672 IoT Protocols: Review
672.1 Overview
This review series consolidates IoT protocol concepts from the fundamentals chapters, providing visual summaries, hands-on labs, and comprehensive assessments to validate your understanding.
This review is organized into three focused chapters:
Visual Summaries and Decision Framework - Protocol stack architecture, selection decision trees, efficiency comparisons, and common acronyms reference
Hands-On Labs - ESP32 packet analyzer, Python overhead calculator, battery life calculations, and practical debugging tools
Knowledge Assessment - Comprehensive quiz with 15+ scenario-based questions, common misconceptions, and detailed explanations
672.2 Prerequisites
Required Chapters: - IoT Protocols Overview - Protocol landscape - IoT Protocols Fundamentals - Core concepts - Application Protocols - Selection criteria
IoT Protocol Stack Summary:
| Layer | Protocol | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Application | MQTT, CoAP, AMQP | Data exchange |
| Transport | TCP, UDP, DTLS | Reliability |
| Network | IPv6, 6LoWPAN | Addressing |
| Link | 802.15.4, BLE | Access |
672.3 Quick Reference
672.3.1 Protocol Efficiency (4-byte payload)
| Stack | Total Bytes | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|
| LoRaWAN MAC | 17 | 23.5% |
| CoAP/UDP/6LoWPAN | 26 | 15.4% |
| MQTT/TCP/6LoWPAN | 40 | 10.0% |
| HTTP/TCP/IPv4 | 108 | 3.7% |
672.3.2 Selection Guidelines
- Constrained + Real-time: CoAP/UDP
- Scalable + Reliable: MQTT/TCP
- LPWAN (LoRaWAN, Sigfox): Native MAC protocols
- Gateway-to-Cloud: HTTP/HTTPS
672.3.3 Key Concepts
- 6LoWPAN: Compresses IPv6 from 40 bytes to 2-6 bytes (85-95% reduction)
- TCP vs UDP: TCP adds 20+ bytes vs UDPโs 8 bytes, plus connection overhead
- Battery Impact: Protocol choice can mean 3-4x difference in battery life
672.5 Whatโs Next
Start with the visual summaries to understand protocol stack architecture:
Visual Summaries and Decision Framework - Begin your review with protocol stack diagrams, decision trees for protocol selection, and efficiency comparison charts.