Notes of IoT Unit - 04 : -

Q. 1) Explain MQTT and their methods & components / Explain MQTT communication.

Ans. : -

MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) is a lightweight messaging protocol

designed for small sensors and mobile devices with limited bandwidth or power
resources.

It's widely used in IoT (Internet of Things) applications due to its simplicity,
efficiency, and reliability.

In MQTT protocol, devices published a messages to a broker, and other devices

subscribe to topics to receive those messages.

MQTT methods and their components are : -

1) Publishers : -

IoT devices that generate data (temperature sensors, smart meters, etc.) publish
messages to a central server called a broker. A client that sends messages to the
broker. These messages can be data, commands, or notifications.

2) Subscriber : -

A client that receives messages from the broker. Subscribers express their interest
on specific topics and the broker delivers messages to them based on their
subscriptions.

3) Broker : -

Acts as an intermediary between publishers and subscribers. It is receiving all

messages from publishers and delivering them to subscribers based on their
subscriptions.

4) Topic : -

Topics provide a way to categorize and filter messages. Messages are organized into
topics, which act as channels for communication. For example, a topic could be
"home/living room/temperature". Subscribers can subscribe specific topics and can
receive relevant data.

5) QoS (Quality of Service) : -

MQTT supports three levels of QoS, which define the guarantees for deliver
messages:

QoS 0 (At most once) : - Messages are delivered once or not at all.

QoS 1 (At least once) : - Messages are guaranteed to be delivered at least once to
the receiver, but duplicates can occur.

QoS 2 (Exactly once) : - Messages are guaranteed to be delivered exactly once. This
is the highest level of assurance but comes with increased overhead.
6) Retained Messages : -

These are special messages that are stored by the broker and sent to new
subscribers when they subscribe to a topic.

Q. 2) Explain MQTT Topics and applications.

Ans. : -

MQTT topics play a crucial role in organizing and directing communication between
IoT devices. Here are some applications and examples of MQTT topics in IoT:

1) Environmental Monitoring : -

Devices publishing temperature, humidity, and air quality data to topics like
"home/environment/temperature" or "office/building/air_quality".

2) Home Automation : -

Smart home devices publishing and subscribing to topics like

"home/living_room/lights" or "home/security_system/alarm".

3) Asset Tracking : -

GPS trackers publishing location data to topics such as

"vehicle/fleet/truck1/location".

4) Industrial Automation : -

Sensors in manufacturing facilities publishing data to topics like

"factory/production_line/machine1/status".

5) Energy Management : -

Smart meters publishing energy consumption data to topics like

"building/energy_usage".

6) Healthcare Monitoring : -

Wearable devices publishing biometric data to topics such as "patient/heart_rate"

or "elderly/care/alerts".

7) Agriculture : -

Sensors in farms publishing soil moisture, temperature, and humidity data to topics
like "farm/crop/soil_moisture" or "greenhouse/temperature".

Q. 3) Explain SMQTT in brief.

Ans. : -

SMQTT stands for Secure MQTT, which is an extension of the MQTT protocol designed
to enhance security in IoT communication.

SMQTT incorporates features such as encryption, authentication, and access control

to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of data exchanged
between MQTT clients and brokers.
Here are some key aspects of SMQTT in IoT:

1) Encryption : -

SMQTT works as an encryption mechanisms such as TLS (Transport Layer Security) to

encrypt data transmitted between MQTT clients and brokers and checking unauthorized
access or monitoring.

2) Authentication : -

SMQTT supports various authentication methods, including username/password

authentication, client certificates, and token-based authentication, ensuring that
only authorized clients can connect to the broker and exchange data.

3) Access Control : -

SMQTT allows for small access control and enables administrators to define access
policies based on topics, clients or specific actions (publishing, subscribing,
etc.), thus preventing unauthorized clients from accessing sensitive data.

4) Message Integrity : -

SMQTT ensures the integrity of messages by using cryptographic techniques such as

message authentication codes (MACs) or digital signatures, which verify that the
data has not been interfere with during transmission.

Q. 4) Explain CoAP in brief.

Ans. : -

CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol) is a specialized web transfer protocol

designed for use with artificial nodes and networks in IoT applications.

It's designed to be lightweight, efficient, and suitable for IoT devices with
limited resources such as memory, processing power, and energy.

CoAP follows a RESTful architecture, similar to HTTP, making it easy to integrate

with existing web technologies.

CoAP supports efficient message formats, including compressed headers and payload,
to minimize packet size and conserve bandwidth.

CoAP supports security mechanisms such as Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS),
which provides end-to-end encryption and authentication, ensuring the
confidentiality and integrity of data.

