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 Design of Internet
of Things

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the design aspects of the

Internet of Things devices and covers the fundamentals of Big Data and
Embedded Programming. Various changing technologies, like sensors,
RFID, etc., that are promoting IoT solutions are discussed. The core tech-
nologies like GSM Communication, Machine to Machine (M2M) Interfaces
that are supposed to be the foundations for IoT are explained to prepare the
designer. Definitions of IoT, different architectures of IoT, possible models
of IOT, along with different market needs and Industry requirements are
detailed, so that designers can finalize their choices that enable them to
prepare PERT like basics. IEEE Standards useful to IoT design and a few
Network Protocol Stacks are explored in detail that will give confidence
to any designer. Embedded Operating Systems (FreeRTOS and Contiki)
and various Middleware frameworks useful to IoT are discussed. While
detailing IoT functional aspects layer wise, the required Memory structures
like Ring Buffer Mechanisms are explained, that support designers with IoT
Memory management, optimization of software (or code) aspects. Basic
code structures and functions required for each layer (e.g. Adaptation Layer,
IP, TCP, etc.) are detailed along with required flow diagrams. This will serve
as an ideal design book for professionals and senior undergraduate and
graduate students in the fields including electrical engineering, electronics
and communication engineering, and computer engineering.
This book covers:

• Big Data Aspects that are fundamental drivers to IoT

• Embedded Programming Techniques that are heart for IoT
• Changing Technologies that are promoting IoT solutions
• Machine to Machine Interfaces, the first avatar of IoT
• GSM Communication Aspects and Standards for IoT
• Architecture and different models of IoT
• Conceptual implementation of IoT
• IEEE standards useful to IoT
• Required Embedded Operating Systems suitable for IoT
 • Various Middleware Frameworks, for IoT
• Network Protocol Stacks for IoT
• Memory Management aspects of IoT
• Basic functional calls required for each layer of IoT
• Protocol layer wise design concepts useful to IoT (flow diagrams)
• Security concepts for IoT

This book focuses on practical design aspects such as how to finalize a

processor (CPU), integrated circuit, and other software and hardware cir-
cuit kits available in the market, which operating system to use, etc., in a
single volume. This book will be ideal for professionals and graduates from
diverse engineering domains including electrical engineering, electronics and
communication engineering, and computer engineering, who are perusing
IoT Technology as their profession.
Design of Internet
of Things

Gunneswara Rao VSSS Kalaga

First edition published 2023
by CRC Press
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-​2742
and by CRC Press
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
© 2023 Gunneswara Rao VSSS Kalaga
Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and
publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of
their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material
reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form
has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us
know so we may rectify in any future reprint.
Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced,
transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage
or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers.
For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, access www.copyri​ght.com
or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923,
978-​750-​8400. For works that are not available on CCC please contact mpkbookspermissions@
tandf.co.uk
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
ISBN: 9781032300498 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032300504 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003303206 (ebk)
DOI: 10.1201/​9781003303206
Typeset in Sabon
by Newgen Publishing UK
This work is dedicated to my parents:
Sri Kalaga VSS Sambhu Prasad and Smt Kalaga Sodemma
Contents

Preface  xi
Acknowledgments  xiii
About the Author  xv

1 Introduction  1

2 Big Data  5

3 Embedded Programming Techniques  11

4 Changing Technologies  15
4.1 RFID 15
4.2 IC/​Sensor Cost 16
4.3 6LoWPAN 16
4.4 M2M, IoT, and IoE Concepts 17
4.5 IoT—​Internet of Things 18

5 M2M  21
5.1 M2M Architecture 24
5.2 Key Technical Requirements of M2M 25

6 Definitions of IoT  29
6.1 Communication Between “Things” 31

7 IoT Architecture  33
7.1 Conceptual Design of IoT 37

vii
viii Contents

8 IoT for Smart City Applications  43

8.1 Indian Government and IoT and Smart City Technology
Prospective 46
8.1.1 Lavasa Dream 47
8.1.2 The Smart Cities in India 48

