The Internet of Things

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Key Terms in this Chapter

Web Service: A Web Service is a software component that is described via WSDL and is capable of being accessed via standard network protocols such as but not limited to SOAP over HTTP. It has an interface described in a machine-processable format.

Web 2.0: The transition of websites from isolated information silos to sources of content and functionality, thus becoming a computer platform serving web applications to end users. Also a social phenomenon referring to an approach to creating and distributing Web content itself, characterized by open communication, decentralization of authority, freedom to share and re-use and “the market as a conversation.

Quality of Service: This is a measure of network performance that reflects the network's transmission quality and service availability. QoS can come in the form of traffic policy in which the transmission rates are limited which guarantees a certain amount of bandwidth will be available to applications.

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6): Is the latest version of the Internet Protocol (IP), the communications protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the Internet. IPv6 was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to deal with the long-anticipated problem of IPv4 address exhaustion.

Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4): Is the fourth version in the development of the Internet Protocol (IP) Internet, and routes most traffic on the Internet.However, a successor protocol, IPv6, has been defined and is in various stages of production deployment.

Protocol: An agreed-upon set of rules that facilitates the exchange information between two computers or devices. A protocol includes formatting rules that specify how data is packaged into messages. It also may include conventions like message acknowledgement or data compression to support reliable and/or high-performance network communication.

Cloud Service Providers: Cloud Service Providers offer an opportunity for organisations to make resources available online. These resources can range from extensive customer relationship management (CRM) software to the relatively widespread online email access.

Wide Area Network (WAN): A network connecting computers within very large areas, such as states, countries, and the world.

Router: A device or setup that finds the best route between any two networks, even if there are several networks to traverse. Like bridges, remote sites can be connected using routers over dedicated or switched lines to create WANs.

Cloud Computing: Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption, and delivery model for IT services based on Internet protocols, and it typically involves provisioning of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources.

Universal Resource Identifier (URI): The string (often starting with http) comprises a name or address that can be used to refer to a resource. It is a fundamental component of the World Wide Web.