Q. 5) Explain CoAP message types in brief.

Ans. : -

CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol) defines four message types that facilitate
communication between clients and servers in IoT applications:

1) Confirmable (CON) : -

CON messages are used when stability is required. The sender expects an
acknowledgment (ACK) from the receiver. If no acknowledgment is received, the
message is retransmitted.

2) Non-confirmable (NON) : -

NON messages are used when stability is not critical. The sender does not expect an
acknowledgment from the receiver. These messages are faster than CON messages, but
they may not guarantee delivery.

3) Acknowledgment (ACK) : -

ACK messages are sent by the receiver to acknowledge receive of a confirmable

message (CON). This confirms that the message was successfully received and
allowing the sender to stop retransmitting.

4) Reset (RST) : -

RST messages are sent by a receiver to indicate that a received message cannot be
processed. This could occur if the message is featureless or if the server is
unable to handle the request.

Q. 6) Explain CoAP request-response model in brief.

Ans. : -

The CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol) request-response model in IoT follows a

client-server interaction pattern, similar to HTTP, but optimized for unnatural
environments.

1) Client Sends Request : -

In the CoAP model, an IoT device acting as a client initiates communication by

sending a CoAP request to a server. The request contains a method (GET, POST, PUT,
DELETE), a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) indicating the resource being
accessed.

2) Server Processes Request : -

Upon receiving the request, the server processes it according to the method
specified. For example, if it's a GET request, the server retrieves the requested
resource and prepares a response.

3) Server Sends Response : -

After processing the request, the server sends a CoAP response back to the client.
The response contains a response code indicating the outcome of the request
(success, error, etc.), optional payload data, and other metadata.

4) Client Receives Response : -

The client receives the response from the server and processes it accordingly. If
the request was successful, the client can extract any data included in the
response payload and take appropriate action.

5) Retransmission and Timeout : -

If the client sends a Confirmable message and does not receive an acknowledgment
within a certain time period then it may retransmit the message.
Q. 7) Explain AMQP features and components in brief.

Ans. : -

AMQP (Advanced Message Queuing Protocol) is a messaging protocol designed for

efficient, reliable, and interoperable communication between applications and
services.

In IoT (Internet of Things) applications, AMQP can be utilized to facilitate

communication between devices, servers, and other components of an IoT ecosystem.

Here are the key features and components of AMQP in IoT:

1) AMQP Clients : -

These are the IoT devices or applications that generate and consume messages. They
use AMQP libraries or SDKs to interact with the AMQP message broker.

2) AMQP Message Broker : -

The message broker acts as an intermediary between AMQP clients. It receives

messages from producers and routes them to the appropriate consumers based on
predefined rules or patterns.

3) Queues : -

Queues are storage entities within the message broker where messages are
temporarily stored before being delivered to consumers. In IoT scenarios, queues
help to separates message from producers to consumers and allowing for asynchronous
communication.

4) Exchanges : -

Exchanges receive messages from producers and are responsible for routing them to
the appropriate queues based on routing rules defined by the application. Exchanges
determine how messages are distributed within the messaging system.

5) Bindings : -

Bindings define the relationship between exchanges and queues and also specifies
that how messages should be routed from exchanges to queues.

6) AMQP Protocol : -

The AMQP protocol defines the rules and standards for communication between AMQP
clients and the message broker. It ensures inter-operability and compatibility
between different implementations of AMQP.

Q. 8) Explain AMQP frame types in brief.

Ans. : -

In the context of AMQP, a frame is the basic unit of communication between AMQP
clients and the message broker.

AMQP defines several types of frames, each serving a specific purpose in the
message exchange process :

1) Method Frames : -

Method frames are used to establish and manage the communication between AMQP
clients and the message broker and performing actions such as opening or closing
connections, channels, or sessions.

2) Header Frames : -

Header frames contain metadata about the message payload, such as content type,
encoding, and message properties. They provide necessary information for the
processing and explanation of the message payload.

3) Body Frames : -

Body frames enable the transfer of large messages efficiently between AMQP clients
and the message broker. They may be divided into multiple frames if the message
size exceeds the maximum frame size.

4) Heartbeat Frames : -

Heartbeat frames are used to maintain the liveliness of the connection between AMQP
clients and the message broker. They serve as a mechanism for detecting and
handling network failures or idle connections.

Q. 9) Explain XMPP in brief.

Ans. : -

XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) is a communication protocol often

associated with instant messaging and presence information.

It can also be used in IoT (Internet of Things) applications for device-to-device

communication and control.

XMPP provides a versatile and robust communication protocol for IoT applications
and offering features such as real-time messaging, presence information,
scalability, and security.

Its flexibility and interoperability make it suitable for a wide range of IoT use
cases, from smart homes and industrial automation to healthcare and transportation.