9 IoT Middleware  51
9.1 Middleware Layer 52

10 The Core Value of IoT Devices and Design Propositions  57

10.1 IoT Application Use Cases 60
10.2 IoT Application Scenarios 61

11 IoT Design Approach  65

11.1 IoT and 6LoWPAN—​Frame Design 67
11.2 6LoWPAN Node Roles and Routing 71
11.3 Routing Mechanism 71

12 IoT Design Components  75

12.1 Hardware 75
12.2 Software 77

13 IoT Design Implementation  81

13.1 Using FreeRTOS and Nanostack 82
13.2 Using Contiki OS and Contiki 6LoWPAN Stack 86

14 Design of Layered Architecture  89

14.1 Flow/​Route of the Message 89
14.2 Contiki CCN Layer 91
14.3 6LoWPAN MAC Layer 93
14.4 6LoWPAN Adaptation Layer 95
14.5 6LoWPAN Network (IP) Layer 97
14.6 Implementation of uIP Layer (FreeRTOS and
Nanostack) 102
14.7 Implementation of fIP Layer (FreeRTOS and
Nanostack) 105
14.8 6LoWPAN Transport Layer 106
14.9 Network Routing Protocol (NRP) 106
14.10 Contiki Stack of Transport Layer 107
 Contents ix

14.10.1 TCP Functions Which May Be Internal to TCP

Process TCP_​Process () 107
14.10.2 UDP Functions Which May Be Internal to UDP
Process UDP_​Process () 108
14.11 6LoWPAN Application Layer 111
14.11.1 Socket Function Calling 114
14.11.2 TCP Socket Calls 115
14.12 6LoWPAN Border Router (LBR) 117
14.13 IoT Design Aspects 119

15 IoT Security  121

15.1 IoT Value Proposition 121
15.2 IoT Utilization Scenarios 122
15.3 IoT Security Touch-​Points 124
15.4 IoT Future—​Closing Remarks 127

Index  129
Preface

Internet of Things (IoT) is a growing and much-​talked technology world-

wide. Government, academia, and industry are involved in different aspects
of research, implementation, and business with IoT. IoT domains include
healthcare, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, space, water, and
mining, to name but a few, which are presently transitioning their legacy
infrastructure to support IoT. Today’s storage, communication, and com-
putation technologies, in turn, give rise to building different IoT solutions.
IoT-​based applications such as digital shopping and remote infrastructure
management will soon reach both urban and rural areas equally. Remote
health monitoring, emergency notifications, and transport applications are
gradually relying on IoT-​based technology. Therefore, it is important to
learn the fundamentals of this emerging technology.
I hope everyone may find it interesting to read “Design of IoT,” as an
emerging technology. This book is meant for a serious designer, who has
understood the basics of computing, communication, programming, etc.,
and who is interested in attempting to build an IoT device. All the basic fun-
damental thought processes and requirements related to the design of IoT
have been covered, including IoT security. Remember that IoT generates
lots of data from the right, left, and center, and hence it will give rise to the
growth of “Big Data” (Data Science) technologies. In the introductory part,
Big Data concepts and embedded programming techniques are also dealt
with (Chapters 1, 2, and 3) for the complete understanding of the intended
reader. Chapter 4 deals with the under-​laying and changing (improving/​
growing) technologies like RFID, IC/​sensors, M2M, etc. Chapter 5 discusses
M2M in detail, to prepare the designer to gain confidence. Chapter 6 deals
with the definitions of IoT, while Chapter 7 deals with the introduction to
Global System for Mobile Communication and precise details of standards-​
based IoT architecture models. To make it clear the perceptions of the
resultant IoT world, ­Chapter 8 deals with IoT-​based smart city application
and also the IoT viewpoints of Indian government.

