Note: This specification has been retracted by the author; new
implementations are not recommended.
This specification describes how to manage and get information from
concentrators of devices over XMPP networks.
WARNING: This document has been retracted by the author(s). Implementation of the protocol described herein is not recommended. Developers desiring similar functionality are advised to implement the protocol that supersedes this one (if any).
Concentrators are devices in sensor networks, concentrating the management of a sub set of devices to one point. They can be small (for example: PLC:s managing a small
set of sensors and actuators), medium-sized (for example: mid-level concentrators, controlling branches of the network, islands, perhaps using separate communication protocols),
large (for example: entire sub-systems, perhaps managed by a separate child/partner organization) to massive (for example: The entire top-level system, smart-grid, IoT network).
Even though this XEP is generally written and can be used by other implementations not based on sensor networks, much of the requirements used to define this specification
comes from requirements used in sensor networks and Internet of Things applications and infrastructure.
This specification will define the following aspects of a general concentrator profile, that can handle all different types of concentrators available in sensor network architectures:
A concentrator works with multiple data sources. Effective management of data sources and their contents is a vital part of this XEP.
The ability to work with massive quantities of entities.
Effective synchronization of contents between interested parties.
Effective ways to interact with entities controlled by the concentrator.
Sensor networks contains many different architectures and use cases. For this reason, the sensor network standards have been divided into multiple XEPs according to the following table:
Defines how to handle the peculiars related to battery powered devices, and other devices intermittently available on the network.
xep-0000-IoT-Discovery
Defines the peculiars of sensor discovery in sensor networks. Apart from discovering sensors by JID, it also defines how to discover sensors based on location, etc.
xep-0000-IoT-Events
Defines how sensors send events, how event subscription, hysteresis levels, etc., are configured.
xep-0000-IoT-Interoperability
Defines guidelines for how to achieve interoperability in sensor networks, publishing interoperability interfaces for different types of devices.
xep-0000-IoT-Multicast
Defines how sensor data can be multicast in efficient ways.
xep-0000-IoT-PubSub
Defines how efficient publication of sensor data can be made in sensor networks.
xep-0000-IoT-Chat
Defines how human-to-machine interfaces should be constructed using chat messages to be user friendly, automatable and consistent with other IoT extensions and possible underlying architecture.
XEP-0322
Defines how to EXI can be used in XMPP to achieve efficient compression of data. Albeit not a sensor network specific XEP, this XEP should be considered
in all sensor network implementations where memory and packet size is an issue.
XEP-0323
Provides the underlying architecture, basic operations and data structures for sensor data communication over XMPP networks.
It includes a hardware abstraction model, removing any technical detail implemented in underlying technologies. This XEP is used by all other sensor network XEPs.
XEP-0324
Defines how provisioning, the management of access privileges, etc., can be efficiently and easily implemented.
XEP-0325
Defines how to control actuators and other devices in Internet of Things.
XEP-0326
This specification. Defines how to handle architectures containing concentrators or servers handling multiple sensors.
XEP-0331
Defines extensions for how color parameters can be handled, based on Data Forms (XEP-0004) [1]
Even though there are technologies available in forms of XEPs that solve parts of the above mentioned problem, they do not provide sufficient support. The following paragraphs will
take the time to list why different technologies are not applicable.
This XEP defines tree structures for nodes in different data sources. Publish-Subscribe (XEP-0060) [5] defines a model where a tree structure of nodes is published and users can browse this
tree structure. Furthermore, it allows the possibility to publish items on these nodes as well as syndication of this information.
This XEP also defines data sources (in a tree structure). These data sources contain nodes. PubSub Collection Nodes (XEP-0248) [6] defines a structure called a node collection, a structure that
allows the creation of collections containing loosely coupled nodes.
Even though this document defines tree structures of data, it is not however based on XEP-0060. There are multiple reasons for this:
The structures defined in this specification do not include items to publish for each node.
We want to be able to use XEP-0060 in parallel to this specification, for the purpose of publishing sensor data.
More information about this is found in xep-0000-IoT-PubSub.html.
For massive systems (hundreds of thousands, or millions, of nodes behind a concentrator, its vitally important to be able to manage sets of nodes directly
(for example: Edit multiple nodes at once). Many of the operations in XEP-0060 only allow for operations of singular nodes. Furthermore, many simple operations
require multiple messages per node. This document defines way to operate of sets of nodes simultaneously, as well as ways to perform operations with a smaller
number of operations.
In this document, nodes have specific functions, controlled by a specific Node Type. Different Node Types have different parameter sets, different options, commands,
capabilities, etc. XEP-0060 does not differ between node types. There, nodes are only a structural way to sort data into a tree graph.
In this document, nodes have real-time status, like errors, warnings, etc.
XEP-0248 defines the concept of node collections and syndication of information from nodes in these collections. But XEP-0248 is not used in this specification.
There are multiple reasons:
We want to be able to use XEP-0248 in parallel to this specification, for the purpose of publishing sensor data.
More information about this is found in xep-0000-IoT-PubSub.html.
Node IDs are not necessarily unique by themselves in the system. This document defines a uniqueness concept based on a triple of data: (Data Source ID, Cache Type, Node ID). This
means that Nodes must have IDs unique within a given Cache Type, within a given data source.
We need to expand on types of events generated from a data source, to make them adhere to the particulars of nodes as defined in this specification.
Data sources own their nodes. XEP-0248 define a loosely coupled structure with references to nodes. In this document, a data source is the owner of all nodes
contained in it.
Ad-Hoc Commands (XEP-0050) [7] defines how ad-hoc commands can be implemented and how clients can use such commands to interact with underlying logic. But XEP-0050 is not used in this specification.
There are multiple reasons:
We want to be able to use XEP-0050 for other types of commands, than commands defined in this specification. Generally, XEP-0050 is used to implement
system-wide commands.
Commands defined in this specification are context sensitive, i.e. they depend on the type of node and the context of the node on which the act.
It is a requirement to be able to execute commands on sets of nodes directly.
Since commands have to be context sensitive, a large concentrator system may have hundreds or thousands of different commands, making it impossible to create
context sensitive GUI's using XEP-0050.
Dialog types used for Ad-Hoc-commands are not sufficient. First, dynamic dialogs are required in the general case.
(XEP-0326 define how to create dynamic forms.) Furthermore, the
wizard style type of dialogs used for more complex dialogs in ad-hoc commands, are difficult to automate.
The following table lists common terms and corresponding descriptions.
Actuator
Device containing at least one configurable property or output that can and should be controlled by some other entity or device.
Computed Value
A value that is computed instead of measured.
Concentrator
Device managing a set of devices which it publishes on the XMPP network.
Data Source
A Data source contains a collection of nodes. Three types of data sources exist: Singular, Flat and Tree. Singular data sources only include one object.
Flat data sources contain a list of objects and Tree data sources contain nodes formed as a tree graph with one root element.
Field
One item of sensor data. Contains information about: Node, Field Name, Value, Precision, Unit, Value Type, Status, Timestamp, Localization information, etc.
Fields should be unique within the triple (Node ID, Field Name, Timestamp).
Field Name
Name of a field of sensor data. Examples: Energy, Volume, Flow, Power, etc.
Field Type
What type of value the field represents. Examples: Momentary Value, Status Value, Identification Value, Calculated Value, Peak Value, Historical Value, etc.
Historical Value
A value stored in memory from a previous timestamp.
Identification Value
A value that can be used for identification. (Serial numbers, meter IDs, locations, names, etc.)
Localization information
Optional information for a field, allowing the sensor to control how the information should be presented to human viewers.
