In designing an IoT network, deciding whether to use short- or long-range connectivity protocols is a straightforward but crucial decision. Both have their advantages and disadvantages and deciding on this will depend on your individual use case. In this section, we will highlight some factors to consider and talk about the remaining component of connectivity protocols that we have not yet discussed: long-range protocols.
Design factors
In designing networks, protocols such as Zigbee and Bluetooth are often chosen for communication within confined areas such as homes or industrial office buildings. While they excel in low power consumption and robust security features, their operational range is limited, making them unsuitable for covering large distances. However, their lower hardware costs and ability to deliver reliable services within their operational bounds make them the preferred choice for many localized applications.
Conversely, when the communication needs span broader geographies such as cities or even countries, long-range protocols such as cellular, satellite, and LoRaWAN come to the fore. These protocols can bridge vast distances, but often at the expense of higher power consumption and increased operational costs. The hardware and deployment costs associated with these long-range technologies are typically higher. Service reliability over long distances is a strong suit of these protocols, albeit the security features may vary, necessitating additional security layers in industry-based applications to ensure robust data encryption during transmission.
The trade-offs between range, data rate, power consumption, service reliability, and cost need to be meticulously weighed against the application requirements and the envisioned network performance. As we transition to discussing long-range protocols, the interplay of these factors will be further explored to provide you with a holistic understanding of protocol selection in IoT network design.
Next, we will take a look at long-range protocols to complement the short-range protocols we discussed in Chapter 2, Understanding and Designing IoT Networks.