xi
xii Preface

As a next required step, Chapters 10, 11, and 12 deal with all the
basic design requirements like use cases and application scenarios. IEEE
standards-​based message frames, hardware and software components, and
available possibilities that are required for the overall planning of the IoT
design approach are covered. Chapter 13 handles all the details of the design
requirements and operating systems so that the serious designer can finalize
his thought process toward the design of an IoT device. Chapter 14 deals
with all the necessary concepts, preparation steps, design models, embedded
operating system examples, required code structures, constructs, and inter-
national standards that are required for the actual implementation and
design of an IoT device. Details of the LBR (6LoWPAN Border Router)
which shall be the link between the IoT and its work application server
and design aspects are also included. Step by step each designer can imple-
ment a targeted IoT device, using and choosing his choices. Chapter 15 talks
about IoT security aspects and the future based on IEEE message frames and
security touchpoints.
The IoT design community may use the given details and can form a
team to scientifically deliver the planned targets in a stipulated time frame.
I hope to reach out to every intended designer and equip them in the right
direction. I request readers to pardon me for any discomfort.
Acknowledgments

I am grateful to my wife KVS Rama Lakshmi, who supported me very

patiently while I worked on this book during the last few months.
I am thankful to Prof. A. Subrahmanyam, IIT Chennai, who read this book
and helped me to complete my objectives.
I am also thankful to my daughter Sri Haritha Mantrala and son-​in-​law
Hema Chandra Mantrala, my son Sambhu Prasad Kalaga and my
daughter-​in-​law Sai Lakshmi Lochanam Kalaga, who from time to time
helped me with proofreading.
I am thankful to my brothers Dr. KVGS Murty, MBBS, Prof. KVV Atchaiah
Sastry, and all my classmates and colleagues because of who I am, what
I am now.
Special thanks to the printers and publishers (CRC Press, Taylor & Francis
Group) who provided invaluable suggestions, and showed me this book
in print.

xiii
newgenprepdf

About the Author

Gunneswara Rao VSSS Kalaga is a Dynamic Senior

Management professional in computers, communica­
tions, and telecom, offering a distinguished and
insightful exposure of over 34 years, heading tech-
nology administration, project management, product
development, and strategy planning with Return of
Investment (ROI) accountability. He has spearheaded
and functioned as Head of Technical Support (Chief
Technology Officer (CTO) Function) with Reliance
Communications Limited, Mumbai. He previously
worked as the director of D-​Link India Limited, and manager of R&D
for Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) at Computer Group.
Recognized for his keen analysis and team approach to implement best
practices, he is adept at working in high-​pressure environments with strict
deadlines and multiple deliverables. He is a team manager having the ability
to lead cross-​functional project teams and integrate their efforts to maxi-
mize operational efficiency. He has established credibility in spearheading
the entire project management initiatives right from the conceptualization,
feasibility studies, preparing financial models, strategic planning, and oper-
ational analysis. He has superior communication and interpersonal skills
and is multilingual, with proficiency in English, Hindi, and Telugu. He has
track records for the attainment of business goals through technology lead-
ership, simple business equations, and management of end-​to-​end product
life cycle of products (hardware and software). He has authored many tech-
nical papers published in national and international journals. He is an IEEE
member (Membership No. 94277005) and is recognized as a published
author.

xv
Chapter 1

I ntroduction

Much of the learning is from cause and effect. Learning is recognizing or

understanding the use of otherwise different scattered thoughts into a con-
crete useful pattern. This is quite similar to our brain which always depends
on the sensory inputs from the eyes, ears, skin (touch and feel), etc., of our
body. Children learn a lot from the nature and environment around them
like, for example, to touch a physical object or not. And not to touch a
hot stove, through that of his friend’s experience or through that of his
own painful experience; hence, the brain remembers this pattern (it becomes
concrete) and that child or person shall be careful to handle any hot object
or fire in the course of his life. Ancient society or even recent Vishwa Kavi
Rabindranath Tagore and his “Santiniketan” believed in learning through
physical interactions with our nature around us or the environment. So-​
called modern people may be and are more comfortable calling it a Lab
Work (Physics Lab, Chemistry Lab, Physical Education, Craftwork, and so
on so forth).
Once I asked my child after his third class about what he learned that day,
and he said

We did not learn anything, just we were asked to play with the whole
big number of balls with different colors; I did separate one hundred
balls each one with different colors; But Ravi could separate only 35,
while Rekha did 75, and then you know, the teacher gave me star.

