BYOD, BYON, IoT, IPv6, SaaS, SDN, MDM, M2M, TCP/IP, IEEE, EIEIO, IMHO, tech is drowning in drowning in acronyms. And now Stacey Higginbotham at GigaOM explains 6LoWPAN. 6LoWPAN stands for IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks. 6LoWPAN is the lightweight version of traditional internet protocol (IP) designed for the internet of things.
Misco reports that Internet-connected devices will number 9.6 billion by the end of 2013 and the figure will jump to 28 billion by 2020. Currently, the 9.6 billion Internet-connected devices connect to another device, a phone, or a corporate gateway. In order for a true internet of things to emerge, these devices should have the ability to connect directly to a web service.
Device to cloud
Instead of device-to-device, it’s device to cloud. The article surmises that since most of today’s devices use IP to connect to the web, engineers would like to use IP to connect devices to the web as well. The only problem is that IP is a heavy, energy-intensive beast. This is one that reason, the Internet’s standard’s setting organization, the IETF, proposed 6LoWPAN in 2004.
The numeral 6 in the standard, is short for IPv6. Ms.Higginbotham explains that if you’re envisioning tens of billions of connected sensors then IPv6 is the way to go. However, supporting the 128-bit numbering system required by IPv6 also takes computing and memory overhead that tiny sensors don’t have. It also requires longer packet headers and such that can clog low bit-rate networks. Since the 6 is IPv6 and the Lo references the low-power aspect of the protocol.
The WPAN or Wireless Personal Area Network is a nod to the wireless mesh network that the protocol supports. Because this isn’t directly analogous to the traditional network stacks, it’s hard to limit the technology to a particular layer in the network.
Sensors in a connected network can run the gamut from a video camera that’s plugged into a wall to a battery-powered water sensor hiding under the washing machine. GigaOM says the standard is flexible enough that some nodes might be able to do more than just send information. Others can be designed to sleep until an event wakes them for a data transmission. In short, it’s complicated, which makes defining a network stack or standards for the internet of things tough.
6LoWPAN will use multiple radio protocols
The WPAN in 6LoWPAN will use multiple radio protocols. It can work over several radio networks that use the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, the most popular being ZigBee. The IETF is also working with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group to build 6LoWPAN support for the Bluetooth protocol.
GigaOM notes that the Bluetooth SIG already has taken steps to cut power consumption to meet the demands of the internet of things, so it clearly is also aware of the need for the IPv6 addressing scheme if every bra, door lock, or porta-potty is going to hop on the InterTubes without a phone or computer.
Charles McLellan at ZDNet explains that IBM (IBM) has teamed up with wireless sensor network specialist Libelium to deliver a wireless sensor platform starter kit comprising IBM’s Mote Runner SDK and Libelium’s Waspmote sensor platform, Waspmote Mote Runner development platform allows researchers to explore the benefits of 6LoWPAN.
Tech titans betting on 6LoWPAN
Ms. Higginbotham says that IBM getting behind the standard with this announcement is just one more big-name betting on 6LoWPAN as the communications protocol for the internet of things. She says a few months ago ARM purchased Sensinode, a company that has literally written the book (MP4) about 6LoWPAN. Cisco (CSCO) has an investment in 6LoWPAN with its 2010 purchase of Arch Rock, for its smart grid initiative.
Platforms such as Electric Imp, Ayla Networks, and ThingSquare, all of which offer modules and services to connect devices directly to the internet, are also gaining ground with test programs and early adopters, helping make the case for 6LoWPAN. So as devices start going directly to the cloud and bypassing phones and computers, having a protocol that supports modern addressing at relatively low power and low overhead will become more important. And that’s what this terribly awkward acronym provides.
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6LoWPAN is what will drive the rapid growth of the IoT. The Business Insider says that IoT grows from 1.9 billion devices today, to 9 billion by 2018. To put that in perspective, BI claims that by 2018 IoT will be roughly equal to the number of smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, wearable computers, and PCs combined.
You can insert your own joke about the feds collecting data from a porta-potty.
What do you think? Is 6LoWPAN the best way to connect IoT devices to the cloud?
Related articles
- Discovering new IoT hardware development scenarios (sensos.wordpress.com)
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
