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FAQs on IoT Solution Implementation and Development

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  • June 27, 2018
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FAQs on IoT Solution Implementation and Development

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Category : automotive-insights


Q. How scalable is Embitel’s IoT gateway solution?

    A. During the requirement analysis phase, we estimate the scope and extend of scalability demanded by the project. Our IoT gateway solutions can be scaled horizontally or vertically, based on your requirements.

    Horizontal scaling involves adding more gateways to the existing network. These gateways can be interconnected using a common communication bus without affecting the existing network of gateways.

    Vertical scaling involves adding more resources such as memory, device software, OS, hardware and API’s to the gateway.

 

Q. How cost effective is it to implement IoT solutions?

    A. A well-designed IoT solution has the potential to increase the profit margin of businesses. This can be achieved by optimizing the maintenance cost, delivering exceptional customer experience, devising additional revenue streams (by providing add-on services) and reducing machine failures.

    Organizations who have adopted IoT framework, in the right spirit, have demonstrated improvements in the operational efficiency and ROI.

    From IoT enabled solar energy trackers, enterprise battery management systems leveraging predictive maintenance to IoT enabled industrial automation, the industrial uses cases of IoT implementations are plenty.

 

Q. Can you help us connect our ZigBee device to the cloud?

    A. Yes, we can help you to connect the ZigBee device to the cloud. Not just ZigBee, we can help you with the entire IoT setup. We can setup sensors, IoT gateway, cloud servers and your analytics application.

 

Q. How do you ensure the security of the IoT systems during the data exchange?

    A. Data communication between the IoT gateway and the server is protected using hybrid data encryption standards such as 2028 bits RSA and 256 bits AES.

 

Q. What can be done if an IoT gateway loses connection to the cloud?

    A. Embitel anticipates all failure scenarios and provides with flexible failover strategies. For example, when the gateway connectivity is lost, data may be temporarily stored in the device’s memory or on a disk. All the temporary data will be pushed to the server as soon as the device connectivity is restored.

 

Q. Can we connect our existing analytics application to the data collected from the IoT gateways?

    A. Yes, we can connect any new or your existing legacy system with the data aggregated from the IoT gateway.

 

Q. What are the minimum hardware requirements to develop an IoT project?

    A. Hardware requirements change for each project. For more details about the hardware requisites to develop a foolproof IoT project, please contact our IoT experts .

 

Q. How do you ensure the hardware security?

    A. We highly value our customer’s projects and make sure that the entire network is secure. We use trusted platform module (TPM) and trusted execution environment (TEE) to ensure hardware security in an IoT gateway

    TPM is a chip for encrypting the data that can be installed at the endpoint. The TEE includes an API, a kernel, and a trusted OS that runs the security check along with the usual OS.

 

Q. What devices can be connected using industrial IoT solution?

    A. The possibilities of connecting a device/machine in to an industrial IoT system are endless.

    A business can connect HVAC System, Energy Distribution System (Smart Grids), Biometric System, Alarm System, Fire Control, Sensors, or Actuators etc. with the system.

 

Q. Where is the data collected from the IoT Gateways stored?

    A. Embitel doesn’t store the data collected from the IoT gateway in its own servers. We configure servers for each of our client and store the data collected in the specified servers. The servers can be configured either at the client side or on a 3rd party cloud platform chosen by the client.

    We can store the data either in the SQL database or the NoSQL database, based on the requirement.

 

Q. Do you also develop IoT gateway devices?

    A. Embitel is not directly involved in IoT gateway manufacturing. We collaborate with national and international business organizations as a design partner for IoT hardware and software. Our core focus is to help our customers with design of customized IoT ( gateway) solutions, that are aligned with their business goals for long term benefits.

    We conduct IoT design workshops with our IoT consultants for our customers to analyze their requirement and plan out a customized and cost-efficient architecture design.