In actual terms, these kids learned a lot of numbers, count, recognition,

and so on so forth, all within a day. We may call it “manipulative learning
from tangible objects” which is very good. Fortunately, this method is good
for learning at any age, and we forget it after some age, thinking that we
have learned (of course we learned or not is an individual’s paradigm).
Let us talk about the color of the sky—​most of us know that the color of
the sky is BLUE. In physical terms, there is no specific color in the so-​called
sky, and every one of us shall receive the reflection of the light from the
sky as blue, hence we call it “SKY is BLUE.” This is a very useful concrete

DOI: 10.1201/9781003303206-1 1
2 Design of Internet of Things

phenomenon as every human being on this earth will recognize the sky with
blue color only. Hence, we all see in the paints, pictures, photos, movies,
and whenever we wish to represent the sky, we always use the color BLUE
thoughts ended into a concrete useful pattern.
Another example is humidity at a particular location—​the water vapor
content in the air at a particular spot/​room /​building/​area—​shall be useful
in many ways to understand the upcoming atmospheric changes or to design
useful air-​conditioning equipment, etc.

Absolute humidity is the total mass of water vapor present in a given

volume of air. It does not consider temperature. Absolute humidity in
the atmosphere ranges from near zero to roughly 30 grams per cubic
meter when the air is saturated at 30 °C.

There are various devices used to measure and regulate humidity. A device
used to measure humidity is called a psychrometer or hygrometer. We are
trying to identify the humidity with a unique identification pattern to utilize
the millions and billions of humidity data for certain scientific calculations
or increase human comfort and efficiency.
In this way, if we can represent or recognize each of the objects in this
world—​a flower, color, location, area, and building—​or other requirements
like—​temperature, water pressure, humidity, etc., with one unique iden-
tifiable pattern or process for each thing or object—​then one can say that
you have become master of the “Internet of Things” (IoT), the emerging
technology. All this looks easy, but a bit more complicated and we need to
learn more.
We need to remember one thing called IPv6 (Internet Protocol version
6) which provides a 128-​bit address mechanism. This means we can uniquely
recognize about “340 trillion, trillion, trillion” different objects. As of now,
we are about 8 billion (2021 global population) humans, and about 20–​
50 billion animals (possible Guesstimate from World Atlas 2020), about
similar birds and small insects, etc., livestock, 100 billion plant species;
maybe about another requirement of 100 billion physical objects including
the commercial institutions, etc., together with about less than 500 billion
unique present estimate and identifiable maximum objects including
humans, livestock, marine stock, etc. (refer to the Table 1.1). Note that we
are talking about 500 billion unique objects while we have as many as “340
trillion, trillion, trillion” unique addresses. Hence, if we can systematically
work, we may be able to achieve our goal of a “unique identification pattern
to all our future and present humans as well as livestock and other objects.”
We are confident that even we can plan the 256-​bit addressing mechanism if
need be, but let us not be overenthusiastic, and hence let us not worry about
that 256-​bit addressing for the present.
 Introduction 3

Table 1.1 Census of species

Census of Species
Eight million, seven hundred, and four thousand eukaryote species share
this planet, give or take 1.3 million. Eukaryotes have cells with nuclei and
other membrane-​bound structures, which means bacteria and other simple
organisms were excluded from the count.

Census Results for the Five Kingdoms of Eukaryotes (approximate)

ANIMALS—​7.77 million species (of which 953,434 have been described and
cataloged)
PLANTS—​298,000 species (of which 215,644 have been described and
cataloged)
FUNGI—​611,000 species (of which 43,271 have been described and
cataloged)
PROTOZOA—​36,400 species (single-​cell organisms with animal-​like
behavior, such as movement, of which 8,118 have been described and
cataloged)
CHROMISTS—​27,500 species (including brown algae, diatoms, water
molds, of which 13,033 have been described and cataloged)

Many of the researchers involved in the census look forward to the

discovery of the millions of species yet to be described, but they fear that
many species may disappear before they are even discovered.

