Chapter 3

IoT & M2M

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 Outline

• M2M
• Differences and Similarities between M2M and IoT
• SDN and NFV for IoT

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 Machine-to-Machine (M2M)

• Machine-to-Machine (M2M) refers to networking of machines (or

devices) for the purpose of remote monitoring and control and data
exchange.

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 Machine-to-Machine (M2M)

• An M2M area network comprises of machines (or M2M nodes) which have
embedded hardware modules for sensing, actuation and communication.
• Various communication protocols can be used for M2M local area
networks such as ZigBee, Bluetooh, ModBus, M-Bus, Wirless M-Bus, Power
Line Communication (PLC), 6LoWPAN, IEEE 802.15.4, etc.
• The communication network provides connectivity to remote M2M area
networks.
• The communication network can use either wired or wireless networks (IP-
based).
• While the M2M area networks use either proprietary or non-IP based
communication protocols, the communication network uses IP-based
networks.
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 ZigBee

• ZigBee is a wireless communication protocol that is designed for smart home devices. It allows
devices to form a mesh network, where each device can relay messages to other devices,
without relying on a central hub or router. ZigBee is low-power, low-cost, and low-data rate,
making it suitable for applications that require long battery life and secure networking. Some
examples of ZigBee devices are smart lights, plugs, locks, thermostats, sensors, and remotes.
• ZigBee was created by the ZigBee Alliance, a non-profit organization that includes over 400
tech companies, such as Apple, Amazon, Google, Ikea, Philips, and many others. The ZigBee
Alliance maintains and updates the ZigBee specifications, which are based on the IEEE
802.15.4 standard for low-rate wireless personal area networks (WPANs). The latest version of
ZigBee is ZigBee 3.0, which was released in 2016 and aims to unify the previous ZigBee
profiles and improve interoperability among devices1
 Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that enables devices to

communicate with each other over short distances without the need for
cables. It is commonly used to connect peripheral devices such as
headsets, speakers, game controllers, mice, and keyboards to other
gadgets. Bluetooth can also be used to transfer files between devices in
the same room
 Modbus

• Modbus is a client/server data communications protocol in the application layer

of the OSI model. It was originally published by Modicon (now Schneider
Electric) in 1979 for use with its programmable logic controllers (PLCs).
• Modbus has become a de facto standard communication protocol for
communication between industrial electronic devices in a wide range of buses
and network. Modbus is popular in industrial environments because it is openly
published and royalty-free.
• The Modbus protocol uses serial communication lines, Ethernet, or the Internet
protocol suite as a transport layer. Modbus supports communication to and
from multiple devices connected to the same cable or Ethernet network.
 M-Bus

M-Bus or Meter-Bus is a European standard for the remote reading of

water, gas, or electricity meters. It is also usable for other types of
consumption meters, such as heating systems or water meters. The M-Bus
interface is made for communication on two wires, making it cost-
effective. M-Bus uses serial communication lines as a transport layer. It is
often used to read energy consumption data from power meters, heat
meters, gas meters, water meters, and various sensors and actuators from
different manufacturers. M-Bus is widely used in building control systems
as an efficient system for measuring consumption data
 Wireless M-Bus

Wireless M-Bus or wM-Bus is an open standard developed for very power-

efficient smart metering and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)
applications. It is based on the M-Bus protocol, which is used for remote
reading of water, gas, or electricity meters. The wM-Bus protocol is
designed to be used in wireless communication between devices in the
Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) system. It is quickly spreading in Europe
for electricity, gas, water, and heat metering. The wM-Bus network is
based on a star topology network with master and slave devices
described in the EN 13757 standard. The wM-Bus protocol operates in the
868 MHz frequency band and uses a maximum of 25 milliwatts of power
 Power Line Communication (PLC)
Power Line Communication (PLC) is a communication technology that uses existing power
lines to transmit data, voice, and video signals. It is also known as Power Line
Telecommunications (PLT). The technology is used for a wide range of applications, including
home automation and broadband internet access, which is often referred to as broadband
over power lines (BPL).