 

Q. Build or Buy- Which is the best IoT gateway development approach that I should choose for my business?

    A. On a broader scale, a ‘build’ strategy for IoT gateway development means developing a solution that is tailored for your business goals and hence greater degree of ownership ( of the solution). Meanwhile, a “buy” strategy means you have to mold your business goals in accordance with readily available solution.

    Read this blog where we list down key parameters to consider for resolving your “Build vs buy” dilemma.

    The following table analyses build vs buy strategy for IoT gateway development, based on key business parameters:

    Key Considerations Off-the-Shelf Custom Developed IoT Gateway
    Time To Market Less, as the product is ready to be deployed More, as it needs to meet all the customization requirement
    Degree of ownership ( IP Rights) Is majorly with the IoT solution provider You are the owner of the final product design
    Support and Maintenance As per the terms and conditions of IoT Gateway Vendor Can be negotiated and tailor-made before signing the contract.
    Prototype Development Best suited for prototype development using standard hardware and software components Not feasible due to high cost per unit.
    Competitive advantage Lesser time to market. Freedom to add features you like
    Include and pay only for the features that you need.


    That said, each of the two IoT gateway development approaches have their own benefits and limitations. The decision regarding choosing a build vs buy IoT gateway solution depends mainly on your business goals.

 

Q. How long does it take to develop an IoT solution?

    A. takes between 4 to 6 months (based your requirement) to develop an IoT solution. Meanwhile, the PoC (Proof-Of-Concept) can be delivered in 2 months.
    If you need more information on developing an IoT solution for your business, please get in touch with our sales team.
  • January 4, 2018
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IoT Cloud Computing – Best Practices, Benefits and More

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Category : Embedded Blog

While trying to understand an IoT solution, it is important to take note of one of its major components – Cloud Backend.

It has the responsibility of accepting tons of information from the IoT gateway, storing and processing it into actionable resources and sending them to the user interface (web app/mobile app/dashboard).

In some advanced IoT solutions, IoT cloud applications also support capabilities such as machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Such innovations in IoT cloud application development ensure that IoT solutions are able to solve complex business problems in areas of industrial automation, connected car, connected healthcare and more.

Role of IoT Cloud Platforms

There is an inextricable link between IoT and Cloud. The data collected by the sensors is quite huge in the case of an industrial application of IoT and a gateway is not capable of processing and storing it. This data needs to be stored in a secure database and processed in an affordable and scalable way. This is where IoT cloud computing comes into the picture.

The cloud is connected to the IoT gateway through the internet and receives all the data fed to the gateway by the sensors. There are a few protocols that connect gateways to the IoT cloud applications and the most common among them is MQTT.

Sensors collect and feed data at all times, and this huge chunk of data after the aggregation and some pre-processing is transferred to the cloud for storage and processing.

IoT Cloud Application
Source: IBM Center for Applied Insights
Depending on the nature of the IoT implementation the cloud may have varying degrees of complexity. In simple applications, the cloud may consist of a database that stores the data collected by the sensors, as well as the information of the users who possess the right to access/modify the data.

In bigger and more complex implementations, the IoT cloud applications may also have the capability of machine learning, performing analytics, generating reports and more.

 

IoT Cloud Platforms – A Closer Look

Cloud is where the real action takes place. IoT cloud application along with the APIs and other interfaces manage the data and commands to and from the sensors or the gateways. Different APIs need to be integrated so that the data is read and stored accurately.

Some of the protocols such as MQTT, Websocket, CoAP, and AMQP are used to develop a powerful and secure interface that facilitates seamless communication between the sensors and the cloud. In order to ensure that there is no data loss during heavy inflow of data, a robust database is designed as well.

IoT Cloud Application development

Best Practices for IoT Cloud Application Development

  • Database Design

    • IoT entails a lot of data that need to be stored; hence a database is very critical to any IoT implementation. The best practices include analysing the number of sensor nodes and designing the database accordingly. Data management also needs to be optimized.

  • Scalability of the Server

    • Depending on the current and projected number of end users of the IoT application, the cloud server must have the provision for auto-scaling. Services like AWS-EC2 enable this feature.