Now let us talk about the next complex issue after all the livestock and
human beings, what physical objects and requirements to be identified with?
Most important after livestock in my view are health care and life-​system-​
related requirements. We should identify all the health and life systems
requirements with unique identification patterns. There are internationally
recognized IPv4 and IPv6 Address Allocation Agencies that are already
working on such address allocations, and let us take the support from them.
Chapter 2

B ig Data

Great that we could learn a bit of the IoT, let us see the other side of the
coin that is called Big Data. For example, about 300 petabytes of data items
are being added monthly on Facebook, and every second Picasa album is
getting more photos which are even much bigger activities than Facebook.
According to the Global Market Intelligence Firm, IDC Corporate, USA,
digital data is about eight to ten zettabytes even in 2015, which means we
are already dealing with big data volumes. Let us imagine that we shall
be getting regular inputs from all the different species, which means about
9 million data items minimum for every second though in principle we
shall be getting about 250 Kbps data from every IoT device installed which
is a few magnitudes higher. Also, there are humans, corporate, who are
already generating the present digital data universally. So, there is a definite
connection between IoT evolution and Big Data that we need to under-
stand. Big Data masters should become ready with such mechanisms, so
every day’s IoT data is instantly analyzed and useful results are separated
and stored along with respective data inputs for checking if required in the
future, and get ready for a new challenge and new day. Is this not a bit more
complicated? Let us see it in due course.
Earlier it was thought that Big Data is only for big corporate like
Airlines, Auto, Energy, Financial Services, and Retail. But as per our above
observations, the Big Data Spectrum is spreading like ether all over. We
should agree that Big Data is touching every aspect of our life, including
health and life systems, plant and species control aspects, business inputs for
electricity (meters), traffic control/​smart city, road policing, electronic sur-
veillance, drone control, and agriculture management, etc., which anyone
can say are only a tip of the iceberg.
One of the main aims of Big Data is to deliver focused answers and
personalized Management Information System (MIS) useful for the indi-
vidual as well as the business requirements. This personalized focus gives
higher value and causes customers to become more comfortable, hence
loyal, and thus more profit to a business. With Big Data every business
has a huge opportunity to present customers with personalized service and

DOI: 10.1201/9781003303206-2 5
6 Design of Internet of Things

personalized promotions deals and recommendations; but to deliver such

clarity, Big Data needs big inputs of data, and the only such focused and
clear action is possible through IoT-​enabled devices (with micro and mini-
ature sensors which can reflect continuous and constant data input) and can
be installed in millions and billions if need be. Hence, it is natural that IoT
and Big Data should go hand in hand and deliver value to us.
The kind of focused answers Big Data needs to deliver depends on the data
items which we load for getting the results, but the present-​day user activity
runs into terabytes of data, justifying that more data can deliver correct and
focused answers, that is, useful patterns. The traditional databases will be
struggling to handle such data and there shall be magnitudes of difference
and latency to deliver the right results. Big Data systems need a whole new
kind of data handling capability.
We should not forget that the “datum” measure in the digital language is
bit, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte, petabyte, exabyte, zettabyte,
and yottabyte. It may take about 1.3 seconds to read 500 kilobytes on a
standard high-​speed disk (50 Mille Seconds Read Head Access Latency; 5
Mille Seconds Sector positioning [63 Sectors Ave.] and about 500 kilobytes
take about 1.3 seconds). Hence, if we wish to read one petabyte of data at a
similar speed, it shall take about a minimum of 30 days or so to say 1 month.
Data Science is the concept developed for handling Big Data, and, for
example, “Hadoop” and Apache’s “Spark” are possible frameworks to
handle such a big volume of ever-​increasing data. Big Data Analytics is
all about the management and analysis of data to a specific requirement.
Frameworks like Hadoop, Spark, Flink, Storm, etc., can handle the Big Data
that is evolving and current science.
Big Data engineers talk in general about Hadoop and Spark, but the hol-
istic approach towards Big Data is to use the inner layers of the mechanisms
like MapReduce, Pig, Hive, YARN, etc., judiciously as they are continuously
evolving. In the present-​day environment, engineers can use Hadoop tools
with Spark Processing Engine and also take advantage of HDFS (Hadoop
Distributed File System). Even Cloudera, the well-​known Big Data com-
pany, is planning the replacement of MapReduce with Spark as an example
of how the Big Data tools are evolving continuously and toward focused
utility. The other framework “Flink” is based on data flow architecture and
has some advantages on row handling while Strom focuses on real-​time
distributed computing aspects.
Big Data presents new opportunities for some long-​standing enterprise
solutions. As HP’s Srinivasan Rajan points out, COBOL offers several
advantages when it comes to handling large data sets. For one, Big Data
analytics can take advantage of COBOL’s batch infrastructure support and
complex algorithms. Also, COBOL’s Job Control Language (JCL) is highly
adept in scheduling large jobs into smaller ones, helping to lessen the impact
on underlying resources. Table 2.1 shows expected data loss based on the
 newgenrtpdf
Table 2.1 Acceptable data loss in bytes for 1 PB and 50 PB

