Bluetooth mesh under the microscope : how much ICN is inside?

Abstract

Bluetooth (BT) mesh is a new mode of BT operation for low-energy devices that offers group-based publish-subscribe as a network service with additional caching capabilities. These features resemble information-centric concepts, and the analogy to ICN has been repeatedly drawn in the BT community. In this paper, we compare BT mesh with ICN both conceptually and in real-world experiments. We contrast both architectures and their design decisions in detail. Experiments are performed on an IoT testbed using NDN/CCNx and BT mesh on constrained RIOT nodes. Our findings indicate significant differences both in concepts and in real-world performance. Supported by new insights, we identify synergies and sketch a design of a BT-ICN that benefits from both worlds.