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3.8 Conclusion
In this section, we introduced the foundation of the IoT ARM, the IoT Reference
Model. The IoT Reference Model defines the basic concepts, models,
terminology, and relationships in the IoT ARM. It demonstrates our thinking,
rationale and design space for structuring the domain of the Internet of Things.
It also proposes the Functional Groups that we deem relevant for IoT
architectures, as outlined in the IoT Functional Model (see Section 3.5).
Within the IoT Reference Model, the IoT Domain Model was discussed in great
detail, as the IoT Domain Model defines the language, the concepts, and the
entities of the IoT world and how they are related to each other. This is
confirmed by the fact, as we learn in Section 5.2.4.2), that the IoT Domain
Model plays a prominent role in IoT-A-guided system architecting. As we will
see in Section 5.6 when we perform a reverse mapping analysis with the
concepts defined in other projects and standards related to the Internet of
Things, the definition of a common understanding is crucial for developing
interoperable architectures and systems. This common understanding
permeates every aspect of the architecture, and will be a key aspect for the
widespread acceptance of a future IoT systems and standards. In that respect it
is most important to carefully study the concepts of the IoT Domain Model, as it
is the foundation of the other models presented in this chapter and of the IoT
Reference Architecture that will be discussed in the following chapter.
While a common language and common terminology is the precondition for all
other models, this chapter also provided the other models crucial for the
development of IoT architectures, most importantly the IoT Information Model
that relates to important aspects of information in an IoT system and will be
detailed in the IoT Information View in the next chapter (see Section 4.2.3) that
discusses information on a higher level of detail.
The IoT Functional Model discussed in this chapter defines several Functional
Groups that pick up the IoT concepts and entities introduced in the IoT Domain
Model, and relates them to common functionalities present in an IoT
architecture. Just as for the IoT Information Model and View, the IoT Functional
Model will be further detailed with concrete functional components in the
following chapter (see Section 4.2.2).
Finally, Communication and Security models, as well as techniques of system
safety and reliability where introduced that address these issues in IoT. The
security and the communication model constitute Functionality Groups in the
IoT Functional Model, and will be picked up again in the IoT Reference
Architecture (see Section 4.2.4 and Section 4.2.2.7).
What we have also addressed in this chapter, is the application of the common
IoT use case introduced in the previous chapter (―Red Thread‖, see Section 2 .3)