Alternatives and their uses.
WHAT CONSTRAINED APPLICATION PROTOCOLS PROVIDE
A request-and-response model resembling the web, over datagrams.
WHAT THEY SUIT
Very constrained devices, and interaction resembling resource access.
WHAT THE ADVANCED QUEUING PROTOCOL PROVIDES
Richer messaging: queues, routing, transactions.
WHAT IT SUITS
Enterprise integration rather than constrained devices.
WHAT HTTP PROVIDES
Universality and familiarity.
WHAT IT COSTS
Substantial overhead per request, and no efficient server-initiated messages.
WHERE IT REMAINS SENSIBLE
Devices with ample power and connectivity, and infrequent communication.
WHAT WEBSOCKETS PROVIDE
Persistent two-way connections over web infrastructure.
WHAT THEY SUIT
Devices behind restrictive networks, and browser-based clients.
WHAT INDUSTRIAL PROTOCOLS PROVIDE
Established standards for industrial equipment, with defined data models.
WHY THEY MATTER
Industrial machinery speaks them, and any system must interoperate.
WHAT A GATEWAY TYPICALLY DOES IN THAT CONTEXT
Translates between an industrial protocol and a modern messaging one.
WHAT TO CHOOSE ON
Device capability Network characteristics What the platform supports What existing equipment speaks
WHAT TO AVOID
Inventing a protocol.
WHY
Every problem you will encounter has been solved in the established ones.
