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back to article Facebook Messenger tech to glue 50bn-strong Internet of Stuff

A communications protocol for the Internet of Things - the posh name for a future global network of 50 billion interconnected gadgets - has been chosen by a top standards body. The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), best known for its OpenDocument format, will adopt and promote the …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Embedded with what? ARM processes in thermostats?

    This is a ridiculous standard. TCP/IP only? You f@#$ing kidding me?

    Sure - you might have space for a full networking stack in your device. But let's be real. That 8 bit microchip isn't going to have space for windowing protocols.

    Why oh why don't we have a UDP option. Hell this specification states that delivery might be unreliable yet it specifies TCP for the standard when really they were looking for UDP.

    How the f@#$ did this standard get ratified?

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    1. Anonymous Coward
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      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Embedded with what? ARM processes in thermostats?

      Well, I've implemented an MQTT app on an Arduino, so it really doesn't take much to use TCP/IP.

      I don't see why TCP is necessary, the MQTT protocol handles retransmits etc, and there's even an MQTT-S protocol for use without TCP/IP

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    2. andypiper
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      Re: Embedded with what? ARM processes in thermostats?

      There's an extension to the protocol (MQTT-S) which runs over UDP and connectionless networks.

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  2. Andrew Jones 2
    Thumb Down

    And then in a few years stuff that is missing will be hacked on to the standard and you will have to replace all your stuff if you want to take advantage of the latest features (because the chances of light switches being firmware upgradeable are slim to non)

    While we are on the topic - in the past year I have seen 4 computer monitors and 3 TV's die - and in every case - even though they are from different manufacturers - they have all pretty much gone the same way - the screen dies (or rather as it seems - some component inside the device responsible for regulating power) - the TV in my bedroom for instance, made by Goodmans when you switch it on the screen is all kinds of colours but no actual picture to speak of - you can hear the tuned in station and it responds to the remote control - you just can't see anything, for about 20 minutes - and then suddenly it works! 2 ACER computer monitors have gone a similar way - but instead of showing colours on the panel - the screen remains off and the power light flashes for about 20 minutes and then suddenly it switches on properly. I know of several friends who have experienced similar failures - and in EVERY case - it's been a device that is less than a few years old. Add to that a deep fat fryer that died just outside it's warranty period when the element took the RCD and a washing machine that after a year developed a lovely fault whereby any programme that isn't the longest possible one - hangs, half way, full of water and refuses to open the door until you have turned the dial all the way to the longest programme and set it running.......

    Now what does this have to do with the article? Is it such a good idea to have even the most simplest thing like a light switch need a microprocessor and IP connectivity when more complicated stuff has a ridiculously short lifespan?

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    1. Ian Yates
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      Terminator

      "in the past year I have seen 4 computer monitors and 3 TV's die"

      Have you got surge protectors? If so, you seem to have the worse luck with electrical equipment I've ever heard of

      (maybe you project an anti-technology field? useful for the robot uprising)

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  3. Andrew Jones 2
    Facepalm

    Additionally - talk of a broker is something I read as "central server" - meaning another box that plugs in somewhere and essentially acts as an "internet of things" router. I thought the point was that your washing machine could talk directly to your TV - not via an intermediary?

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    1. BlueSkyMan
      Reply Icon

      MQTT.org has a few different implementations, and some are very lightweight, so I guess you could run a broker on all devices - seems overkill though.

      Maybe they're expecting us to live in a permanently connected world so your toaster connects to a server half way around the world to talk to your washing machine that's 2 foot away, efficient or what...

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      1. Ian Yates
        Reply Icon

        Or your local router? Seems like a logical place for such a broker

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    Whatever box does DHCP duties in the home now will one day offer broker services I suppose?

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  6. andypiper

    this is not a "Facebook protocol"

    Hi, I'm a committer on the Eclipse Paho Open Source project which delivers MQTT clients, I previously worked at IBM with the creator of the protocol, and I run the MQTT community site.

    It's true that Facebook chose to use MQTT for their Messenger and mobile apps, but the protocol itself dates from 1999 (see http://mqtt.org/faq) and has been in wide use for years. So the headline here is a misrepresentation.

    The protocol has been published royalty-free for many years, there are many Open Source implementations, and it is now with OASIS for broader, open standardisation so that no one organisation will control it.

    If you are interested in learning more head over to http://mqtt.org/get-involved :-)

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