Meter
A device possible containing multiple sensors, used in metering applications. Examples: Electricity meter, Water Meter, Heat Meter, Cooling Meter, etc.
Momentary Value
A momentary value represents a value measured at the time of the read-out.
Node
Graphs contain nodes and edges between nodes. In Internet of Things, sensors, actuators, meters, devices, gateways, etc., are often depicted as nodes whereas links between sensors (friendships)
are depicted as edges. In abstract terms, it's easier to talk about a Node, rather than list different possible node types (sensors, actuators, meters, devices, gateways, etc.).
Each Node has a Node ID. Nodes belong to a data source, and all nodes have a Node Type. Some nodes have a parent node, and some nodes have child nodes. Nodes with the same
parent nodes a called sibling nodes.
Node ID
An ID uniquely identifying a node within its corresponding context. If a globally unique ID is desired, an architecture should be used using a universally accepted
ID scheme.
Node Type
Each node has a Node Type. The Node Type defines the functionality of the node in the system.
Parameter
Readable and/or writable property on a node/device. The XEP-0326 Internet of Things - Concentrators (XEP-0326) [8] deals with reading and writing parameters
on nodes/devices. Fields are not parameters, and parameters are not fields.
Peak Value
A maximum or minimum value during a given period.
Precision
In physics, precision determines the number of digits of precision. In sensor networks however, this definition is not easily applicable. Instead, precision
determines, for example, the number of decimals of precision, or power of precision. Example: 123.200 MWh contains 3 decimals of precision. All entities parsing and
delivering field information in sensor networks should always retain the number of decimals in a message.
Sensor
Device measuring at least one digital value (0 or 1) or analog value (value with precision and physical unit). Examples: Temperature sensor, pressure sensor, etc.
Sensor values are reported as fields during read-out. Each sensor has a unique Node ID.
SN
Sensor Network. A network consisting, but not limited to sensors, where transport and use of sensor data is of primary concern. A sensor network may contain actuators, network applications, monitors, services, etc.
Status Value
A value displaying status information about something.
Timestamp
Timestamp of value, when the value was sampled or recorded.
Token
A client, device or user can get a token from a provisioning server. These tokens can be included in requests to other entities in the network, so these entities can validate
access rights with the provisioning server.
Unit
Physical unit of value. Example: MWh, l/s, etc.
Value
A field value.
Value Status
Status of field value. Contains important status information for Quality of Service purposes. Examples: Ok, Error, Warning, Time Shifted, Missing, Signed, etc.
Value Type
Can be numeric, string, boolean, Date & Time, Time Span or Enumeration.
WSN
Wireless Sensor Network, a sensor network including wireless devices.
XMPP Client
Application connected to an XMPP network, having a JID. Note that sensors, as well as applications requesting sensor data can be XMPP clients.
To create a complete set of operations supported by all types of concentrators, ranging from PLCs to subsystems to entire systems is very difficult. So, the aim
of this document is instead to create a very small reduced set of operations, a common denominator, that would allow for basic maintenance and interoperability of
concentrators of different makes and models and of these varying ranges.
This document lists a sequence of commands. Some are very basic, while others are used for managing massive amounts of devices. When developing a small PLC, it might
be difficult to motivate the implementation of the more advanced commands. They are simply not necessary for the management of the device. So, clients connecting to
the concentrator need a way to learn what operations are available in the concentrator, and as a consequence what operations are not. To do this, the
getCapabilities command is sent, as is shown in the following example.
So, clients who need to interact with different types of concentrators need to be aware of what commands are supported, and limit operations to those commands.
If the client is interested in the hierarchical structure of available data sources, it should request only the root sources, and then ask the client for their
corresponding child data sources. If the client wants to present the data sources to a user, presenting them in their hierarchical order may be more intuitive.
A client can subscribe to changes made in a data source. It does this by sending the subscribe command to the concentrator,
as is shown in the following example:
Multiple subscriptions to the same source will not result in an error, however the server will still only send one event message for each event in the data source.
Important: Event subscriptions only last for as long as the client and concentrator both maintain presence. The concentrator must not persist
event notification subscriptions, and if it goes offline and back online, or if the client goes offline or online again for any reason, the event subscription
is removed.
Note: The parameters and messages attributes can be used to retrieve parameter and status message information
about the nodes in event messages sent from the concentrator. Note that the xml:lang may be used to select the language used in such events,
if the concentrator supports localization of strings.
Example 9. Subscribing to data source events with localized parameters¶
The subscribe command has a set of optional attributes, one for each event type available, and with the same names (nodeAdded,
nodeUpdated, nodeStatusChanged, nodeRemoved, nodeMovedUp and nodeMovedDown), that the
client can use to subscribe to individual events, but not to others. They have the default value of true implying that if not provided, the
default action is to subscribe to those events. The attributes parameters and messages can also be used to specify
if node parameters and node messages respectively should be available in event messages. The default value for the these later attributes is false, implying
that normal events do not include node parameter and node message information.
The following example shows how a client can subscribe to a set of events only:
Example 10. Subscribing to data source events, avoiding state events¶
A client can unsubscribe to changes made in a data source it is subscribed to. It does this by sending the unsubscribe command to the concentrator,
as is shown in the following example:
Example 11. Unsubscribing from data source events¶
An unsubscription made to an existing data source, but where an event subscription does not exist, must not result in an error.
The unsubscribe command has a set of optional attributes, one for each event type available, and with the same names, that the
client can use to unsubscribe from individual events, but not from others. They have the default value of true implying that if not provided, the
default action is to unsubscribe from those events.
The following example shows how a client can unsubscribe from a subset of events, keeping subscriptions on the others (if subscribed to):
3.2.6 Get changes since given timestamp before subscribing¶
If a client comes back online and wants to know any changes that have taken place on the concentrator since last time it was in contact with it,
it can include a getEventsSince attribute in the subscribe command sent to the concentrator. This will make the
concentrator send all event messages since the given timestamp to the client before subscribing the client to events in the given data source.
Example 13. Get changes since given timestamp before subscribing¶
<iq type='set'
from='client@example.org/client'
to='concentrator@example.org'
id='59'>
<subscribe xmlns='urn:xmpp:iot:concentrators' sourceId='MeteringTopology' getEventsSince='2013-03-21T19:24:00'/>
</iq>
<iq type='result'
from='concentrator@example.org'
to='client@example.org/client'
id='59'>
<subscribeResponse xmlns='urn:xmpp:iot:concentrators' result='OK'/>
</iq>
... Sequence of event messages sent from concentrator to client.
Important: Event subscriptions only last for as long as the client and concentrator both maintain presence. The concentrator must not persist
event notification subscriptions, and if it goes offline and back online, or if the client goes offline or online again for any reason, the event subscription
is removed.
Note: The parameters and messages attributes can be used to retrieve parameter and status message information
about the nodes in event messages sent from the concentrator.
For more information on types of events sent, see the Data Source Events section.
3.2.7 Get changes since given timestamp before subscribing, Failure¶
If during a subscription request the concentrator is not able to fulfill the request of retrieving previous events using the getEventsSince attribute,
perhaps the attribute stretches too far back, or includes too many records, the concentrator can return an error message using a response code of NotImplemented.
In this case, the subscription must not be made.
When receiving such an error from the concentrator, the client must make a decision if it should download the data source again, or keep the data source as is, and
subscribing again without the getEventsSince attribute.
Example 14. Get changes since given timestamp before subscribing, Failure¶
If the device does not manage too many nodes, it could choose to implement this function. It would return all available nodes with their parameters with one call.
3.3.10 Get All Nodes derived from, with Parameters¶
This command assumes node types exist in a class hierarchy, and allows the caller to retrieve nodes with similar inheritance. It also returns node parameters
directly in the response.
