Duo join forces to support IoT standards

Making the choice of open standards for protocols and APIs also ensures an easy, cost-efficient and fast integration with existing and new LoRaWAN ecosystem players, like core network or application enablement platform providers.

Kerlink leverages IoTerop’s IOWA, a commercial-grade Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Lightweight M2M/IPSO stack, as an end-device management protocol for sensor networks and machine-to-machine (M2M) environments. In addition to supporting life-cycle management, it allows Kerlink’s B2B customers to easily update firmware remotely. The company, currently leading the LoRa Alliance working group for Firmware Update Over The Air (FUOTA), was among the first LPWA IoT solution providers to demonstrate FUOTA capabilities last year at the alliance meeting in Philadelphia.

Kerlink also has promoted in a position paper its vision of delivering global solutions for LoRaWAN end-device remote management by leveraging open standards like LwM2M and IPSO. A whitepaper is also available on its website, giving more insights on how Kerlink plans to combine these capabilities to offer future-proof and easy-to-use end-device life-cycle management solutions.

IoTerop is committed to implementing standardised, comprehensive administration services across devices and manufacturers to manage different end-device functions. These include maintaining connectivity, data recovery and security or software upgrades. Most deployed objects lack these features or the features are very limited and/or proprietary. IoTerop’s solutions provide standardised methods for making connection between devices easier and more effective, such as remotely changing data-collection frequency on a water meter directly from an administration console.

Standards-based solutions, such as IoTerop’s IOWA, allow an industrial customer to easily integrate firmware updates and device provisioning, remote control and management. IOWA also supports the addition of security features that enforce communication cyphering and device authentication in any operating environment, hardware platforms and connection topologies.

“The use of IoTerop’s IOWA ensures the openness and versatility of Kerlink’s solutions,” said Julien Catalano, Kerlink Principal Architect and Head of standards. “Combined with Kerlink’s low-power IoT reference design, it will ensure a quick onboarding of end-device remote firmware updates, configuration and management, throughout its lifespan. It will also spread its usage, for example, for smart meters, trackers or sensors.”

“Device management is a key aspect of any IoT solution. Maintenance and deployment costs, as well as adding incremental improvements are dependent on robust device-management capabilities,” said IoTerop CEO Hatem Oueslati. “Using IOWA in Kerlink’s installations and leveraging open standards such as OMA Lightweight M2M and IPSO, help customers reduce deployment, maintenance and management costs, and meet interoperability and compliance with standards. This ensures solution openness, scaling and sustainability in the long term.”

Kerlink and IoTerop will demonstrate IOWA’s capabilities at MWC on Kerlink’s booth 8.0C11.