Towards a Generic Software Architecture for IoT Systems

TL;DR

This paper proposes a foundational, quality attribute-driven software architecture tailored for IoT systems, integrating styles like edge computing, microservices, and event-driven design to address their inherent complexity.

Contribution

It introduces a new architectural framework that incorporates multiple styles and patterns specifically designed for the dynamic and distributed nature of IoT systems.

Findings

Supports seamless device communication across protocols

Addresses IoT system robustness and scalability

Provides a control loop for autonomous operation

Abstract

The complexity of IoT, owing to the inherent distributed and dynamic nature of such systems, brings more challenges to the software development process. A vast number of devices with different communication protocols and data formats is involved and needs to be connected and exchange data with each other in a seamless manner. Traditional software architectures fall short of addressing the requirements of IoT systems and, therefore, a new approach to software architecture is required. This paper presents an attempt to lay out the foundation for a quality attribute driven software architecture for the development of IoT systems. This architecture accommodates the appropriate architectural styles and design patterns necessary for the development of a robust IoT system. These include edge computing, microservices and event driven architectures. The proposed architecture treats IoT systems as autonomic systems which require a closed control loop to regulate and orchestrate the operational aspect of the IoT system.