REST-based access to SMIv2-structured information on constrained devices

Abstract

Recently, the IETF has generated a number of standards that are intended to be foundational for large networks of constrained devices, also known as the Internet of Things. Among these are a Web transfer protocol realizing the REST (Representational State Transfer) principles, the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), and the Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR). As with the existing Internet, the Internet of Things will need network management. Management of networks has long been governed by the Structure of Management Information V2 (SMIv2), encoded in ASN.1 Basic Encoding Rules (BER) and the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Supporting multiple protocols and data encoding formats on a very constrained device is wasteful of its capabilities. We examine how CoAP and CBOR could be used for providing REST-based access to SMIv2-structured information on constrained devices in a way that facilitates interoperation with implementations of the existing protocols.