Example 24. Get All Nodes derived from, with Parameters¶
Note that the caller can list multiple classes in the request. This would return only nodes having the correct base class(es) and
implementing all interfaces.
This command assumes node types exist in a class hierarchy. It allows the caller to get a list of the node class hierarchy and implemented interfaces the
node has.
Note: It is assumed the client already knows the node type of the node, so the response must not contain the type of the node, only
its base classes and any implemented interfaces.
This command returns the root node of a data source (in case the source is a tree-shaped data source) or the nodes of a data source (in case the
source is flat).
This command returns the root node of a data source (in case the source is a tree-shaped data source) or the root nodes of a data source (in case the
source is flat), and also returns the parameters for the corresponding nodes.
This command can be used to get a node or nodes from a data source using an index and an index value, and also returns the parameters for the corresponding nodes.
This command can be used to get nodes from a set of data source using indices and index values, and also returns the parameters for the corresponding nodes.
Example 34. Get Nodes from indices with Parameters¶
In a tree formed data source, all nodes except the root node has a parent node. The getAncestors command allows the client to get a list
of all ancestors (parent, grand parent, etc.) of a node, as is shown in the following example:
Note that the concentrator returns information about the node itself in the response. The parameters and messages
attributes are used in the request to control if the concentrator should return node parameters and node status messages in the response as well.
As the order of siblings in a tree can be important, depending on the context and type of nodes involved, the client may be allowed to move nodes up and down among siblings.
To move a node upwards among its siblings is done using the command moveNodeUp, as is shown in the following example:
As the order of siblings in a tree can be important, depending on the context and type of nodes involved, the client may be allowed to move nodes up and down among siblings.
To move a node downwards among its siblings is done using the command moveNodeDown, as is shown in the following example:
Note that a node that is first among its siblings will maintain its position. The response to the command must still be OK. If an attempt is performed to move a
sequence of nodes that are together first as siblings, none of the nodes move relative to each other.
Note that a node that is last among its siblings will maintain its position. The response to the command must still be OK. If an attempt is performed to move a
sequence of nodes that are together last as siblings, none of the nodes move relative to each other.
Previously described commands can return parameters for a node. But these parameters are for presentational or informational use. If the client wants to edit
the parameters of a node, another set of commands must be used. This use case shows how getNodeParametersForEdit can be used to edit available
parameters for one node.
Note: When editing parameters for a node, a different set of parameters might be returned compared to the set of parameters available in commands
mentioned above. There may be various reasons for this, among other things (but not limited to) user rights, node settings, and parameter type. User rights may restrict the number
of parameters the user can access. The node may be configured not to allow editing of certain parameters. Also, some types of parameters may only be available in
an edit mode (like long multi-line parameters) and not in a shorter presentation mode.
Makes it possible to add certain client validation rules to form parameters.
XEP-0137
Makes it possible to publish a file upload parameter.
XEP-0141
Makes it possible to layout parameters into pages and sections.
XEP-0331
Defines extensions for how color parameters can be handled.
XEP-0336
Makes it possible to create dynamic forms, with server-side validation and forms that change dynamically depending on input.
Read-only parameters will be returned with the readOnly element, as defined in XEP-0336.
Clients SHOULD support this extension if using this command. However, the server MUST NOT change parameters in a node that are read-only, even if clients happen
to try to set them.
After editing the form, the client uses the setNodeParametersAfterEdit command to set the parameters in the node. Note that it is possible to
set the same parameters (or a sub-set of the same parameters) to a different node using this command, without the need to get new form parameters. However, after the first
successful set operation, any form session used for dynamic validation during edit will not be available on the server anymore and must be ignored by the server.
Note that validation rules, pagination, etc., can be stripped from the form when submitting it to the server. Also the form type attribute must be set
to 'submit'. Note also that as the result attribute is OK, it is assumed the server has dropped any parameter form resources
related to the form, which disables any future dynamic validation of the contents of the form. The newly edited node will also be available in the response
in a node element.
The following example shows how the server responds when the client tries to set invalid parameters. The response contains detailed information about why,
information which the client can use to inform the user (if any) of what went wrong.
Example 43. Set Node Parameters after editing, Failure¶
As the result attribute is FormError, the server maintains any parameter form resources related to the form, and features such as
dynamic validation of the contents of the form will still be available until the parameters have been successfully set, the operation has been
explicitly cancelled or a form session time-out has occurred. See XEP-0336
[9] for more information.
Advanced concentrators handling large quantities of nodes may let users edit sets of nodes at once to be practical. This is done by publishing the
getCommonNodeParametersForEdit command. It will return a form with parameters that are common for all selected nodes. Since nodes
may have different node types it is assumed that different nodes have different sets of parameters. But if this command is used, only parameters matching
in IDs, descriptions, validation rules, etc., (but not values) will be returned in a form.
Important: A parameter that exists in multiple nodes, but has different parameter values among the nodes, will be marked with the
notSame element, according to XEP-0336. Clients using this command MUST
support the extensions defined in XEP-0336.
Example 44. Get Common Node Parameters for editing¶
Note that parameters that are not available in all selected nodes will have been removed. Also and ID-parameter will have been removed, since they
cannot be set for a collection of nodes.
Fields marked with the notSame element only present one value, perhaps the value of the first node. However, the field should be clearly
marked in any end-user GUI (for example by graying the field), and MUST ONLY be sent back to the server in a set operation if explicitly edited by the end-user.
The parameter will be set in all selected nodes in that case. Unedited fields should be treated as if the end-user accepts the different values for the current set of nodes.
After editing the form, the client uses the setCommonNodeParametersAfterEdit command to set the parameters in the set of nodes. Note that it is possible to
set the same parameters (or a sub-set of the same parameters) to a different set of nodes using this command, without the need to get new form parameters. However, after the first
successful set operation, any form session used for dynamic validation during edit will not be available on the server any more.
Example 45. Set Common Node Parameters after editing¶
Note that validation rules, pagination, etc., can be stripped from the form when submitting it to the server. Also the form type attribute must be set
to 'submit'. Note also that as the result attribute is OK, it is assumed the server has dropped any parameter form resources
related to the form, which disables any future dynamic validation of the contents of the form.
Important: A parameter that exists in multiple nodes, but has different parameter values among the nodes, will be marked with the
notSame element, according to XEP-0336. Such parameters MUST NOT be sent back to the server
unless they have explicitly been edited or signed by the end-user. The value sent back to the server will be set in all nodes.
3.4.6 Set Common Node Parameters after editing, Failure¶
The following example shows how the server responds when the client tries to set invalid parameters to a set of nodes. The response contains detailed information about why,
information which the client can use to inform the user (if any) of what went wrong.
Example 46. Set Common Node Parameters after editing, Failure¶
As the result attribute is FormError, the server maintains any parameter form resources related to the form, and features such as
dynamic validation of the contents of the form will still be available until the parameters have been successfully set, the operation has been
explicitly cancelled or a form session time-out has occurred. See XEP-0336 for more information.
Each node in the concentrator has a state. This state is a dynamic run-time state, and therefore not presented as a more static property.
This state can be any of the following values, in order of increasing importance:
There are informative events reported on the node.
WarningSigned
There are warnings reported on the node. But these warnings have been viewed by an operator.
WarningUnsigned
There are new or unreviewed warnings reported on the node.
ErrorSigned
There are errors reported on the node. But these errors have been viewed by an operator.
ErrorUnsigned
There are new or unreviewed errors reported on the node.
Other types of "states" are of course possible, such as phase - installation phase, test phase, production phase, etc. - but such "states" are seen as static
and presented as parameters on the node. The purpose of the dynamic state attribute of a node, is to give a dynamic runtime state that has
the possibility to change during runtime, which operators must be aware of.
