LwM2M
Lightweight Machine-to-Machine, an OMA SpecWorks protocol over CoAP that standardizes device management, firmware updates and telemetry for constrained devices.
LwM2M defines a client on the device and a server in the cloud, with a fixed set of interfaces: bootstrap for initial credentials, registration, device management and information reporting. Device data is organized as numbered objects and resources, so object 3 describes the device, object 5 handles firmware updates and object 4 reports connectivity, and vendors add their own. It runs over CoAP with DTLS, including transport bindings for UDP, TCP, SMS and NB-IoT non-IP data.
Its value is that device management tasks that every project needs, such as OTA updates, reboot, configuration and observing resources, are standardized rather than reinvented. It is used by several cellular IoT platforms and module vendors. The trade-off is that the object model is rigid compared with sending JSON over MQTT, which some teams find restrictive for application data. See CoAP explained.
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