Tapio Levä

Comparing the cost-efficiency of CoAP and HTTP in Web of Things applications

Abstract Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) has been introduced as a simpler alternative to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) for connecting constrained smart objects to the Web. The adoption of the protocol depends on its relative advantage, and the cost–benefit associated with the use of the protocol is a significant factor affecting a protocol adoption decision. This paper aims at deepening the understanding of the cost–benefits of CoAP and identifies the application scenarios where its use is likely to be economically justifiable. The paper analyzes the costs of using CoAP and HTTP in the Web of Things (WoT) applications, by identifying the components of the total cost of ownership (TCO) model for these applications and by studying the factors affecting individual costs. The use of the model is then demonstrated by means of comparing the TCO of CoAP and HTTP in an environment monitoring application scenario. The results of the analysis suggest that the simpler hardware requirements of CoAP smart objects, as well as the lower communication overhead of the protocol and the resulting reduced power consumption lead to cost advantages in the application scenarios where the smart objects i) are large in volume and/or are deployed in the field, ii) engage in frequent communications with the Web that are charged for on the basis of the volume of the data being transferred, and iii) are sleeping between the communication sessions. The obtained results may be utilized both by the decision-makers considering the adoption of CoAP in specific solutions, as well as by the academics and practitioners involved in the protocol development.

Towards Multipath TCP Adoption: Challenges and opportunities

Successful deployment of new network protocols on the Future Internet is not a trivial task. Deployable protocol design is necessary but not sufficient condition for protocols success, unless it takes all stakeholders involved in the deployment process into account. This paper investigates the challenges of deploying a new transport protocol on the Internet, using Multipath TCP - a TCP variant that transmits along several network paths at the same time - as an example and proposes a framework for its adoption process based on diffusion theory. The paper distinguishes the roles of adopters and other stakeholders in the deployment process, and presents scenarios that enhance Multipath TCP deployment and adoption. One key finding is that the role of end users is not of significant importance for Multipath TCP deployment, because they are not necessarily in a position to make a conscious adoption decision.

Mobile internet in stereo: an end-to-end scenario

Multipath TCP (MPTCP) is an extension to regular TCP that exploits the idea of resource pooling by transmitting the data of a single TCP connection simultaneously across multiple Internet paths between two end hosts. Operating system vendors are traditionally in the key position to facilitate the deployment of new functionality, such as MPTCP, to user devices, but their motivation to invest in such enhancements is not self-evident. A scenario in which one party has the capability to deploy software changes on both the mobile devices and on the content servers helps to understand the potential first-mover advantages associated with the deployment of a new IETF standard protocol. In this study, we have built a quantitative techno-economic model to estimate the implementation costs for a content provider selling application downloads who is also able to implement MPTCP on both ends and compare them against the revenue MPTCP generates. The results suggest that even a relatively small increase in the number of downloads could make the business case profitable within five years.

A tussle analysis for information-centric networking architectures

Current Future Internet (FI) research brings out the trend of designing information-oriented networks, in contrast to the current host-centric Internet. Information-centric Networking (ICN) focuses on finding and transmitting information to end-users, instead of connecting end hosts that exchange data. The key concepts of ICN are expected to have significant impact on the FI, and to create new challenges for all associated stakeholders. In order to investigate the motives as well as the arising conflicts between the stakeholders, we apply a tussle analysis methodology in a content delivery scenario incorporating socio-economic principles. Our analysis highlights the interests of the various stakeholders and the issues that should be taken into account by designers when deploying new content delivery schemes under the ICN paradigm.

Deployment and adoption of future internet protocols

Many, if not most, well-designed Future Internet protocols fail, and some badly-designed protocols are very successful. This somewhat depressing statement illustrates starkly the critical importance of a protocols deployability. We present a framework for considering deployment and adoption issues, and apply it to two protocols, Multipath TCP and Congestion Exposure, which we are developing in the Trilogy project. Careful consideration of such issues can increase the chances that a future Internet protocol is widely adopted.

Techno-economic feasibility analysis of constrained application protocol

Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) has been developed as an alternative to the HyperText Transfer protocol (HTTP) to connect resource-limited devices to the Web. In addition to technical advantages, the success of Internet protocols depends also on their economic feasibility for the stakeholders involved in protocol deployment. Therefore, this paper studies the techno-economic feasibility of CoAP by applying a methodological framework. Based on literature review and nine expert interviews, the paper identifies potential deployment challenges of CoAP and suggests solutions to them. The results can be used to facilitate the deployment of CoAP and to guide the potential adopters in decision-making.

Adoption of Constrained Application Protocol: A Techno-Economic Perspective

Among billions of Internet enabled devices that are expected to surround us in the near future, many will be resource constrained, i.e., will have limited power supply, processing power and memory. To cope with these limitations, the Constrained Application Protocol CoAP has been recently introduced as a lightweight alternative to HTTP for connecting the resource limited devices to the Web. Although the new protocol offers solid technical advantages, it remains uncertain whether a successful uptake will follow, as it depends also on its economic feasibility for the involved stakeholders. Therefore, this paper studies the techno-economic feasibility of CoAP using a systematic methodological framework. Based on eleven expert interviews complemented with a literature survey, the paper identifies potential deployment challenges for CoAP, both technical and business-related, and suggests approaches to overcome them. The findings should facilitate the uptake of CoAP by supporting the potential adopters of the protocol in their decision-making.

A Framework for Measuring the Deployment of Internet Protocols

Internet protocols spread to potential adopters through several successive phases of implementation, commercialization, acquisition, and adoption of the protocol. This process of protocol deployment involves several stakeholders and varies depending on the deployment environment and the protocol in question. This complexity and the lack of comprehensive measurement studies call for a further conceptualization of measuring protocol diffusion along the whole deployment process. Therefore, this article develops a framework for measuring the deployment of Internet protocols, consisting of deployment steps, deployment models, deployment measures, and data sources. The measures are further linked to each other through deployment gaps and delays. In order to demonstrate the framework, it is used to assess how a set of pre-installed protocols spread in the Finnish mobile market. The framework highlights the differences between the deployment models and the importance to use both the deployment measures and gaps in the analysis of protocol success. Furthermore, the illustrative results indicate that protocol deployment is driven by applications, and show the existence of large deployment gaps between the protocol possession and usage. The results are relevant especially to researchers interested in holistically analyzing protocol deployment and protocol developers for measuring and improving the success of their protocols.