Designing an end-to-end sustainable IoT network: a comprehensive guideline

The evolution of wireless networks has predominantly centered on facilitating human-to-human communication applications, progressively including high-bandwidth services. However, the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT), with devices embedded with sensors, software, and network connectivity, has led to a paradigm shift in communication architectures and has enabled the coexistence of machines and humans within these networks. The IoT paradigm envisions machines autonomously sensing, monitoring, analyzing, and transmitting information with minimal human intervention. This transformation demands requirements that differ from traditional architectures and highlight end-to-end network characteristics such as low latency, enhanced reliability, and power efficiency. Consequently, conventional network architectures must evolve to incorporate specialized hardware and software infrastructures tailored for IoT ecosystems. Current 5G technologies, due to their energy-intensive nature, are not capable of supporting the rapid proliferation and diversification of IoT applications, resulting in stringent network requirements demanding advanced network technologies and protocols that further contribute to higher energy consumption. This expansion demands a sustainable network architecture that integrates people, objects, data, and processes. In this chapter, we first describe the standard IoT architecture, its layers, and the elements of an IoT communication chain. We then explore the fundamental principles, opportunities, and advancements in design methodologies for each architectural layer and component, focusing on green IoT strategies and sustainable large-scale deployment paradigms. We also provide a comprehensive framework for designing end-to-end sustainable IoT networks, addressing the challenges of energy efficiency, scalability, and diverse application requirements in next-generation IoT systems.