Towards Effective IoT Management

Abstract

The rise in number and complexity of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and networks has led to a profusion of tools and technologies that aim to facilitate IoT management. These management solutions must consider the resource restrictions of embedded devices, their heterogeneity and network dynamics. In this context, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) engaged itself in an effort to develop standards that allow for the integration and interoperation of heterogeneous devices, such as RESTCONF and CoMI (CoAP Management Interface). On the other hand, the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) is developing a protocol for IoT device management named Lightweight Machine-to-Machine (LwM2M). This paper provides an overview of management protocols for IoT devices. The presented analysis ranges from traditional network management protocols, such as Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), to the newest protocols used for management and configuration of IoT devices, such as the already mentioned CoMI and LwM2M protocols. In addition, this paper also provides an analysis of the challenges of IoT device management.