Examining the Middleware Transport Protocols

With regard to the connectivity between devices in the proximity edge network and communication between the operational and management domain, we have to bear in mind that diverse protocols and layer-1 physical electrical characteristics will differ. As an example, we might well have, in a manufacturing plant, many devices connected by diverse technologies such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, or even Ethernet. The problem is to integrate those protocols so that it is transparent to the systems. We discussed gateways earlier, but they introduce latency, jitter, and potential packet loss.