The following commands have an optional attribute messages, with which they can ask the server to return any events logged on the node, giving more details of the
current state of the node:
Since nodes are context sensitive, depending on node type and tree structure, before being able to create a new node, it is important to know what types of nodes
that can be added to a given node. This is done using the getAddableNodeTypes command, as is shown in the following example:
When you know what type of node you want to create, you need to get a set of parameters you need to fill in for the new node, before you can create it.
This is done using the getParametersForNewNode command, as is shown in the following example:
Note that validation rules, pagination, etc., can be stripped from the form when submitting it to the server. Also the form type attribute must be set
to 'submit'. Note also that as the result attribute is OK, it is assumed the server has dropped any parameter form resources
related to the form, which disables any future dynamic validation of the contents of the form. The newly created node with corresponding parameters is also returned
in the response in a node element.
The following example shows how the server responds when it cannot accept parameters provided when trying to create a node. The response will contain detailed information
about why, information which the client can use to inform the user (if any) of what went wrong.
As the result attribute is FormError, the server maintains any parameter form resources related to the form, and features such as
dynamic validation of the contents of the form will still be available until the parameters have been successfully set, the operation has been
explicitly cancelled or a form session time-out has occurred. See XEP-0336 for more information.
If the result attribute in the response is other than OK, the node was not removed from the concentrator.
The result attribute contains the reason why the operation failed, as is shown in the following example:
Each node can have a context sensitive set of commands available to it. This is shown using the hasCommands attribute in the
Node Information record describing the corresponding node. If the client wants to get a list of available commands,
the getNodeCommands command is sent to the concentrator, as is shown in the following example:
<iq type='get'
from='client@example.org/client'
to='concentrator@example.org'
id='43'>
<getNodeCommands xmlns='urn:xmpp:iot:concentrators' sourceId='MeteringGroups' nodeId='Apartment 1-1' xml:lang='en'/>
</iq>
<iq type='result'
from='concentrator@example.org'
to='client@example.org/client'
id='43'>
<getNodeCommandsResponse xmlns='urn:xmpp:iot:concentrators' result='OK'>
<command command='knockDoor' name='Knock on door' type='Simple'
confirmationString='Are you sure you want to knock on the door?'
failureString='Unable to knock on the door.'
successString='Door knocked.'/>
<command command='scheduleWakeupCall' name='Schedule wakeup call' type='Parameterized'
failureString='Unable to schedule the wakeup call.'
successString='Wakeup call scheduled.'/>
<command command='searchEvents' name='Search events...' type='Query'
failureString='Unable to search for events.'
successString='Search for events started...'/>
</getNodeCommandsResponse>
</iq>
There are three types of commands available: Simple, Parameterized and Query. Simple commands
take no parameters, and are therefore simpler to execute. Parameterized commands require the client to get a set of parameters for the corresponding
command before it can be executed. Query commands also require a set of parameters to be executed, but return a response after (or during) execution
in an asynchronous fashion. Queries can also be aborted during execution. A Query with an empty parameter set is considered to be a simple query, not requiring a
parameter dialog to be shown.
For more information about command attributes, see Node Commands.
To execute a parameterized command or a query on the node, the client first needs to get (and edit) a set of parameters for the command. Getting a set of parameters for a
parameterized command is done as follows:
Executing a parameterized command is also done by sending the executeNodeCommand command to the concentrator, but including the edited form parameters,
as is shown in the following example:
If an error occurs during the execution of a command or if the server rejects the execution of a command, the server returns a response code different from
OK. If the response code is FormError, the server maintains any parameter form resources related to the form, and features such as
dynamic validation of the contents of the form will still be available until the parameters have been successfully set, the operation has been
explicitly cancelled or a form session time-out has occurred. See XEP-0336 for more information.
Executing a Node Query also requires the client to get a set of parameters for the query. This is done in the same way as for parametrized commands,
as is shown in the following example:
<iq type='get'
from='client@example.org/client'
to='concentrator@example.org'
id='74'>
<getCommandParameters xmlns='urn:xmpp:iot:concentrators' sourceId='MeteringGroups' nodeId='Apartment 1-1'
command='searchEvents' xml:lang='en'/>
</iq>
<iq type='result'
from='concentrator@example.org'
to='client@example.org/client'
id='74'>
<getCommandParametersResponse xmlns='urn:xmpp:iot:concentrators' result='OK'>
<x type='form'
xmlns='jabber:x:data'
xmlns:xdv='http://jabber.org/protocol/xdata-validate'
xmlns:xdl='http://jabber.org/protocol/xdata-layout'
xmlns:xdd='urn:xmpp:xdata:dynamic'>
<title>Search for events</title>
<field var='xdd session' type='hidden'>
<value>E14E330F-8496-46F0-8F40-178808AB13A7</value>
</field>
<field var='from' type='text-single' label='From:'>
<desc>From what point in time events will be fetched.</desc>
<required/>
<value>2013-04-16T12:58:00</value>
<xdv:validate datatype='xs:dateTime'/>
<xdv:basic/>
</xdv:validate>
</field>
<field var='to' type='text-single' label='To:'>
<desc>To what point in time events will be fetched.</desc>
<required/>
<value>2013-04-23T12:58:00</value>
<xdv:validate datatype='xs:dateTime'/>
<xdv:basic/>
</xdv:validate>
</field>
<field var='searchText' type='text-single' label='Search Text:'>
<desc>Only return events including this text.</desc>
<required/>
<value></value>
</field>
</x>
</getCommandParametersResponse>
</iq>
Executing the query is then done by sending the executeNodeQuery command to the concentrator, but including the edited form parameters,
as is shown in the following example:
After the successful execution of a query command, a sequence of query events will follow. These events will include a queryId
attribute to identify to which query the corresponding events correspond. See section about Query Events
for more information about this.
Note: Queries with no visible parameters in the command parameter form need not display a parameter form to the user before being executed.
However, if a confirmation question is defined for the command, such a confirmation question should always be presented to the user (if possible) before
executing the command.
If an error occurs during the reception of a query or if the server rejects the execution of a query, the server returns a response code different from
OK. If the response code is FormError, the server maintains any parameter form resources related to the form, and features such as
dynamic validation of the contents of the form will still be available until the parameters have been successfully set, the operation has been
explicitly cancelled or a form session time-out has occurred. See XEP-0336 for more information.
Note: The execution of a query is an asynchronous process, with a small delay between the compilation and transmission of
query events and the reception of them by a client. A client may thinkt a query is still active when asking
to abort it, when the query might actually have been finished and removed on the query side. Therefore, clients should be aware of this
when receiving NotFound responses from a concentrator, that the query might already have been finished.
Executing a simple command on multiple nodes is done by sending the executeCommonNodeCommand command to the concentrator,
as is shown in the following example:
Example 65. Execute Simple Command on multiple nodes¶
3.6.11 Get Common Command Parameters from command on multiple nodes¶
To execute a parameterized command on a set of nodes, the client first needs to get (and edit) a set of parameters for the common command. Getting a set of parameters for a
common parameterized command is done as follows:
Example 66. Get Common Command Parameters from command on multiple nodes¶
3.6.12 Execute Common Parameterized Command on multiple nodes¶
Executing a common parameterized command is also done by sending the executeCommonNodeCommand command to the concentrator, but including the edited form parameters,
as is shown in the following example:
Example 67. Execute Common Parameterized Command on multiple nodes¶
3.6.13 Execute Parameterized Command on Multiple Nodes, Failure¶
If an error occurs during the execution of a common command or if the server rejects the execution of a common command, the server returns a response code different from
OK. If the response code is FormError, the server maintains any parameter form resources related to the form, and features such as
dynamic validation of the contents of the form will still be available until the parameters have been successfully set, the operation has been
explicitly cancelled or a form session time-out has occurred. See XEP-0336 for more information.
