What are IoT communication protocols?

The set of rules and standards that govern how data is processed and transferred between IoT devices is called an IoT communication protocol. It defines how IoT devices communicate with each other.

Some commonly used IoT communication protocols are explained below.

Message Queue Telemetry Transport

Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT) follows the publish-subscribe model. In this model, the devices, known as publishers, do not send information directly to the receivers. The information is only accessible to specific clients called subscribers.

The MQTT communication links are TCP-based, so the delivery is guaranteed. MQTT is useful for constrained devices and low-bandwidth networks.

Constrained Application Protocol

Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) follows the client-server architecture supporting the RESTful principles. The resource is available through a URL, and all the client IoT devices can make the following HTTP type requests to the server: GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE.

The CoAP communication links are UDP-based, so the delivery is not guaranteed. CoAP supports highly congested networks and IoT devices with limited resources, such as low-power sensors or embedded systems.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a widely used protocol for web communication, which is used to establish an IoT network. HTTP protocol allows transferring a massive amount of data between IoT devices to help them interact with different web servers and access multiple cloud services.

The HTTP communication links are TCP-based, so the delivery is guaranteed. It requires a lot of computing resources, so it is not best for battery-powered applications.

Advanced Message Queueing Protocol

Advanced Message Queueing Protocol (AMQP) follows the publish-subscribe and request-response models. It enables conforming client applications to communicate with conforming messaging middleware brokers.

The AMQP communication links are TCP-based, so the delivery is guaranteed. It ensures reliable and secure communication over an IoT network through encrypted and interoperable messagingAbility of different messaging systems or platforms to communicate and exchange messages seamlessly with each other..