  • Application Cloning

    • Application cloning is a feature that helps avoid system overload in case of increased traffic. This is an effective way of handling heavy traffic and must be enabled on the IoT cloud application.

  • Application Security

    • Hackers are always on the prowl and hence, IoT security is a major concern.

    • The data packets sent across the network need to be encrypted
    • TLS/SSL certificate should also be enabled so that remote access of IoT sensors and devices can be averted

How Cloud Complements IoT

The end users of the IoT infrastructure can be anywhere in the world and they need to be served round the clock, irrespective of their geographical locations and time zones. The IoT cloud architecture needs to be optimised so that this can be achieved.

IoT and cloud complement each other perfectly. While the former collects data and serves as a source of data, the latter acts as the destination as well as the distributor.

Benefits of Cloud in an IoT Ecosystem

  • Caters to data storage and processing demands of IoT

    • IoT has huge potential and in the near future, we could see all kinds of physical entities connected to each other. This would require raw computing power and only cloud can provide that.

  • Advanced analytics and monitoring

    • With a plethora of ‘things’ now being connected, there would be a need for constant analysis and monitoring in order to ensure seamless IoT experience to the users. An advanced cloud architecture will ensure that the IoT ecosystem is equipped with such capabilities.

  • Smoother inter-device connectivity

    • In an IoT solution, the sensors not only talk to the users, they also interact with each other. IoT cloud applications, along with the IoT gateway, ensure that different sensors and actuators are able to talk to each other without any incompatibility.

IoT cloud application development is backed by some really advanced and proven technologies like Amazon EC2 in combination with EBS (Elastic Block Store). A few others are G Suite from Google, and Microsoft Azure.

With many IoT cloud application development companies joining the revolution, we can expect a lot of interesting IoT innovations over the next few years with cloud at their core.

  • November 20, 2017
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How an IoT Gateway Device Works: Understanding the Architecture

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Category : Embedded Blog

[This is the 2nd blog of our ‘IoT Gateway’ series. You can check-out part 1 here – What is an IoT Gateway Device] .

In our quest to understand IoT Gateway devices better, we requested our IoT Software Developers to shed some light on the technology architecture of the IoT Gateway.

Following are the excerpts from this conversation. If you are an IoT software or hardware developer or an IoT enthusiast, this blog can serve as a good starting point for understanding the various software/hardware modules of the IoT Gateway

Understanding IoT Gateway Architecture – an overview

Design of an IoT Gateway is driven by the ‘Custom Application’ [e.g – fleet management, asset tracking, industrial automation, connected car, infotainment & more]

As an IoT developer, based on the requirement of the application one needs to calibrate the following:

  • IoT Sensors range
  • Power demands
  • Performance
  • Scalability and security


In reference to the below IoT gateway architecture diagram, let us try to understand the various modules or building blocks of the IoT Gateway Device.

 
IoT Gateway Architecture

IOT Gateway Architecture

IoT Gateway Device Hardware

IoT Gateway Hardware comprises of processor/microcontroller, IoT sensors, protection circuitry, connectivity modules (e.g Zigbee, Bluetooth, WiFi and more).

Type of hardware (processor/microcontroller), processing speed and memory space is decided based on the Operating System of the IoT Gateway device.

The end-user application also has a big say in the design of the IoT Hardware.

A small to a medium scale application can run on a microcontroller; however if the gateway is expected to do complex operations a processor is needed.

This will have a direct impact on the cost of the gateway device.

As an IoT Development partner or vendor, one should always design hardware components by considering performance, cost and efficiency.

Operating System

Selection of the Operating system is also largely dependent on the IoT application.

If the gateway is to be designed for a simple to medium scale  application then a RTOS (Real Time Operating System) is used; however if the gateway has to perform considerably complex operations then Linux is preferred

For the applications like Car HUD or Infotainment systems that require rich GUI then Android OS is the preferred choice.

HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer)

Hardware Abstraction Layer supports reusability and portability of the IoT software.

This layer makes the software design independent of the underlying hardware platform. Hence it helps to reduce the time and cost required to port the developed software application into a different hardware platform (during migration from the existing platform or re-design of the product line).

IoT Sensors Stack

This layer basically consists of software stacks that serve as interfaces with IoT sensors modules.

Specific stack(s) is/are integrated depending on the sensor interface the IoT Gateway has to support. Some of the populary integrated stacks are ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, EnOcean, BLE, Modbus, PROFIBUS and more.

Device Management and Configuration

An IoT gateway needs to interface with different types of Sensor devices and each sensor node (used for capturing distinct data) has different set of properties.

IoT Gateway device is required to keep track of all the connected devices/sensors.

In addition to this, all the devices/sensors management and configuration tasks are performed at the IoT Gateway.

Thus it is important that the IoT Gateway Device is easily configurable to manage IoT Sensor settings, properties and access control.

The configuration and settings of all the IoT Sensor Devices is stored in the gateway device memory. This ensures that the last saved settings are available after every re-boot.

Security

Gateway security is one of the key considerations in IoT gateway architecture during the IoT Gateway design process.

The designed IoT gateway should ensure robust data security, device security and network security.

Device security and device identity is implemented in the gateway hardware using Crypto Authentication chips.  To add further security to the IoT gateway hardware tampering is implemented.

Secure boot is also implemented to ensure that the gateway doesn’t boot from an unauthorized firmware.

All messages between gateway and cloud, and messages between Gateway sensor node is encrypted to ensure data integrity, and confidentiality of sensor nodes. Data to and from every node in a IoT application is encrypted to ensure network security.

FOTA

Ensuring IoT Gateway security requires continuous and timely efforts; as an IoT Development Partner, one needs  to keep fixing the security loop holes fixed and maintain device integrity.

Firmware Over The Air (FOTA) updates makes this possible! FOTA updates ensure that the IoT Gateway software is updated with latest versions of security patches, OS, Firewalls and more.

Within the IoT network, the gateway device periodically checks for firmware updates in the cloud and fetches the update.

In case of failure IoT Gateway reverts to the last best known state. Before the update process begins, IoT Gateway checks if the available firmware version is from a trusted source.

Data Communication Protocols

The IoT Gateway connects with the Cloud over Ethernet, Wi-Fi or a 4G/3G modem. Two way communication channel is established with the Cloud for data exchange and command(s) transfer.

The underlying communication layer is UDP or TCP IP protocol.

For ease of development and to maintain standardization, protocols like MQTT, CoAP, XMPP, AMQP are utilised. This is because handling and maintaining communication with cloud over raw socket is more complex process.

Protocol(s) is/are selected considering the amount and frequency of the data that has to be shared with the Cloud.

Data Management

Data Management includes data streaming, data filtering and data storing (in case of loss of connectivity with the cloud).

IoT Gateway manages the data from sensor nodes to gateway and also the data from gateway to cloud.

The challenge here is to minimize the delay to ensure data fidelity.

Cloud Connectivity Manager

This layer is responsible for seamless connectivity with the cloud and also handles scenarios like reconnection, device state, heartbeat message, and gateway device authentication with the cloud.

Custom Application

IoT Gateway application is custom designed as per the business needs.

Gateway application interacts with services and functions from all the other layers or modules to manage data between sensor node and gateway and from gateway to cloud in an efficient, secure and responsive manner.

Gateway Data Transfer

IoT gateway can be connected to the internet for data transfer using Ethernet, 4G/3G/GPRS modem or Wifi. Non-GPRS network is the most preferred mode of internet connectivity. This is due to the cost effectiveness of the data transfer through Wifi or Ethernet.

The gateway should have in-built intelligence to analyze and decide which data should be transferred over the network for processing and which data can be cached for offline processing to save the data transfer cost and processing power of the main application.

After understanding the architecture, one realizes that the Design and development of an IoT Gateway device is a work of art!