One petabyte (PB) in terms of bytes 9s Data reliability % 1 PB 50 PB

2 99% 9,00,71,99,25,47,410 4,50,35,99,62,73,70,500
1 125 899 906 842 624 bytes 3 99.90% 90,07,19,92,54,741 45,03,59,96,27,37,050
1 099 511 627 776 kilobytes (KB) 4 99.99% 9,00,71,99,25,474 4,50,35,99,62,73,700
1 073 741 824 megabytes (MB) 5 99.999% 90,07,19,92,547 45,03,59,96,27,350
1 048 576 gigabytes (GB) 6 99.9999% 9,00,71,99,255 4,50,35,99,62,750
1024 terabytes (TB) 7 99.99999% 90,07,19,925 45,03,59,96,250
8 99.999999% 9,00,71,993 4,50,35,99,650
Prefixes as powers of 1024 9 99.9999999% 90,07,199 45,03,59,950
10241 =​1024 (Kilo) 10 99.99999999% 9,00,720 4,50,36,000
10242 =​1 048 576 (Mega)
10243 =​1 073 741 824 (Giga) 15 99.9999999999999% 9 450
10244 =​1 099 511 627 776 (Tera)
10245 =​1 125 899 906 842 624 (Peta)
10246 =​1 152 921 504 606 846 976 (Exa)

Big Data
7
8 Design of Internet of Things

number of 9s reliability and data loss in bytes. For example, for ten 9s reli-
ability and one Petabyte of data, the acceptable loss is 900,720 bytes.
Let us see the Data Science requirements example—​ there are about
23 million telephone calls happening across India every day (Max Call
Busy Second is 1200). If any government wishes to learn about a particular
issue—​ per se identified about 32 suspect numbers—​ one needs to iden-
tify the call pattern received for each of the numbers. But the incoming
call may come from anywhere, in India or outside India. Data: Every day
there are 23 million calls; therefore, monthly data is about 23 million ×
30 =​690 million calls—​nice Big Data.
Possible patterns, planning, and logical approach for the problem at hand:

• 32 numbers to be compared and pattern match to be done with

690 million Call Data Records—​each number one time; or separate
32 number of Server clusters may be assigned to the task so that
they happen parallel.
• The estimate is that all the calls from different numbers may ori-
ginate to one number at a specific time or within 30 minutes or one
hour etc., a most generic and possible analogy.
• Each day’s data can be divided into 24 parts (based on time and
we call it hourly data), and 23 million calls per day divided by
24 hours =​now the hourly data is about less than 23,000,000/​
24 =​~ 959 K data (please note that the actual data division shall
be done on time stamp base, and real data shall be at least 8 to 16
times bigger than this [note that we have taken only one data item
to represent a call, for easy understanding]). Remember we could
reduce it to about 959 K per one Server cluster and we can submit
it to such 32 Server clusters for the pattern match with each of the
32 suspect numbers one by one, for a match.

