| Wireless Sensor Networks Move Onto The Internet | | Print | |
| Written by Akiba | |
| Thursday, 02 October 2008 | |
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IP allows different kinds of links to be connected together
as a single network, with routers steering each message to its
desired destination, crossing different kinds of links along the
way.
Introduction With energy costs on the rise and "green" mandates moving from discussion to public policy, companies are being forced to find better and more efficient ways to manage the buildings they own or occupy. Because rewiring an existing building is costly and often impractical, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are growing in popularity. WSNs are energy-efficient and provide the ability to monitor places and things that are difficult to instrument. With WSN technology building managers can now know the exact temperature or humidity levels anywhere in a space and then fine-tune energy consumption as needed. Some of the WSN solutions being proposed are based on proprietary or ad-hoc networking technologies, while others are built around open standards. Users are increasingly looking to the standards-based solutions because they are far easier to scale, provide the best long-term investment protection, and offer the greatest flexibility in maintenance and management. Of course, the most open and ubiquitous networking standard of
all is the Internet Protocol (IP). But until recently, the use of
IP on wireless embedded networks was not considered viable, because
IP was deemed too "big" to operate on microcontrollers and
low-power links – notably on the IEEE 802.15.4 radio link.
The emergence of the IETF 6LoWPAN (RFC 4944) standard for IP
communication over low-power radio has changed all that. This
low-power wireless IP option offers a new set of longevity,
security and ease-of-integration tradeoffs that make it a superior
alternative to existing options.
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