CoAP Protocol Overview 🌐
CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol) is a lightweight protocol designed for constrained devices and low-power networks in IoT environments. It is similar to HTTP but optimized for resource-constrained scenarios, making it ideal for machine-to-machine (M2M) communication.
Key Features 📋
- RESTful architecture (based on HTTP/1.1)
- UDP transport (with optional TCP fallback)
- Built-in support for DTLS/TLS encryption 🔒
- Efficient for low-bandwidth networks 📶
- Simple message format (binary or textual)
Use Cases 🧩
- Smart home devices 🏠
- Industrial IoT (IIoT) ⚙️
- Sensor networks 📊
- Mobile and wearable devices ⚙️
Comparison with MQTT 🤝
For deeper insights, check our CoAP vs MQTT guide.
Explore more about CoAP implementation here.