Example 68. Execute Parameterized Command on Multiple Nodes, Failure¶
3.6.14 Execute Command on Multiple Nodes, Partial Failure¶
When executing a command, simple or parameterized, on multiple nodes, it might happen that the command fails on some nodes, but not on others, even though
any parameters are validated beforehand. Therefore, the client needs to check any result elements in the response, even though the
response code is OK.
The following example shows the execution of a parameterized command on multiple nodes that fail on some nodes but are executed on others. Note that
individual error messages can be provided as error attribute messages for each node that fails in the corresponding result
element.
Example 69. Execute Command on Multiple Nodes, Partial Failure¶
Executing a Node Query on multiple nodes also requires the client to get a set of parameters for the query common to all nodes.
This is done in the same way as for parametrized commands, as is shown in the following example:
Example 70. Get Common Query Parameters from query on multiple nodes¶
<iq type='get'
from='client@example.org/client'
to='concentrator@example.org'
id='78'>
<getCommonCommandParameters xmlns='urn:xmpp:iot:concentrators' command='searchEvents' xml:lang='en'>
<node sourceId='MeteringGroups' nodeId='Apartment 1-1'/>
<node sourceId='MeteringGroups' nodeId='Apartment 1-2'/>
<node sourceId='MeteringGroups' nodeId='Apartment 1-3'/>
<node sourceId='MeteringGroups' nodeId='Apartment 1-4'/>
<node sourceId='MeteringGroups' nodeId='Apartment 1-5'/>
<node sourceId='MeteringGroups' nodeId='Apartment 1-6'/>
</getCommonCommandParameters>
</iq>
<iq type='result'
from='concentrator@example.org'
to='client@example.org/client'
id='78'>
<getCommonCommandParametersResponse xmlns='urn:xmpp:iot:concentrators' result='OK'>
<x type='form'
xmlns='jabber:x:data'
xmlns:xdv='http://jabber.org/protocol/xdata-validate'
xmlns:xdl='http://jabber.org/protocol/xdata-layout'
xmlns:xdd='urn:xmpp:xdata:dynamic'>
<title>Schedule wake-up call</title>
<field var='xdd session' type='hidden'>
<value>E14E330F-8496-46F0-8F40-178808AB13A7</value>
</field>
<field var='from' type='text-single' label='From:'>
<desc>From what point in time events will be fetched.</desc>
<required/>
<value>2013-04-16T12:58:00</value>
<xdv:validate datatype='xs:dateTime'/>
<xdv:basic/>
</xdv:validate>
</field>
<field var='to' type='text-single' label='To:'>
<desc>To what point in time events will be fetched.</desc>
<required/>
<value>2013-04-23T12:58:00</value>
<xdv:validate datatype='xs:dateTime'/>
<xdv:basic/>
</xdv:validate>
</field>
<field var='searchText' type='text-single' label='Search Text:'>
<desc>Only return events including this text.</desc>
<required/>
<value></value>
</field>
</x>
</getCommonCommandParametersResponse>
Executing the query is then done by sending the executeCommonNodeQuery command to the concentrator, but including the edited form parameters,
as is shown in the following example:
Example 71. Execute Common Query on multiple nodes¶
After the successful execution of a query command, a sequence of query events will follow. These events will include a queryId
attribute to identify to which query the corresponding events correspond. They will also include node reference attributes so the receptor can
distinguish information from different nodes in the query. See section about Query Events
for more information about this.
Note: Queries with no visible parameters in the command parameter form need not display a parameter form to the user before being executed.
However, if a confirmation question is defined for the command, such a confirmation question should always be presented to the user (if possible) before
executing the command.
3.6.16 Execute Common Query on multiple nodes, Failure¶
If an error occurs during the execution of a common query or if the server rejects the execution of a common query, the server returns a response code different from
OK. If the response code is FormError, the server maintains any parameter form resources related to the form, and features such as
dynamic validation of the contents of the form will still be available until the parameters have been successfully set, the operation has been
explicitly cancelled or a form session time-out has occurred. See XEP-0336 for more information.
Example 72. Execute Parameterized Query on multiple nodes, Failure¶
3.6.17 Execute Common Query on multiple nodes, Partial Failure¶
When executing a query on multiple nodes, it might happen that the query is rejected on some nodes, but not on others, even though
any parameters are validated beforehand. Therefore, the client needs to check any result elements in the response, even though the
response code is OK.
The following example shows the execution of a query on multiple nodes that fail on some nodes but are executed on others. Note that
individual error messages can be provided as error attribute messages for each node that fails in the corresponding result
element.
Example 73. Execute Common Query on multiple nodes, Partial Failure¶
Note: The execution of a query is an asynchronous process, with a small delay between the compilation and transmission of
query events and the reception of them by a client. A client may thinkt a query is still active when asking
to abort it, when the query might actually have been finished and removed on the query side. Therefore, clients should be aware of this
when receiving NotFound responses from a concentrator, that the query might already have been finished. In the case of
aborting queries on multiple nodes, servers must ignore nodes where the query has already finished executing.
Query events are sent as a response to executing queries on nodes. They are reported asynchronously from the concentrator to the client executing the query. Each
event is wrapped in a queryProgress element within a message sent from the concentrator to the client. Each such queryProgress
element can include any number of query events, and the client must process them in the order they appear in the message.
Each queryProgress element contains a queryId attribute identifying the query to which the events correspond. They also contain
sourceId, nodeId and an optional cacheType to identify from which node in a concentrator the events originated.
Note: A queryProgress element can only contain events from a single query executed on a single node. If a query is executed on
multiple nodes, events resulting from different nodes will be sent in different messages.
The following subsections describe each query event in turn.
This event is sent when the query has been aborted on a node. It is sent using a queryAborted event element. This element does not take any
attributes.
A query result can consist of zero or more data tables. Each data table consists of a set of columns and records containing value items for the these
columns. A new table is identified by a query event named newTable. a newTable event contains a sequence of
column events each identifying a column in the table.
This event is sent when the query is done with a table. It is sent using a tableDone event element. The query must not send any more records
to a table that has been closed using this query event.
Some queries may want to return other types of data than tables, like images, graphs, etc. These may be combined with table information or not.
A query returns such an object using the newObject query event. Each object is MIME encoded, and the MIME Type is sent in the
contentType attribute. The object itself is Base-64 encoded.
Permits the executing process to report the current status. This can change a lot during execution and values should not be persisted, like
query messages. Instead, they can be displayed in a status bar, just to give the end-user feedback of the status of a long-running query.
Starts a new section in the query result. In large query results, sections can be used to format the result using an intuitive disposition
in a visually appealing way. Nested sections should be interepreted as sub-sections. Tables and objects started or reported within a section
belong in that section, and should be listed sequentially in the order they are reported to the client.
Note that the use of sections in a query result is optional. Tables and objects received outside the scope of sections should be placed
in a default section by the client.
Closes the current section or sub-section. Tables inside closed sections can still be open and receive fields. Tables are closed using the
tableDone query event.
Events are asynchronous messages sent from the concentrator to devices registered with the concentrator and having subscribed to events from the concentrator.
Event subscription can be activated using the subscribe command. You can also retrieve historical events
using the subscribe command.
Each event is sent from the concentrator to each subscriber using a message stanza. Each such message stanza may contain multiple
events. The following subsections list the different types of events that can be sent. Even though these examples may list only one element in a message stanza, this
is not a limitation. Different types of events may also be mixed within the message stanza.
