What should you keep in mind while choosing IoT Connectivity?

Short answer: Start with your project's objective and scale, then check five things in the connectivity hardware: reliability, auto-reboot to recover from hiccups, automatic failover to a secondary link, ease of installation and remote management, and built-in firewall and VPN for security. Hardware that covers these keeps unmanned IoT sites online with less maintenance.

One of the most crucial, and daunting, tasks while you are in the process of starting a new IoT project is selecting the right connectivity. A connectivity solution that will not only benefit you, but also complement the project that you are taking on.

The market has a wide variety of selections to offer, which is exactly why wanting to narrow down and select something that may work for your project maybe a daunting task. With the amount of options available and the wide array of selection to choose from, bring with it a lot of responsibility and pressure. You need to keep in mind the aspects of the available hardware and software, along with all the other major contributing factors.

It is always better to have a clear understanding of what your main objective and at what scale would the solution span to. As soon as a niche is selected, it becomes comparatively easier to plan the solution that you need along with the costs and labor.

What should you check when choosing IoT connectivity?

Here is a list of a few things that you should keep in mind when you go through the tiresome process of finding the right fit for your solution.

• Reliability – Having a reliable supplier isn’t enough. There is more when it comes to finding the right connectivity for your solution that goes way beyond having a great relationship with the supplier, or the supplier having a good track record. What really matters here is relying on the hardware. Making sure that the hardware functions properly and safeguards your IoT project if something unexpected situation arises.
• Auto-reboot – Rebooting is a preventive measure we all take whenever minor hiccups are encountered, but it is not possible for an individual to always be present when something like this occurs. That is where the auto-reboot function comes in handy. It helps with performing regular reboots, which in turn re-establishes the internet connectivity, which in turn helps with minimizing system downtime and need for maintenance.
• Failover – Failover is another function that makes sure your device has constant internet connectivity. If for whatever reason, the primary connection goes down, this function makes sure that the device automatically shifts to the secondary connectivity with stable speed.
• Ease Of Use – The scale of your solution determines the way you need to monitor and control the IoT device with complete efficiency. The key aspect to remember here is to make sure that you have the freedom to troubleshoot and change the settings in the device if the need ever does arise, without the need for physically being present, which also helps in save cost. As well as making sure to have easy installation options. Nexapp Technologies offers you products with various connection types. Instaroute routers offer dual-SIM arbitration, industrial protocols such as Modbus, DNP3, IEC 60870-5-101/104 and MQTT, and zero-touch provisioning, which make IoT solutions easier to install.
• Firewall and VPN – Security is something that none of us can take lightly. VPN and Firewall are two of the most prominent security features. A VPN helps with creating a safe access between private networks remotely situated also helps with encrypting data. The Firewall has a set of rules on who can have access to the network and devices, and helps with acting as a barrier between secured and unsecured networks.

To quickly wrap things up, it is crucial that you consider these points in mind while making a decision. Be sure to check out Nexapp’s range of Instaroute routers to make the right choice.

Related: industrial 4G router buying guide for India, compare Instaroute router models and IoT and M2M connectivity.

Frequently asked questions

What should I look for when choosing IoT connectivity?

Check that the hardware is reliable, can auto-reboot, fails over automatically to a secondary connection, is easy to install and manage remotely, and includes a firewall and VPN.

Why is auto-reboot important for IoT devices?

IoT devices often run at unmanned sites. Auto-reboot restores internet connectivity after minor hiccups without anyone visiting the site, which cuts downtime and maintenance.

What is failover in IoT connectivity?

Failover means the device switches automatically to a secondary connection, such as a second SIM, when the primary link fails. Instaroute routers support dual-SIM arbitration for this.

Do IoT routers need a firewall and VPN?

Yes. A VPN creates encrypted access between remote private networks, and a firewall controls who can reach the network and devices. Instaroute routers support IPsec IKEv2, OpenVPN and GRE/DMVPN tunnels.

To find out more, see Nexapp’s IoT and M2M solutions.