As an IoT software and hardware developer, it is very important to understand the business needs (and logic) of the IoT Application.

This understanding of the IoT Application is an important factor that contributes to the development of a win-win IoT Gateway design

Though some very popular off-the shelf IoT Gateway solutions are available, but certain customization becomes a necessity to transform a product concept into business reality!

  • October 24, 2017
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What is an IoT Gateway Device and Why is it so Important for the Success of IoT Projects?

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Category : Embedded Blog

IHS forecast suggests that the growth in number of IoT devices will be exponential, with an installed base of 15.4 billion devices in 2015 to 30.7 billion devices in 2020 and 75.4 billion in 2025.

Now to support such network(s) of IoT devices that are expected to become more complex, IoT Gateway is one of the most critical components of the entire Internet of Things (IoT) network.

In this blog post, we will discuss why IoT Gateway device is that important, but first-up let’s understand what is an IoT Gateway!
 
What is IoT Gatway
Image Source: Intel

What is an IoT Gateway Device?

IoT Gateway, as a hardware device or a virtual software code, acts as a communication bridge between IoT Sensor Network and Cloud Server.

IoT gateway device has a layered architecture. Following are some of the important software and hardware layers to help you get better understanding regarding the IoT Gateway Development process:

1.) Hardware Platform: This defines the processing power & memory specifications of the IoT Gateway. This is the gateway powerhouse and a hardware platform is selected based on the complexity of IoT application(s) that need to be deployed

2) Operating System: The decision of opting for a particular OS depends on the legacy systems. It is a best practice to continue to use the OS compatible with the existing systems in order to save costs and hassle-free integration

3.) Analytics Engine: This layer ensures raw data is converted to actionable insights

4.) Integrated Application development platform and Device Drivers: This layer supports development and/or  addition of new devices, applications or systems to the IoT network

Why IoT Gateway is important?

The importance of an IoT Gateway device can be gauged by the number of critical tasks/actions that are performed by this device.

Here is just a glimpse of some of the important tasks:

  • Facilitate compatibility across the IoT network. IoT Gateway ensures this by supporting a number of communication protocols like Zigbee, 6lowpan, Bluetooth, WiFi, LoRA, Zwave
  • All the devices that need to be monitored or controlled have relevant sensors installed on them (temperature, humidity, proximity or other sensors).


    These sensors are IP based; IoT Gateway manages the connectivity of these sensors (and in turn real world physical devices) to the cloud server.

    • To be precise, IoT Gateway makes the devices available online through sensors and cloud

  • In additional to bringing the IoT network to life, IoT Gateway also performs many operational tasks – manage device configuration, perform device authentication for secure network access and support edge-analytics

Evolution of IoT Gateway and Edge Analytics

1st Generation IoT Gateway:
These IoT Gateway devices were designed to facilitate communication protocol compatibility and device management functions. However, they did not support data analytics at the ‘edge’. With 1st generation IoT Gateway, all the analytics is performed at the cloud server.

2nd Generation IoT Gateway:
This product line of “smart” IoT gateways support ‘edge analytics’ , hence ensuring reduction in data transfer costs and extension of  the benefits of data analytics at local networks

3rd Generation (Current):
This new generation of IoT gateway devices improves the overall system responsiveness and also supports new operating models. Since IoT gateway devices continuously receive huge amount of data from the sensors, at times it may overload the main system. To avoid this the new generation IoT gateway analyzes the data received from various sensors and prioritizes and passes critical information to the main system and send alerts if required.

The new generation IoT gateways are intelligent and capable of filtering out the high priority information from the data received. They are also capable of taking action on the data received. For example, if the gateway senses that the temperature is too high, the gateway can send instructions to turn on the air conditioner.

In our next blog post we will discuss about “How an IoT gateway works”. Subscribe to our blog to get alerts about happenings around IoT.

Learn more about our IoT development Services for home automation and Industrial Automation.