Event subscriptions only last for as long as the client and concentrator both maintains presence. The concentrator must not persist
event notification subscriptions, and if it goes offline and back online, or if the client goes offline or online again for any reason, the event subscription
is removed.
Node events may contain parameters or status messages. This depends on how the subscription was made. The parameters and messages attributes
in the subscribe command determine if node parameters and/or status messages should be sent in event messages.
The nodeAdded event is sent when a node has been added to a data source which the client subscribes to. The following example
shows how such an event message may look like:
Note: Moving a node in a data source from one parent to another, possibly between different data sources, is performed by first
removing it from the current source (sending a nodeRemoved event) and then adding it to the new data source (sending a nodeAdded
event), in that order.
If a node is added to a parent where order of nodes is important, the attributes afterNodeId and also optionally
afterNodeCacheType used to identify the node after which the new node should be inserted.
Example 89. Ordered Node added event, without parameters¶
The nodeRemoved event is sent when a node in a data source has been removed or destroyed. It does not include status message or parameter
information about the node, only the reference to the node. The following example shows how such an event message may look like:
Note: Moving a node in a data source from one parent to another, possibly between different data sources, is performed by first
removing it from the current source (sending a nodeRemoved event) and then adding it to the new data source (sending a nodeAdded
event), in that order.
The nodeUpdated event is sent when a node has been updated in a data source which the client subscribes to. The following example
shows how such an event message may look like:
Example 91. Node updated event, without parameters¶
The event has an optional attribute named oldId. It is set when the node has been renamed. It must be used, if available, to identify
what node has been updated, as the following example shows:
Example 93. Node renamed event, without parameters¶
Note: If only the status has changed, and no other parameters have changed, the nodeStatusChanged
event could be sent instead, for somewhat improved performance in this case.
The nodeStatusChanged event is sent when the state of the node has changed, but no other parameters have been changed.
If the client has subscribed to state messages, these will also be included in the event.
Example 95. Node status changed event, without messages¶
The nodeMovedUp event is sent when a node in a data source has been moved up among its siblings. It does not include status message or parameter
information about the node, only the reference to the node. The following example shows how such an event message may look like:
Note: If issuing a moveNodeUp command on a node that is already first among its siblings, the node is not moved and the
concentrator must not send a nodeMovedUp event. However, if the client receives such an event pointing to a node that is already first among
its siblings, it should not move the node.
The nodeMovedDown event is sent when a node in a data source has been moved down among its siblings. It does not include status message or parameter
information about the node, only the reference to the node. The following example shows how such an event message may look like:
Note: If issuing a moveNodeDown command on a node that is already last among its siblings, the node is not moved and the
concentrator must not send a nodeMovedDown event. However, if the client receives such an event pointing to a node that is already last among
its siblings, it should not move the node.
A concentrator can often store data from sensors locally (or remotely but controlled locally). Storage is done in field databases. A concentrator with
only communicative abilities will publish zero such field databases (and support for none of the field database commands), while a pure metering database will publish
one or many field databases, but none of the nodes available in any of the different data sources are readable or writable. The nodes in this latter case only acts as
placeholders for the data that the concentrator is storing or controlling.
The following subsections lists different use cases relating to field databases and how to use them.
Before reading data from a database can begin, a parameter form containing database specific search parameters needs to be fetched from the server.
This is done using the getDatabaseReadoutParameters command, as is shown in the following example:
<iq type='get'
from='client@example.org/client'
to='concentrator@example.org'
id='65'>
<getDatabaseReadoutParameters xmlns='urn:xmpp:iot:concentrators' xml:lang='en' databaseId='LocalDB'/>
</iq>
<iq type='result'
from='concentrator@example.org'
to='client@example.org/client'
id='65'>
<getDatabaseReadoutParametersResponse xmlns='urn:xmpp:iot:concentrators' result='OK'>
<x type='form'
xmlns='jabber:x:data'
xmlns:xdv='http://jabber.org/protocol/xdata-validate'
xmlns:xdl='http://jabber.org/protocol/xdata-layout'
xmlns:xdd='urn:xmpp:xdata:dynamic'>
<title>Database read-out</title>
<xdl:page label='Time'>
<xdl:fieldref var='from'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='to'/>
</xdl:page>
<xdl:page label='Fields'>
<xdl:fieldref var='fields'/>
</xdl:page>
<xdl:page label='Types'>
<xdl:fieldref var='momentary'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='peak'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='status'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='computed'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='identity'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='historySecond'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='historyMinute'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='historyHour'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='historyDay'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='historyWeek'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='historyMonth'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='historyQuarter'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='historyYear'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='historyOther'/>
</xdl:page>
<xdl:page label='Status'>
<xdl:fieldref var='missing'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='automaticEstimates'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='manualEstimates'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='manualReadout'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='automaticReadout'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='timeOffset'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='warning'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='error'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='signed'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='invoiced'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='invoicedConfirmed'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='endOfSeries'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='powerFailure'/>
<xdl:fieldref var='statusLogicMode'/>
</xdl:page>
<field var='xdd session' type='hidden'>
<value>C20D4F0C-8F8A-490F-8188-53017DF2B71A</value>
</field>
<field var='from' type='text-single' label='From:'>
<required/>
<xdv:validate datatype='xs:dateTime'>
<xdv:basic/>
</xdv:validate>
<desc>Read values not older that this timestamp.</desc>
<value></value>
</field>
<field var='to' type='text-single' label='To:'>
<required/>
<xdv:validate datatype='xs:dateTime'>
<xdv:basic/>
</xdv:validate>
<desc>Read values not newer that this timestamp.</desc>
<value></value>
</field>
<field var='fields' type='text-multi' label='Fields to include: (Use * as wildcards)'>
<desc>If specified, only the following fields (include wildcards) will be read out.</desc>
<value></value>
</field>
<field var='momentary' type='boolean' label='Momentary Values'>
<desc>If checked, momentary values will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='peak' type='boolean' label='Peak Values'>
<desc>If checked, peak values will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='status' type='boolean' label='Status Values'>
<desc>If checked, status values will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='computed' type='boolean' label='Computed Values'>
<desc>If checked, computed values will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='identity' type='boolean' label='Identity Values'>
<desc>If checked, identity values will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='historySecond' type='boolean' label='Historical Values (second)'>
<desc>If checked, historical values (second) will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='historyMinute' type='boolean' label='Historical Values (minute)'>
<desc>If checked, historical values (minute) will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='historyHour' type='boolean' label='Historical Values (hour)'>
<desc>If checked, historical values (hour) will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='historyDay' type='boolean' label='Historical Values (day)'>
<desc>If checked, historical values (day) will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='historyWeek' type='boolean' label='Historical Values (week)'>
<desc>If checked, historical values (week) will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='historyMonth' type='boolean' label='Historical Values (month)'>
<desc>If checked, historical values (month) will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='historyQuarter' type='boolean' label='Historical Values (quarter)'>
<desc>If checked, historical values (quarter) will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='historyYear' type='boolean' label='Historical Values (year)'>
<desc>If checked, historical values (year) will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='historyOther' type='boolean' label='Historical Values (other)'>
<desc>If checked, historical values (other) will be read.</desc>
<value>false</value>
</field>
<field var='missing' type='list-single' label='Missing Values:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='automaticEstimates' type='list-single' label='Automatic Estimates:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='manualEstimates' type='list-single' label='Manual Estimates:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='manualReadout' type='list-single' label='Manual Readout:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='automaticReadout' type='list-single' label='Automatic Readout:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='timeOffset' type='list-single' label='Time Offset:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='warning' type='list-single' label='Warning:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='error' type='list-single' label='Error:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='signed' type='list-single' label='Signed:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='invoiced' type='list-single' label='Invoiced:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='invoicedConfirmed' type='list-single' label='Invoiced and Confirmed:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='endOfSeries' type='list-single' label='End of Series:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='powerFailure' type='list-single' label='Power Failure:'>
<desc>Determines how this flag should be treated during readout.</desc>
<value>Ignore</value>
<option label='Ignore'><value>Ignore this flag.</value></option>
<option label='Required'><value>Only read values with this flag set.</value></option>
<option label='Prohibit'><value>Only read values with this flag cleared.</value></option>
</field>
<field var='statusLogicMode' type='list-single' label='Combination Logic:'>
<desc>This parameter specifies how multiple status flags are to be treated in the readout.</desc>
<value>Any</value>
<option label='Any'><value>Any of the conditions above are met.</value></option>
<option label='All'><value>All of the conditions above are met.</value></option>
</field>
</x>
</getDatabaseReadoutParametersResponse>
</iq>
Once the parameter form has been filled out, a database readout can be started using the startDatabaseReadout command.
