  • Low power = Limited features: Like economy vs. luxury car
  • High bandwidth = More power: Like sports car fuel consumption
  • Reliability = More overhead: Like insurance - costs more but protects you

85.3 Tool Components

This Protocol Selector Wizard suite includes three specialized tools to help you make the best protocol choice for your IoT project:

85.3.1 Interactive Selection Wizard

Use the step-by-step wizard to input your requirements and receive personalized protocol recommendations based on 14 protocols across short-range, LPWAN, cellular, and wired categories.

Launch Protocol Selection Wizard

  • 5-step requirements gathering
  • Multi-factor scoring algorithm
  • Side-by-side protocol comparison
  • Detailed recommendations with explanations

85.3.2 Decision Framework Reference

Explore visual decision trees and reference matrices to quickly narrow down protocol options based on key constraints like range, power, and bandwidth.

View Decision Frameworks

  • Interactive flowcharts
  • Scenario-to-protocol mapping
  • Power/range matrix views
  • Quick reference tables

85.3.3 Protocol Matching Game

Test and reinforce your protocol knowledge through an interactive game matching real-world IoT scenarios to the best protocols.

Play the Matching Game

  • 24 real-world scenarios
  • Three difficulty levels
  • Detailed explanations
  • Performance tracking

85.4 Quick Decision Guide

If you need… And also need… Consider…
Long range (km) Battery (years) LoRaWAN, Sigfox, NB-IoT
Long range (km) Low latency LTE-M, 5G
Short range (m) High bandwidth Wi-Fi
Short range (m) Battery life BLE, Zigbee, Thread
Mesh networking Low power Zigbee, Thread
Mesh networking IP-native Thread
Touch range Instant NFC
No battery Tracking UHF RFID

85.5 Summary

The Protocol Selector Wizard suite helps you systematically evaluate IoT connectivity options:

  • 14 protocols analyzed across short-range, LPWAN, cellular, and wired categories
  • Multi-factor scoring considers range, power, bandwidth, latency, cost, and security
  • Personalized recommendations based on your specific requirements
  • Interactive learning through decision frameworks and matching games
  • Deep dive links to detailed protocol chapters
NoteKey Takeaways
  1. No “best” protocol exists - only best fit for your requirements
  2. Trade-offs are inevitable - long range usually means lower bandwidth
  3. Start with constraints - power and range typically narrow options quickly
  4. Consider total cost - include infrastructure, recurring fees, and maintenance
  5. Plan for scale - choose protocols that grow with your deployment

85.6 What’s Next