Q: What industrial IoT protocols are most important and how do they compare?
Answer
Key industrial IoT protocols: (1) MQTT: lightweight pub/sub 2-byte header widely used for cloud integration. (2) OPC-UA: full-featured industrial interoperability protocol with information modeling built-in security. Best for: factory floor to cloud. (3) Modbus TCP: ubiquitous legacy protocol simple to implement. (4) PROFINET: real-time industrial Ethernet for motion control. (5) EtherCAT: sub-1us motion control. (6) BACnet/IP: building automation HVAC lighting. (7) LwM2M: device management for IoT (firmware updates remote config). (8) Sparkplug B: MQTT payload standard for industrial SCADA/MQTT integration. Protocol selection: for greenfield IoT start with MQTT + Sparkplug B; for brownfield (legacy PLCs) use Modbus TCP with OPC-UA gateway; for motion control PROFINET or EtherCAT; for building automation BACnet/IP.
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