From Telit: "What is LWM2M? A Device Management Solution for Low Power M2M"

Lightweight M2M: Device Management for Low Power Devices

By the end of 2025, we can expect a staggering 75.4 billion devices to be connected to the Internet of Things (IoT), according to Statista. For business and commercial use, this means remote control (mostly mobile and cellular) and monitoring of supplies, assets, temperature, meter reading, logistics and business efficiency.

Through the Lightweight Machine to Machine (LWM2M) protocol, industries can expect lower costs for low power module deployment and equipping devices with faster IoT solutions.

What is the LWM2M Protocol? 

Lightweight M2M is a communication protocol from the Open Mobile Alliance built to provide a link between a device equipped with a LwM2M agent and LwM2M-enabled servers.

Often used alongside CoAP (a protocol used specifically for constrained application devices), the LwM2M protocol lets users remotely perform tasks, run diagnostics, and perform application and device management on their IoT embedded devices.

According to Phillip Tracy with RCR Wireless News, LwM2M was implemented out of the necessity for a “low-cost remote management and service enablement mechanism” that works wirelessly and can be used across multiple industries where IoT is needed most.

Crucially, the combination of CoAP and LWM2M protocols allows detailed management of extremely low-power devices and enables wireless Firmware Over the Air (FOTA) updates, keeping low-power IoT deployments effective and secure at scale. These capabilities give operators new insight into their system’s functionality, as well as the flexibility needed to maintain and improve it.

An essential requirement for most IoT uses cases is power efficiency and LwM2M has been inherently designed to reduce the power consumption needed for device management. Additionally, LwM2M has been engineered to be efficient in its data consumption, recognizing that the average size of the data plan for IoT devices is limited. Lastly and more importantly, both power and data usage efficiency are delivered in a highly secure and reliable manner via this protocol.

LwM2M carries a small code footprint and can be easily integrated across a large number of IoT devices. Companies that need to track, send, and receive information across a fleet of devices often use low-bandwidth, high-latency and unreliable networks. Other protocols like MQTT and JSON are designed for these types of connections, where remote locations and a small code footprint are the norm, though LWM2M is designed specifically to manage constrained devices typically found in a network of sensor and in large-scale pervasive devices.

For example, if your business has 100,000 vending machines out in the field pushing out information, they may need constant updating for new items and SKUs – a task which uses up a lot of data. In the end, data translates to cost. LwM2M is a valuable service enablement asset that effectively saves money when talking to the machine itself through automation, instant updates, software configuration and more.

Modules like Telit’s ME910C1 feature LwM2M and are designed to offer optimized power consumption and enhanced coverage despite challenges with deep-indoor usage or geography. Regardless of the industry, LwM2M improves time-to-market and IoT device management.

Industries that Benefit from LWM2M Device Management 

Lightweight M2M can be used to benefit industries that rely on large-scale deployment of IoT devices needing remote management and high-security, low-cost solutions.

Industries that rely on such deployments and IoT solutions include:

• Aerospace
• Agriculture and Environmental Services
• Automotive and Transport
• Amusement Park Ride Management
• Electronics and Embedded Devices
• Equipment and Machinery
• Construction
• Healthcare
• Mining
• Retail
• Security and Surveillance
• Telecommunications
• Telematics
• Smart Homes and Cities
• Utilities and Power Grids
• Furniture and Home Appliances
• Food and Beverage
• Paper and Pulp
• Plastics and Rubber
• Oil and Gas
• Facility Management
• And Much More

The majority of areas where these low-cost, low-power data transfer solutions can boost productivity are in software monitoring and maintenance. 

Other areas of remote functionality and capabilities include: smart lighting, data acquisition, production, logistics, quality assurance, inventory, facility climate control, meeting environmental health and safety requirements, emissions control, procurement and sourcing, product development, IT solutions, warehouse management, and even sales and marketing.

Expect Lightweight M2M to be a guiding force for the low power needs and standards across multiple global industries.

Telit, Your Device Management Leader for Low Power Devices

With over 15 years of IoT innovations, connecting people and their devices all over the world, look to Telit when coordinating your low-cost IoT communications module deployment needs. Telit’s IoT modules, connectivity solutions and platforms are designed to help you transform your business into an accelerated digital workspace.

Telit offers enterprise-grade global support to help you manage your product certification effort anywhere in the world. We can leverage our global experience to assist you with CE, FCC, IC, PTCRB, GCF certifications and most mobile network approvals, such as carrier device approval. 

Contact Telit today and ask about our LwM2M enabled ME910C1 IoT module designed to reduce complexity and cost with ultra-low power solutions in mind. Some examples of where this module is being used include smart meters, industrial sensors, healthcare monitors, home automation, asset trackers and many more low data rate IoT devices.

Source: https://www.telit.com/blog/what-is-lightweight-m2m-lwm2m/ 

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