Connectivity for Connected Things - by Asim Zulfiqar (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Get a clear understanding of the rapidly evolving world of IoT networking by looking at how real systems communicate in practice. As today's devices span everything from low-power sensors to edge gateways and cellular modules, no single protocol can meet every need. This book equips developers and system architects with the clarity to navigate this increasingly heterogeneous landscape and make confident protocol decisions

Covering MQTT, CoAP, AMQP, HTTP/REST, LoRaWAN, Zigbee, BLE, NB-IoT, and more, the book organizes connectivity around how data actually flows -- from sensor to device, device to gateway, and gateway to cloud -- rather than traditional network layers. Each chapter explains how protocols behave under real-world constraints such as power limits, intermittent connectivity, and network congestion, threaded through a real-life example that carries from a single sensor to a full production system. Companion architecture guides and end-to-end implementations are available on GitHub.

Rather than treating protocols in isolation, the book approaches IoT connectivity as a design problem, guiding you through the trade-offs of power, range, latency, and scalability using a named protocol selection framework, and showing how to combine multiple technologies into cohesive, robust systems.

Whether you are architecting your first deployment or scaling an existing one, this is your essential reference for designing efficient, interoperable, and future-ready IoT networks.

You Will

Understand architectures and operating principles of major IoT connectivity protocols

Apply a structured framework to evaluate and select the right protocol for each layer of your system

Apply MQTT, CoAP, AMQP, and HTTP/REST integration patterns

Evaluate long-range and LPWAN options like LoRaWAN, NB-IoT/LTE-M for real deployments

Design short-range and mesh networks using BLE and Zigbee

Integrate multiple protocols into hybrid IoT systems with gateways and bridges

Who Is This Book For

IoT developers, embedded engineers, system architects, and advanced students seeking practical, end-to-end IoT connectivity expertise with basic familiarity with microcontrollers (ESP32, Arduino, or Raspberry Pi) and some experience with programming in Python or C/C++ will benefit from the book.

From the Back Cover

Get a clear understanding of the rapidly evolving world of IoT networking by looking at how real systems communicate in practice. As today's devices span everything from low-power sensors to edge gateways and cellular modules, no single protocol can meet every need. This book equips developers and system architects with the clarity to navigate this increasingly heterogeneous landscape and make confident protocol decisions

Covering MQTT, CoAP, AMQP, HTTP/REST, LoRaWAN, Zigbee, BLE, NB-IoT, and more, the book organizes connectivity around how data actually flows -- from sensor to device, device to gateway, and gateway to cloud -- rather than traditional network layers. Each chapter explains how protocols behave under real-world constraints such as power limits, intermittent connectivity, and network congestion, threaded through a real-life example that carries from a single sensor to a full production system. Companion architecture guides and end-to-end implementations are available on GitHub.

Rather than treating protocols in isolation, the book approaches IoT connectivity as a design problem, guiding you through the trade-offs of power, range, latency, and scalability using a named protocol selection framework, and showing how to combine multiple technologies into cohesive, robust systems.

Whether you are architecting your first deployment or scaling an existing one, this is your essential reference for designing efficient, interoperable, and future-ready IoT networks.

You Will

Understand architectures and operating principles of major IoT connectivity protocols

Apply a structured framework to evaluate and select the right protocol for each layer of your system

Apply MQTT, CoAP, AMQP, and HTTP/REST integration patterns

Evaluate long-range and LPWAN options like LoRaWAN, NB-IoT/LTE-M for real deployments

Design short-range and mesh networks using BLE and Zigbee

Integrate multiple protocols into hybrid IoT systems with gateways and bridges

About the Author

Asim Zulfiqar is an IoT engineer, author, and scientific programmer specializing in embedded systems, wireless connectivity, and energy-aware computing. He has authored Hands-on ESP32 with Arduino IDE (Packt Publishing, 2022) and published extensive tutorials on his blog and YouTube channel, High Voltages, focused on IoT protocols, ESP32, MQTT, and LoRaWAN.

In addition to his research work, Asim has completed over many freelance IoT and embedded systems projects, delivering solutions for startups, research labs, and industrial clients worldwide. His experience spans protocol design, low-power firmware, cloud integration, and data visualization using platforms such as InfluxDB and Grafana.

He is currently working as a Scientific Programmer at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), contributing to IoT research on energy optimization, adaptive resource allocation, and on-device learning. His academic background includes an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's in Photonics Integrated Circuits, Sensors, and Networks from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Italy), Aston University (UK), and Osaka University (Japan), and a Bachelor's in Electronic Engineering from Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (Pakistan).

Asim's work bridges academic insight and practical engineering, combining technical depth with real-world implementation to make complex IoT systems accessible to professionals, educators, and hobbyists alike.