Hope we could get a fair amount of understanding of basics about and

Data Science or the so-​called Big Data is doable provided that we under-
stand it. There are many paradigms and languages like “R”, Python,” etc.,
and many other platforms, to handle Big Data, which are evolving continu-
ously. For the sake of completion, we introduced the detailed concept of Big
Data here, and further in this book, we shall not deal with Big Data as we
wish to enhance our understanding of IoT and then design the IoT devices
(Table 2.2).
 Big Data 9

Table 2.2 Programming Big Data—​concepts

Programming Big Data for Targeted Results:

Per se, Each Server Cluster is of 8 nodes, and hence 959 K data is
subdivided into 8 parts to be submitted to each server (959000 /​8 =​119.8
K data Records for each node).There are 32 server clusters of each having
8 nodes i.e. a total of 32 x 8 =​256 nodes shall be working parallel on this
single problem; One can plan them as 256 threads; if each Machine has in-​
built 8 processors (CPU) to handle the issue, with a 32 such Machines in
closely coupled network—​or parallel computing environment—​etc. can be
discussed. So, remember we got the data into a manageable format by the
way of applying our required rules and pattern matching techniques. Now
because we are talking 120 K call data on which we need to apply for the
logic and program.The whole problem is can be handled easily, provided
one has the desired environment.

Now the programming part /​the “ART” —​“Mat lab Version 6” has
required algorithms (more than one method can be applied) related
to Collaborative Filtering Techniques—​which can be applied to pattern
matching and to suit our above problem requirements. At this moment we
shall not get into details of what specific equations or algorithms are used,
as at this moment conceptual understanding is of utmost importance.

Result: For initial working it may take about one or two months, to finalize
the Algorithms; program error correction; trial and error; debugging; etc. —​
a learning curve. But once all these are finalized, it shall become routine
submission of job to the 32 Server Parallel Computing Environments, and
within a flat 7 days; one can send the results to the Government about
those specific 32 numbers.

Note: A trained and seasoned team may be able to deliver the same results
within 48 hours, provided the environment and the problem definitions are
routine to them.That is, they are used to address such problems. We may
also call them a “Designed Thinking” team. Data Science or Big Data is
a concept or Art so that one needs to understand the problem definition
and the result requirements—​more often called as, Management of
Information—​in a simple way.
Chapter 3

E mbedded Programming
Techniques

Even though it is assumed that every designer is familiar with embedded

programming, we thought as part of the introduction we need to present
some of the embedded concepts at this juncture. Generally, every Embedded
System is unique and the hardware and software shall become highly spe-
cific to the identified Application Domain. Today, almost every household
has one or other type of Embedded System in use (smart phone, router,
ADSL CPE, modem, video camera, Video Cassette Recorder/​Reader [VCR],
etc.). If an Embedded System is designed well, then the existence of a pro-
cessor and related software would not be noticed by the user of the device
(refer Table 3.1).
At present, there are many proven and goal-​oriented embedded develop-
ment tools and frameworks. To get an idea, a few tools are presented here:

• C/​C+​+​/​C+​+​ Compilers: Wind River Compiler, Green Hills

Compilers, GNU Compilers, etc.
• Real-​
Time Operating System: Nucleus, VxWorks, Embedded
Linux, FreeRTOS, Contiki, etc.
• Make Utilities: OPUS MAKE, GNU MAKE, Microsoft MAKE.
• Debuggers: Monitors, ICE, Simulators, Logic Analyzer, Scope.
• Drivers: All the necessary, Peripheral Device Drivers(S/​W).
• Basic Format Conversion Software: (HEX to Binary etc.)
• Hardware: PROM Programmers, IC Testers, CPU Test Kits.