Data read from the concentrator will follow the same flow of sensor data as that described in Internet of Things - Sensor Data (XEP-0323) [10]. The only difference is that the
read-out is started with the startDatabaseReadout command instead of the req
command of the sensor data namespace.
The following diagram shows the flow of messages when requesting a readout from a database:
The following example shows a startDatabaseReadout request:
If an entity supports the protocol specified herein, it MUST advertise that fact by returning a feature of "urn:xmpp:iot:concentrators" in response to Service Discovery (XEP-0030) [11] information requests.
Example 105. Service discovery information request¶
In order for an application to determine whether an entity supports this protocol, where possible it SHOULD use the dynamic, presence-based profile of service discovery defined
in Entity Capabilities (XEP-0115) [12]. However, if an application has not received entity capabilities information from an entity, it SHOULD use explicit service discovery instead.
If provided, a string presentable to users. If localization is supported and a correct language attribute was provided, this string will be localized.
nodeType
optional
A string representing the type of the node.
localId
optional
If provided, an ID for the node, but unique locally between siblings.
logId
optional
If provided, an ID for the node, as it would appear or be used in system logs.
cacheType
optional
Used to uniquely identify the node in sources where the ID of the node is not sufficient. Example: In a spatial ordering different nodes may represent
countries, regions, cities, areas, streets, buildings and apartments in the same source. However, the ID of each node would depend on what type of node it
represents. It might be valid to have a region, city and/or area with the same ID. So, to these circumstances, a Cache Type of Country, Region, City, Area,
Street, Building and Apartment can be used to allow for non-unique IDs within the source, as long as they are unique within the same cache type. ***
state
required
Current overall state of the node.
hasChildren
required
If the node has children or not.
childrenOrdered
optional
false
If the children of the node have an intrinsic order (true), or if the order is not important (false). If the order is not important, the client
can present the order as it wishes, for example sorted on Node ID or any other parameter available on the child nodes. However, if the children have an
intrinsic order, it's important for the client to refresh the child list when necessary whenever the order is unknown, such as after a nodeAdded event or
a nodeRemoved event.
isReadable
optional
false
If the node can be read. (*)
isControllable
optional
false
If the node can be controlled. (**)
hasCommands
optional
false
If the node has registered commands or not.
parentId
optional
The node ID of the parent node. If not available, the node is considered a root node.
parentCacheType
optional
The Cache Type of the parent node.
lastChanged
optional
When the node was last changed. Can be used by clients to synchronize content between the concentrator and itself.
(***) Note that cacheType is optional. In some data sources it might be necessary to include a cache type to allow for IDs that are not unique
within the source. In these cases, it concentrator must include the cacheType attribute for nodes in the corresponding data source, and clients must use the corresponding
cacheType value when referencing the node. But if such a separation of IDs within a source is not required, the concentrator may ignore the cacheType attribute.
In these instances clients may also ignore the cacheType attribute when referencing the nodes in the corresponding data source, or use the empty string as value for the
cacheType value. The server must ignore empty cacheType values for data sources not using a cache type separation mechanism.
Color values. They are strings containing 6 case-insensitive hexadecimal digits of the form RRGGBB, where RR=Red component, GG=Green component, BB=Blue component.
dateTime
Date and time value, with possible time zone information.
All responses have a response code that the client is required to check. The following table lists possible response codes and their corresponding meanings.
Insufficient privileges to perform the corresponding action or execute the corresponding command. Make sure to provide sufficient credentials in the call
(user, service, device tokens) with sufficient privileges to perform the action/command.
Locked
The object/node is locked, and operation could not be performed or completed.
NotImplemented
Command is not implemented.
FormError
The form send to the concentrator contains errors. The response contains detailed error information.
It's important that the concentrator responds to unrecognized commands. This, to make sure future extensions to this document does not produce unexpected
results in concentrators implementing a previous version, or in concentrators implementing only a subset of available commands.
When a concentrator receives an element that it does not understand, it must do as follows:
If the element is received in a message stanza, the element must be ignored.
If the element is received in an iq-result stanza, the element must be ignored.
If the element is received in an iq-get or iq-set stanza, an iq-result stanza must be composed containing an element with the same name as the incoming
element, but with Response appended to it, having a response code of NotImplemented.
The following example shows how unrecognized commands must be handled by the concentrator:
A string that can be presented to an end-user. Should be localized if the request contained a language preference.
type
required
If the command is 'Simple' or 'Parameterized'.
sortCategory
optional
Should be used (if available) by clients to sort available node commands before presenting them to an end-user. Commands should be sorted by Sort Category, Sort Key and
lastly by Name.
sortKey
optional
Should be used (if available) by clients to sort available node commands before presenting them to an end-user. Commands should be sorted by Sort Category, Sort Key and
lastly by Name.
confirmationString
optional
Should presented to clients (if available) before letting an end-user execute the command. A delete command might have a confirmationString saying
'Are you sure you want to delete the current item?' The confirmation string should be presented as a Yes/No[/Cancel] dialog.
failureString
optional
Could be presented to end-users (if available) if a command fails. It provides the client with an optionally localized string giving some context to the error message.
A delete command might have a failureString saying 'Unable to delete the current item.'. The client could then add additional error information, if available,
for instance from the response code.
successString
optional
Could be presented to end-users (if available) if a command is successfully executed. It provides the client with an optionally localized string giving some context
to the message. A delete command might have a successString saying 'Current item successfully deleted.'.
Nodes can be in different states. Even though nodes are free to publish any amount of states as parameters, there are a set of states that are so crucial to the
concept of a node state, that they are published using a separate attribute and separate events. These node states are as follows:
If provided, a localized name to be displayed instead of the column ID.
alignment
Optional
Alignment of contents in the column. If provided, the client does not need to guess alignment from the type of data reported.
nrDecimals
Optional
If floating point data is presented in the column and a fixed number of decimals is desired, this attribute is used to fix the number of decimals used.
dataSourceId
Optional
If contents of columns contains references to nodes in a data source, this attribute defines the data source ID.
cacheTypeName
Optional
If contents of columns contains references to nodes in a data source, this attribute defines the cache type.
fgColor
Optional
If presentation of this column should be done using a specific foreground color.
bgColor
Optional
If presentation of this column should be done using a specific background color.
Records contain arrays of items, each item correspond to a specific column with the same ordinal index. Each item is specified together with its type.
