DEVICES · PROTOCOLS · EVENTS
The protocols, devices, and events that make IoT actually work
A clear read on what connects to what, why one protocol beats another for a given job, and where the industry meets to compare notes.
Zigbee & Matter
Local-first mesh networking, low power draw, keeps working when the internet doesn't.
Modbus & MQTT
Built for reliability in noisy, unattended environments, decades of deployed hardware.
Bluetooth LE
Tuned for battery life measured in months, not days, at the cost of range.
Three categories, three different problems
The right protocol depends on what you're connecting and where, not which one is newest.
Smart home
Thermostats, locks, and lights mostly run on Zigbee or Z-Wave mesh networks, with Matter now acting as a common layer so devices from different brands can talk to the same hub.
Compare the three →Industrial IoT
Factory floors still lean on Modbus, a protocol from 1979, alongside MQTT for shipping sensor data upstream. Reliability and long deployment life matter more than raw speed here.
Why factories run both →Security
Most IoT breaches trace back to default credentials and unpatched firmware, not exotic protocol attacks. The basics, unique passwords and regular updates, close most of the gap.
The full checklist →Picking a protocol
Typical figures for common use, not lab maximums. Full decision guide with an FAQ is in the connectivity guide.
HARDWARE
Where a protocol becomes a chip
Every standard on this page eventually turns into a radio module a few millimeters wide, soldered onto a board like this one, running for years on a coin cell.