  • March 15, 2016
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EFY interviews Zach: Designing an IoT solution and latest IoT technology trends

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Category : Embedded Blog

Eletronicsofthings[dot]com, the e-magazine of the renowned EFY group, recently interviewed Zach Ninan, Head of the Competency Lab (Cloud, Mobility and IoT Solutions), Embitel Technologies, Bangalore.

This conversation started with the latest trends and advancements that are propelling the IoT revolution forward. Zach also shared details of the entire solution design process where he discussed IoT gateway device development, sensor networks, cloud back-end and mobile apps.

When asked about the relevance of automation, Zach cited the example of predictive maintenance that has helped improve operational efficiency and reduced downtime of critical business processes.

“The ability to monitor and optimize workflows constantly as per the needs of the business is an area where IoT is adding value,” he said.

Read the complete conversation here – Designing an IoT Solution is Akin to Creating Music

What is Internet of Things(IoT) ?

    IoT is the network of physical objects – devices, vehicles, buildings and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity-that enables these objects to collect and exchange data.

    Source:Wikipedia

  • September 15, 2015
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End to End IoT Solutions: Connected Devices Through Gateways and the Internet

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Category : Embedded Blog

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you would be familiar with the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is the technological advancement that is set to bring about a major change in our day-to-day lives. End to end IoT solutions include devices fitted with sensors, IoT cloud platform, user interfaces and sometimes, IoT gateways that provide a host of additional benefits.

IoT solutions are not just limited to domestic and commercial applications; the extensive benefits these offer in Industry 4.0 are set to revolutionize the efficiency of manufacturing technologies and processes. With IoT cited as the next big thing for enterprises and industries, businesses are actively investing in the setup of full-stack IoT platforms.

Understanding an IoT Solution

IoT is a network of things, which may be your phone, tablet, lighting system in your house, or your home appliances; all connected and interacting with each other. In an industrial set up, IoT can establish connectivity between machines, devices and user interface systems on the factory floor.

Effective connectivity between IoT enabled devices and the Cloud platform is provided by IoT gateways. The internet is the backbone of IoT connectivity solutions, as this forms the medium for data to flow seamlessly from one end of the network to the other.

Use Cases of IoT

  • Smart grid and smart metering solutions


    • Gone are the days when power company employees used to come to your houses to take note of the meter readings and consequently generate a bill based on your consumption. Not only was this process time consuming, but also inaccurate at times.

    Smart grid and smart metering solutions are a step towards reducing manual work and providing accurate information to the consumers. With a smart metering IoT solution you can accurately monitor your power consumption on a daily basis on web portals. At the same time, no manual work is required for taking these readings.

    These smart meters send real-time information to IoT gateways that forward this data to the cloud, and subsequently to web portals from where users can access it. With the integration of payment gateways on web portals, even bill payment can be done in seconds.

  • IoT enabled home automation systems


    • Home automation systems were meant for high-end audiences and have traditionally cost a fortune. But IoT has made this a reality for the common man through affordable solutions.

    In an IoT enabled home automation system, all your appliances would be connected to the internet using an IoT gateway. Typically, you would be able to use a device, like a phone, to control all such appliances. Let’s just say we want to turn on the air conditioner; this can be done through the phone which relays the “switch-on” command through the internet to the IoT gateway and finally to the air conditioner.

  • Asset tracking solutions


    • Today, it’s possible to know the real-time location of the item you purchased online. The logistics industry has leveraged the power of IoT solutions to open new horizons of customer interaction.

    The industry relies on a robust IoT platform solution to bring data to customers on their fingertips. It is no more a roadblock. It’s safe to say that with IoT enabled solutions it’s now feasible to track real-time locations of assets, and that too on any device with a browser and an internet connection.

  • Predictive maintenance


    • This is one of the most notable use cases of IoT in industrial applications. Through the use of sensors and data analytics, it is possible to determine the operational efficiency of a device and predict failure of the device even before it actually happens.