This, so receptors can integrate the result with type information if necessary. The following different type elements are available:
A boolean value, corresponding to the xs:boolean data type.
color
A color value. These are strings containing 6 case-insensitive hexadecimal digits of the form RRGGBB, where RR=Red component, GG=Green component, BB=Blue component.
dateTime
A Date & Time value, corresponding to the xs:dateTime data type.
double
A floating-point value, corresponding to the xs:double data type.
duration
A duration value, corresponding to the xs:duration data type.
int
A 32-bit integer value, corresponding to the xs:int data type.
long
A 64-bit value, corresponding to the xs:long data type.
string
A string value, corresponding to the xs:string data type.
time
A time value, corresponding to the xs:time data type.
base64
A base-64 encoded object. The object is MIME encoded, and the attribute contentType contains the MIME Type which includes information on how to decode the value.
void
Contains no information. This represents a NULL value.
Messages in query results contain apart from a message text, also contain some classification on what the message is using two attributes: The
type attribute gives a rough idea about the type of message and level the importance of the message.
Many commands exist in single and batch versions. Large concentrators require efficient ways to manage sets of nodes simultaneously, while for small
concentrators, it is sufficient to manage nodes one at a time.
A concentrator is not required to implement both sets of commands if not desired. However, it must report which commands it supports in the
getCapabilities command. A caller can then adapt its calls based on what commands are supported.
If a caller wants to call the single item version of a command, but the concentrator only supports the batch version, it should call the batch version, but
only include the single node in the list of nodes.
On the other hand, if the caller wants to perform an operation on a set of nodes, but the concentrator only supports the single item version of the command,
it needs to manually perform the operation on each node separately, unless failing the request is an option.
Localization of content can be performed if clients provide xml:lang attributes in commands made to the concentrator. If omitted, the
default language will be used in responses. If provided, but the concentrator does not support localization, or the requested language,
the default language will also be used.
Concentrators of larger sub-systems spanning multiple time-zones should specify all timestamps with time-zone information, so readers can perform comparisons
of time information.
Information read from a concentrator that lacks time-zone information should be considered to lie in the same time-zone as the reader, unless not explicitly
configured with a time-zone.
For concentrators to be interoperable in sensor networks, they need to adhere to rules and guidelines described in the
xep-0000-IoT-Interoperability document.
This document publishes a lot of commands with which to interact with a concentrator. If security and access rights is an issue, it might not be sufficient
to allow all friends access to the system. There are many ways in which to restrict access to the contents of the concentrator. Following are some examples:
The concentrator can restrict friendships to trusted friends, and then assign access rights internally to the approved contacts.
The concentrator can use a provisioning server (see Internet of Things - Provisioning (XEP-0324) [14])
to delegate trust to a third party responsible for controlling who can get access to the concentrator (isFriend or canAccess commands),
and what items can be viewed (hasPrivilege or downloadPrivileges commands).
All requests to the concentrator can contain the optional attributes deviceToken, serviceToken and userToken.
Clients making requests to the concentrator can use these attributes to forward information about who originated the action (userToken),
what service is performing the action (serviceToken) or what device is performing the action (deviceToken). The concentrator
can use this information to check with provisioning servers what access rights and user privileges exist before performing the action.
The Internet of Things - Provisioning document describes how trust can be delegated to trusted provisioning servers
that can be used to restrict access to and privileges in a network.
If a concentrator has a trusted relationship with a provisioning server, external or internal, the provisioning server must be used to guarantee that the
concentrator only allows access according to rules defined by the provisioning server. In order to do this, it's important that clients always provide
available tokens (userToken, serviceToken and deviceToken) to the concentrator so that it can forward this
information to the provisioning server.
The following subsections show different examples of how such an integration can be performed.
7.2.1 Restricting access to data source per contact¶
This section shows how a provisioning server can be used to restrict access to data sources to users allowed to access those data sources.
Notice the following:
The user has a userToken it received during connection with the service. This user token should
be included in all calls made by the user.
The service has a serviceToken it received during service registration. This service token
should be aggregated by all calls made by the service.
The concentrators should cache all calls made to the provisioning server according to available cache rules.
The conversion of a Data Source ID to a Privilege ID should be performed according to rules defined in xep-0000-IoT-Interoperability.
7.2.2 Restricting access to node properties per contact¶
This section shows how a provisioning server can be used to restrict access to node parameters that users allowed to access and edit.
Not that privileges for all parameters needs to be checked in every call. And if lost from the cache, a new request needs to be made to the provisioning server.
The conversion of a Parameter ID (and Page) to a Privilege ID should be performed according to rules defined in
xep-0000-IoT-Interoperability.
7.2.3 Restricting access to node commands per contact¶
This section shows how a provisioning server can be used to restrict access to node commands to users allowed to access those commands.
In addition to rules noted above, also notice the following:
Not that privileges for all parameters needs to be checked in every call. And if lost from the cache, a new request needs to be made to the provisioning server.
The conversion of a Command ID to a Privilege ID should be performed according to rules defined in xep-0000-IoT-Interoperability.
For more information, please see the following resources:
The Sensor Network section of the XMPP Wiki contains further information about the
use of the sensor network XEPs, links to implementations, discussions, etc.
The XEP's and related projects are also available on github, thanks to Joachim Lindborg.
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this specification (the "Specification"), to make use of the Specification without restriction, including without limitation the rights to implement the Specification in a software program, deploy the Specification in a network service, and copy, modify, merge, publish, translate, distribute, sublicense, or sell copies of the Specification, and to permit persons to whom the Specification is furnished to do so, subject to the condition that the foregoing copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Specification. Unless separate permission is granted, modified works that are redistributed shall not contain misleading information regarding the authors, title, number, or publisher of the Specification, and shall not claim endorsement of the modified works by the authors, any organization or project to which the authors belong, or the XMPP Standards Foundation.
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## NOTE WELL: This Specification is provided on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, express or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties or conditions of TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ##
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In no event and under no legal theory, whether in tort (including negligence), contract, or otherwise, unless required by applicable law (such as deliberate and grossly negligent acts) or agreed to in writing, shall the XMPP Standards Foundation or any author of this Specification be liable for damages, including any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages of any character arising from, out of, or in connection with the Specification or the implementation, deployment, or other use of the Specification (including but not limited to damages for loss of goodwill, work stoppage, computer failure or malfunction, or any and all other commercial damages or losses), even if the XMPP Standards Foundation or such author has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
IPR Conformance
This XMPP Extension Protocol has been contributed in full conformance with the XSF's Intellectual Property Rights Policy (a copy of which can be found at <https://xmpp.org/about/xsf/ipr-policy> or obtained by writing to XMPP Standards Foundation, P.O. Box 787, Parker, CO 80134 USA).
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The Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) is defined in the XMPP Core (RFC 6120) and XMPP IM (RFC 6121) specifications contributed by the XMPP Standards Foundation to the Internet Standards Process, which is managed by the Internet Engineering Task Force in accordance with RFC 2026. Any protocol defined in this document has been developed outside the Internet Standards Process and is to be understood as an extension to XMPP rather than as an evolution, development, or modification of XMPP itself.
The following requirements keywords as used in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119: "MUST", "SHALL", "REQUIRED"; "MUST NOT", "SHALL NOT"; "SHOULD", "RECOMMENDED"; "SHOULD NOT", "NOT RECOMMENDED"; "MAY", "OPTIONAL".
15. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is the central coordinator for the assignment of unique parameter values for Internet protocols, such as port numbers and URI schemes. For further information, see <http://www.iana.org/>.
@report{waher2013sensor-network-concentrators,
title = {Internet of Things - Concentrators},
author = {Waher, Peter},
type = {XEP},
number = {0326},
version = {0.4},
institution = {XMPP Standards Foundation},
url = {https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0326.html},
date = {2013-03-20/2017-05-20},
}
