The application model running on PharosN engine receives data streams form IoT via standard network communication protocols such as http, RESTful, CoAP. MQTT, OPC, SNMP and others. It provides generic solution avoiding specific proprietary requirements by the hardware of some manufacturers or protocols of controllers by applying standard connectivity via http transport layer.  

The solution supports both direct communications with sensors as primary sources of measurements by url and with IoT hubs and automation control systems depending on the needs. In case of industrial automation systems the installed sensors can be made by different manufacturers and support different protocols which are supported on case by case basis.

In general the REST API is preferable since it is easy to use and is one of the common protocols for the exchange of data via web. Many manufacturers of sensors, controllers and software use the protocol in various management systems, providing the possibility of access to monitoring functions through Rest API as well. For example, it can be used for control and measurements of light bulbs and street lights.

The SOAP protocol is most common in industrial systems. The use of SNMP protocol is recommended mostly for closed networks e.g. LANs due to the fact that has shortcomings in security.

The dotted block in the Picture refers to the systems which are not described here but allow access to monitoring functions via some network protocols. If the protocol is missing in the list it can be promptly implemented by the Pharos Navigator development team. Some new standards and relevant technologies which are under implementation such as IEEE 802.11ah WiFi will be supported in next platform releases.

It should be taken into consideration that PharosN platform has the ability to import the stored sensor data from structured databases or files using its data import procedures as well.