    The failure warnings can be monitored by managers and service/maintenance timelines are charted out before any problems surface. Predictive maintenance brings about a significant reduction in operational expenses, and equipment monitoring is turned into an automated process.

  • Vehicle automation


    • Smart vehicles are no longer a figment of our imagination. With connected digital instrument clusters ruling the automotive market, vehicle automation is an inherent part of the mobility industry.

    Connected vehicles communicate with cloud servers using IoT gateways that are backed by 3G or 4G Internet connectivity. Vehicle communication can also be established with end-user applications through Bluetooth tethering over protocols like CAN, LIN, FlexRay, Ethernet, etc.

These are just a few examples of the potential that IoT based solutions hold.

From these use cases you would have noticed that the IoT gateway plays an important role in end to end IoT solutions. The efficiency of the network is mainly governed by the IoT gateway devices.

Critical Aspects of an IoT Gateway

IoT gateway is an important element to consider when it comes to designing full stack IoT solutions. IoT gateways are more than just bridges that transmit data; they form the backbone of any IoT solution, and several features make this capability possible:

  • Data logger


    • Gateway devices are capable of logging the data collected from multiple IoT enabled devices. This becomes an integral feature when it comes to developing countries where internet connections are not very fluid.

  • Flexible connectivity solutions


    • The beauty of IoT connectivity solutions is the inclusiveness of heterogeneous devices that can become part of the network.

    IoT gateways come with a variety of interfaces like LoRaWAN, NBIoT, Bluetooth, GPRS and Wi-Fi, to name a few. So, whatever may be the interface, we can always align our gateway to these devices to provide a robust IoT connectivity solution.

  • Over-the-air (OTA) updates


    • It is an absolute necessity nowadays that IoT devices should incorporate over-the-air firmware updates. It is not possible for vendors to physically install updates in each device since these might be deployed at different geographical locations.

    Over-the-air updates provide a flexible solution to this problem from the perspective of the consumer as well as the vendor. Updates are frequent and easy to install with IoT gateways that are provided with OTA firmware update feature.

  • Robust design to handle harsh environmental conditions


    • IoT gateway devices may be deployed in varying conditions depending on the particular application sector for which they are targeted. These gateways are hence, designed to withstand harsh environmental conditions like rain and high temperature the summer, for long periods of time.

  • Flexible data on cloud


    • An IoT gateway’s primary work is to relay data from IoT enabled devices to the cloud. If you consider it this way, it acts as a packet forwarder. Gateways offer flexible data formats and protocols like MQTT that can be used to forward data to cloud platforms in whatever protocol or format they need.

Features like licensing and data security make IoT gateway devices ready for many real-world applications.

A Brief Look at IoT Gateway Security

With more and more IoT enabled devices being connected to the internet, the possibilities of the network becoming vulnerable to cyber crimes are on the rise. The last thing you want is hackers getting into the system and taking control.

Thankfully, there’s no need to worry. IoT gateway devices are meant to provide a secure channel for data exchange that is not susceptible to hacking.

Gateway solutions offer security features like end-to-end encrypted data packets, device registration, and cryptograph level security. While these are generally followed practices when it comes to securing IoT gateways, technologies like TLS/SSL encryption and AES cipher suites are witnessing widespread adoption.

Additionally, experts suggest using true end-to-end application layer security through which messages are encrypted such that only unique recipients are able to decrypt them.

Another sleek technique that can be used is secure on-boarding which involves imprinting a device being enrolled in an IoT solution with a cryptographic key generated by the IoT management service.

Wrapping It Up

IoT offers viable solutions for various domains like defense, agriculture, home automation and industrial manufacturing. People might be under the impression that there is more hype than reality in the capabilities of IoT, but the truth is far from that.

Despite these facts, it may be highly difficult to predict by when IoT will become a reality on a larger commercial scale. The solutions will need to evolve on a daily basis, learning and adapting to cyber threats. An important element to consider while choosing an IoT solution is the gateway, as this will be vital to efficiency and security.

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