Communication Protocols in IoT

The internet of things refers to a network of devices which communicate with each other
through the internet through wires or wirelessly. There are two types of communication
protocols: - wired communication and wireless communication. Though the IoT system
mostly utilises wireless communication networks, sometimes wired networks become easier
and efficient. So, IoT uses a hybrid of both networks.
Wired Communication protocols are of two types: –
1. External System Protocols: - USB, UART/USART, RS-232, RS-485,
Ethernet.
2. Internal System Protocols: - I2C, SPI etc.

External System Protocols-

The external protocols are communication from one device to another which are physically
separate from each other. The external protocols are:

1. Ethernet
2. RS-232
3. RS-485
4. UART/USART
5. USB

1) Ethernet – It is a communication protocol to link and connect computing devices to form a

Local Area Network or LAN. It was first developed by the Xerox Palo Alto Research Centres
(PARC) in the mid-1970s. Every device with Ethernet connectivity will have a Network
Interface Card (NIC) which will store the device’s unique physical address or identifier. This
physical address is also called MAC (Media Access Control) address. Ethernet is based on the
IEEE standard 802.3. Ethernet uses a bus or star topology Network. The original Ethernet
was designed around the concept of a bus topology and implemented first it on coaxial cable.
To detect and avoid collision, Ethernet uses carrier sense multiple access collision detection
(CSMA/CD) to run over coaxial cable. Under the CSMA/CD media-access process, any
station on a CSMA/CD LAN can access the network at any time. Before sending data,
CSMA/CD stations listen for traffic on the network. A station wanting to send data waits until
it detects no traffic before it transmits.
 Ethernet is the most common communication technology for local area networks
(LANs).
 Ethernet comes in various speed variants like the Standard Ethernet (10 Mbps), Fast
Ethernet (100 Mbps), Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps) and 10Gigabit Ethernet (10
Gbps).
 It is a low-cost and highly compatible technology as it is an open standard with a
flexible addressing scheme.
 The maximum distance allowed without the use of repeaters to have a good
performance is 328 feet or 100 m.

2) RS-232 Protocols
Rs-232 stands for Recommended Standard 232. It is basically an interface standard commonly
used in computer serial ports. It is a serial communication standard developed by the Electronic
Industry Association (EIA) and Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA). It also defines
the electrical signals and its timings. However, it serializes the data to be transfer to the modem
and deserializes it back while receiving back from the modem. It has simple wirings and uses
half-duplex master slave operation. Its current version is TIA-232-F.
Pros:-
1. Cheap And Also Easily Available.
2. Simple Connections And Easy To Code.
3. Commonly In Use.
Cons:-
1. Half Duplex Master/Slave Operation.
2. Less Standardized Connectors And Terminology Also.

3) RS-485 Protocols
It is the improved version of the RS-232 which can connect up to 10 to 32 devices simultaneously.
It has good noise immunity and thus is the preferred choice of serial communication in industries.
It can have a cable whose length may extend up to 4000 feet.
Pros:-
1. Good Noise Immunity.
2. Multipoint Applications.
3. Though Cheap.
Cons:-
1. Half-Duplex Master-Slave Operation.
2. Less Standardized Connectors And Technology.

4) UART/USART Protocols

UART stands for Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter and it is the hardware
used in RS-232. UART transmits data asynchronously, which means that no clock
signal is needed in transmitting and receiving data. Only two wires are needed to
transmit data between two UARTs. Data flows from Tx pin of the transmitting UART
to the Rx pin of the receiving UART. The transmitter UART converts data from a
controlling device like a CPU into serial form, transits it in serial to the receiving
UART, which then converts the serial data back into parallel data for the receiving
device. It is a half-duplex protocol. It can be used for inexpensive type of
communication. Most of the controllers have hardwire UART on board.

USART stands for Universal Synchronous Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter.

Thus, it can work in both synchronous and asynchronous mode. USART uses clock
for synchronisation in case of Synchronous communication. It is full-duplex type of
serial communication.

Pros:-
1. No Clock Signal Required.
2. Only Requires Two Wires.
Cons:-
1. Data Frame Size Is Limited Only To A Maximum Of 9 Bits.
2. Multiple Master/Slaves Are Not Possible.

5) USB Protocols

USB (Universal Serial Bus) Protocols provides a fast master/slave interface using a
tiered star topology supporting up to 127 devices with up to 6 tiers. A PC is generally
the master or host and each of the peripherals linked to it act as slaves or devices.
USB 1.X and 2.X, use 4 lines, Vcc, Ground, and D+/D as the shown below. Data is
 transmitted in the form of packets, which is composed of 8 bits (1 byte) with the LSB
(Least Significant Bit) transmitted first.

Pros:-
1. Simple and fast.
2. Almost acceptable everywhere.
Cons:-
1. Requires powerful master-slave device.
2. Particular drivers are required.

6) Power Line Communication (PLC):

This technology allows telecommunication services through a medium and low-
voltage domestic electrical network. It uses power infrastructure as the
communication medium and contains all the information within it. PLC allows
providing broadband services (voice, data, video) and managing electrical networks
over the same power cable. The network reaches everywhere, and it is easy to
configure and reconfigure. This protocol has been applied in PV (Photo Voltaic)-
based independent public LED street lighting systems and emergency microgrids for
small industries [41

1. I2C Protocols
I2C or Inter Integrated Circuit bus was first developed by Philips in 1980. It is an internal
communication protocol that uses only two wires for communication- SCL for clock and
SDA for data transmission. Communication is always initiated by master and appropriate
slave devices can respond to the message from the master. Communication is half-duplex,
meaning that the device can either send or receive messages at a given instance. It comes in
three variants of speed: slow (under 100 kbps), Fast (400 kbps) and High speed (3.4 Mbps).
Pros:-
1. Multiple Devices Can Connect.
2. Interconnection Without Extra Wires.
Cons:-
1. Complicated Hardware.
2. Complicated Programming.
Serial Peripheral Interface

SPI or Serial Peripheral Interface Bus is a serial synchronous communication developed by

Motorola in 1980s. It is a synchronous serial communication interface which is generally used for
short-distance communication. it uses four wires for communication-
 SCLK (Serial Clock).
 MOSI (Master Output Slave Input).
 MISO (Master Input Slave Output).
 SS (Slave Select).
Here, The Communication Is Full-Duplex i.e., Devices Can Transmit And Receive Data
Simultaneously. It is the SS or chip select line which decides which slave Slave Device Is Active.

Pros: –
1. Faster.
2. The Receiver Can Be Also A Simple Shift Register.
 3. Multiple Devices Can Connect.
Cons:-
1. Requires A Greater Number Of Wires Than Other Types Of Protocols.
2. Slave Devices Can Not Communicate With Each Other. An Only Master-Slave Can
Communicate With Slaves.
3. So, Each Slave Requires Different SS Lines Which Causes Problems If Many Slaves
Have Connection.

Controller Area Network BUS (CANBUS):

 Canbus is a protocol created by Bosh in 1986 and designed for sending messages in-
vehicle networks.
 Its architecture Comprises control units that form a multi-master/multi-slave network
with sophisticated error detection and recovery system that guarantees data integrity.
 This allows communication through a bus network of one or two wires.
 This protocol has high resistance to EMI (Electromagnetic Interference), reducing the
weight of the vehicle by reducing the number and length of cables.
 However, it is only implemented in modern small cylinder vehicles and is not the only
protocol accepted at the automobile level.