Different types of power-line communication technologies are needed for different

applications, ranging from home automation to Internet access. Most PLC technologies limit
themselves to one type of wires (such as premises wiring within a single building), but some
can cross between two levels (for example, both the distribution network and premises
wiring). Typically transformers prevent propagating the signal, which requires multiple
technologies to form very large networks.
 IEEE 802.15.4

IEEE 802.15.4 is a technical standard that defines the operation of a low-

rate wireless personal area network (LR-WPAN). It specifies the physical
layer and media access control for LR-WPANs and is maintained by the
IEEE 802.15 working group, which defined the standard in 2003. The
standard is designed for low-power, low-data-rate applications in Personal
Area Networks (PANs) for IoT, embedded systems, and wireless sensor
networks. It is known for its low power consumption, extended battery
life, mesh networking capabilities, and cost-effectiveness
 Proprietary protocols

• Proprietary protocols are developed by specific companies or organizations and are

often designed to meet specific requirements or optimize performance for particular
applications. These protocols may offer advantages such as low power consumption,
low latency, or efficient use of bandwidth. Examples of proprietary M2M protocols
include Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
 non-IP based
• Non-IP based communication refers to communication protocols that do not use the Internet
Protocol (IP) as their primary means of communication. These protocols are used in a variety
of applications, including wireless sensor networks, machine-to-machine (M2M)
communication, and low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs).
• One example of a non-IP based protocol is IEEE 802.15.4, which is used for low-power,
low-data-rate applications in Personal Area Networks (PANs) for IoT, embedded systems,
and wireless sensor networks. It is known for its low power consumption, extended battery
life, mesh networking capabilities, and cost-effectiveness.
• Another example of non-IP based communication is Non-IP Networking (NIN). NIN is a
digital communications technology that is designed to be more efficient and responsive to
users than traditional IP-based networking. It uses a virtual circuit approach where packets
are classified into flows in a Software Defined Networking (SDN) model that are then
forwarded by switches according to virtual circuit identifiers associated with the flows.
Break
Break
 M2M gateway

• Since non-IP based protocols are used within M2M area networks, the
M2M nodes within one network cannot communicate with nodes in an
external network.
• To enable the communication between remote M2M area networks,
M2M gateways are used.

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 Difference between IoT and M2M

• Communication Protocols
• M2M and IoT can differ in how the communication between the machines or
devices happens.
• M2M uses either proprietary or non-IP based communication protocols for
communication within the M2M area networks.
• Machines in M2M vs Things in IoT
• The "Things" in IoT refers to physical objects that have unique identifiers and
can sense and communicate with their external environment (and user
applications) or their internal physical states.
• M2M systems, in contrast to IoT, typically have homogeneous machine types
within an M2M area network.

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 Difference between IoT and M2M

• Hardware vs Software Emphasis

• While the emphasis of M2M is more on hardware with embedded modules, the
emphasis of IoT is more on software.
• Data Collection & Analysis
• M2M data is collected in point solutions and often in on-premises storage
infrastructure.
• In contrast to M2M, the data in IoT is collected in the cloud (can be public, private or
hybrid cloud).
• Applications
• M2M data is collected in point solutions and can be accessed by on-premises
applications such as diagnosis applications, service management applications, and on-
premisis enterprise applications.
• IoT data is collected in the cloud and can be accessed by cloud applications such as
analytics applications, enterprise applications, remote diagnosis and management
applications, etc.

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 Communication in IoT vs M2M

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 SDN

• Software-Defined Networking
(SDN) is a networking
architecture that separates the
control plane from the data
plane and centralizes the
network controller.
• Software-based SDN controllers
maintain a unified view of the
network and make confi
guration, management and
provisioning simpler.
• The underlying infrastructure in
SDN uses simple packet
forwarding hardware as
opposed to specialized
hardware in conventional
networks.

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 Key elements of SDN

• Centralized Network Controller

• With decoupled control and data planes and centralized network controller,
the network administrators can rapidly configure the network.
• Programmable Open APIs
• SDN architecture supports programmable open APIs for interface between
the SDN application and control layers (Northbound interface).
• Standard Communication Interface (OpenFlow)
• SDN architecture uses a standard communication interface between the
control and infrastructure layers (Southbound interface).
• OpenFlow, which is defined by the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) is
the broadly accepted SDN protocol for the Southbound interface.

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 NFV

• Network Function
Virtualization (NFV) is a
technology that leverages
virtualization to
consolidate the
heterogeneous network
devices onto industry
standard high volume
servers, switches and
storage.
• NFV is complementary to
SDN as NFV can provide
the infrastructure on
which SDN can run.

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 Key elements of NFV

• Virtualized Network Function (VNF):

• VNF is a software implementation of a network function which is capable of
running over the NFV Infrastructure (NFVI).
• NFV Infrastructure (NFVI):
• NFVI includes compute, network and storage resources that are virtualized.
• NFV Management and Orchestration:
• NFV Management and Orchestration focuses on all virtualization-specific
management tasks and covers the orchestration and life-cycle
management of physical and/or software resources that support the
infrastructure virtualization, and the life-cycle management of VNFs.

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 NFV Use Case

• NFV can be used to virtualize the Home Gateway. The NFV infrastructure in the cloud hosts
a virtualized Home Gateway. The virtualized gateway provides private IP addresses to the
devices in the home. The virtualized gateway also connects to network services such as VoIP
and IPTV.

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Thanks