When we architect for interoperability, it is important that we establish a systematic process of designing our solution. We can look into the requirements to start off with as part of architecting for it:
Defining requirements: First, it is imperative to define requirements for the IoT solution that we are to make. We need to list down the interoperability requirements; that is, address which systems our solution needs to interoperate with.
Identifying standards and protocols to use: We then will move on to researching and identifying industry standards and protocols that are commonly used in IoT solutions, such as MQTT, CoAP, and Zigbee. This is a very important step, as it will ensure that we know what the proper standards we want to use are and that it can be an appropriate fit for the use case of the systems our solution will interoperate with. It is important to ensure that the standards and protocols that are used are also widely adopted so as not to be isolated from most applications. In the industry, isolated standards often would not be appealing to the consumer, given that they will not be able to communicate with other services.
Defining architecture: Next, define the overall architecture for the IoT solution, including the communication protocols, device discovery, security, and data management.
Utilizing API gateways: API gateways can provide a common interface between different IoT devices and systems, allowing them to communicate with each other seamlessly.
Implementing data management: Data management is critical to ensuring interoperability in IoT solutions. Choose a data management system that can handle large amounts of data, is scalable, and can be integrated with other systems.
Testing and validation: Thoroughly test the IoT solution to ensure that it meets interoperability requirements, and validate the solution against industry standards.
With that understanding of architecting for interoperability, along with the other concepts that support it, we can look into what kinds of projects are working toward more interoperability, both on a local and global scale.
Projects working toward greater interoperability
Open source projects are one of the biggest contributors to the advancement of interoperability solutions. Here, we will talk about two categories within this: projects for global interoperability and projects for interoperability within the cloud. We will then see an example of such a project in a case study, which will help us look at how advancing interoperability for IoT platforms can be achieved.
Leave a Reply