IoT Overview and Architecture
What the exam tests
The IoT Overview and Architecture domain checks whether you can place any IoT solution into a layered model and explain why each layer exists. Expect questions on the perception, network, platform and application layers, on IoT characteristics such as massive connections and low power, and on ecosystem roles: chip and module vendors, device makers, network operators, platform providers and application integrators.
Core model
- Perception layer: sensors, actuators, RFID, cameras and the MCU that digitises signals. Actuators belong here because they act on the physical world.
- Network layer: access and transport. Access covers NB-IoT, eMTC, LoRa, ZigBee, Wi-Fi and wired buses; transport covers the core network and the Internet.
- Platform layer: device management, data storage, analytics and northbound APIs that expose data to applications.
- Application layer: vertical software such as metering, lighting or production monitoring.
A three-layer variant folds the platform into the application layer. Use the four-layer view when a question separates device management from the business application.
Worked example
A smart water meter contains a flow sensor and MCU (perception), an NB-IoT module (network access), a device profile and codec on the platform (platform), and a billing dashboard (application). If asked where meter-reading scheduling lives, the answer is the platform, not the application, because scheduling is a device-management function.
Traps
Do not call the platform an application. Do not assume every IoT link is low-power wide-area: video surveillance needs high bandwidth. Do not forget actuators when listing perception-layer components.