IoT Protocols

Just for my future reference, not as a definitive comparison, here're some notes on the various IoT protocols that I'm aware of.


Application Level

HTTP - the granddaddy protocol, always a safe bet - RFC

CoAP - the HTTP-alike, RESTful alternative for small devices - RFC-ID

MQTT - from IBM

Comparison of CoAP and MQTT.


Transport Level

IPv6 and see here - designed to give every Thing in the universe an IP address - RFC

Wireless Level

WiFi/Direct - almost every house has a WiFi LAN; 5Ghz option; star topology - Pi example

BlueTooth 4.0/BLE - popularised as iBeacon by Apple, but handy for beacons and low power sensors; star topology - Pi example

Z-Wave - Home Automation; ~900Mhz not 2.4Ghz like the rest, so greater range, less interference, bigger antennae; mesh topology - Pi example

ZigBee - Home Automation; mesh/star; based on 802.15.4 - Pi example

6LoWPAN - IPv6 based; mesh/star; based on 802.15.4 - RFC - Pi example

NFC - exchange by touching things together; P2P - Pi example

RFID - for cheaply tagging things; P2P - Pi example

Comparison of Wifi, BLE, ZigBee, NFC, and others.

Comparison of ZigBee and 6LoWPAN, the two 802.15.4 protocols.


Some are proprietary, some are the products of more or less closed industry consortia, some have RFCs. Here's a bigger list.

I'm looking at HTTP over WiFi and BLE right now, and will probably look at CoAP over 6LoWPAN at some point.