Presently each manufacturer is providing the platform environment and

required tools even for the IoT designers.
Simplified “target embedded product development” steps:

Step 1: One has to understand the functional requirements and accord-

ingly should choose the hardware elements like CPU, Peripherals,
Bus Controllers, Network Controllers, etc. Now the required device
drivers, CPU start-​up programs, protocol software, etc., may have
to be compiled separately. Based on the target functional data flow

DOI: 10.1201/9781003303206-3 11
12 Design of Internet of Things

Table 3.1 Embedded system basic requirements

Embedded Systems Technology: Basic concept review

Processor Power: 25MIPS to 40 MIPS, (16 bits, 32 bits, 64 bits). EX: ARM7,
ARM11, etc.
Memory: ROM, RAM, FLASH (1MB to 16 MB, 32MB, 64 MB).
Expected Life Time: one Year to Five Years
Development Cost: 10,000 to 100,000 US$

one has to generate/​create the source code for each of the identified
hardware elements and compile the respective Object Code files
for the same. At present, there are many frameworks (Integrated
Embedded Development Environments) for such generation of
object code files.
Step 2: One has to link all these available object code files related to
different hardware elements and software protocols that control
the behavior of the final target system into a single, relocatable,
final target “Object Code,” using appropriate “Linker.” Integrated
Embedded Development Environments may support the generation
of object code files as well the linking of the separate object files
into a single relocatable code. One has to take care of the issue as
these Integrated Frameworks sometimes may generate additional
unnecessary memory gaps or not useful code, which may not affect
the target functionality but increase the code size.
Step 3: Note that a single relocatable object code shall appropriately
be placed into the final target FLASH/​RAM/​ROM parts of the
target system which shall give the required functional behavior
for the target embedded product, on activation. We need to use
the “Locator” to place the final code into the respective identi-
fied Fixed Memory addresses (target FLASH/​RAM/​ROM parts of
target system) in the form of fixed “binary code.” One may call
it (final binary code) as final targeted Text Section, Data Section,
Stack section, so on and so forth or Final Fixed Target Code. This
code can be easily moved into the appropriate FLASH/​RAM/​ROM
parts of the target embedded platform. Now let us get into the
programming or the actions part with the available components.
Target CPU-​based start-​up code, which may also be known as
Power on Self-​Test Code (POST), should contain the following
(Table 3.2):
 Embedded Programming Techniques 13

Table 3.2 Embedded system POST steps

* Disable all the CPU interrupts
* Copy initial data from ROM to RAM
* ZERO the uninitialized data area in the RAM
* Allocate space and initialize the stack in RAM
* Initialize the CPU Stack Pointer (put the right address)
* Create and initialize Heap area
* Execute the constructs for Global variables
* Enable the interrupts
* Call the “main” program

The Memory Map and Input and Output (I/​O) Map have to be drawn for
the target. This shall be the lifeline of Embedded Programmer. The Control
Register Addresses, Interrupt Levels, In-​built Memory blocks of each part
(if any), should be very thorough. Based on the above information one can
start writing small diagnostic programs for the target hardware to check
each of the identified chips/​MCU of this platform is functioning correctly
and ready to take runtime software to get the target behavior.
Avoid the use of complete code related to Standard Library Routines, but
use only the required part of the code out of their source, whenever possible.
Always recognize and remember the native word size of the MCU should be
used for “integer declaration” frequently to save many more bytes of code
generation.
C/​C+​+​keyword “volatile” should be used to declare any of the Device
Registers. Then at the optimization phase, the compiler treats that vari-
able as though its behavior cannot be predicted at compile time. Embedded
programmers can divide each part of the code into different possible tasks
and manage them through RTOS. (task states—​Running, Ready, Waiting,
etc.). Take care of the “critical section” of each “task”. Interrupts, if any,
are to be disabled and enabled properly.
C/​C+​+​keyword “register” may be used for declaring local variables that
enable the compiler to place them in a general-​purpose register rather than
in a stack. Use “Global variables” to pass a parameter to a function. But
Global variables may have some negative effects. Yet at times one has to
choose between Interrupt and Polling. Sometimes polling may prove better.
Note: Never make the mistake of assuming that optimized code shall
behave the same way as the earlier unoptimized code. One has to test the
new code again. Figure 3.1 shows the software architecture of the embedded
target system.
14 Design of Internet of Things

Figure 3.1 Embedded system architecture.

Chapter 4

C hanging Technologies

The technology trend is shifting toward providing faster data rates and lower
latency connectivity (see the Figure 4.1), the Third Generation Partnership
Project (3GPP) “standards body” has developed a series of enhancements
to create the “High-​Speed Packet Access [HSPA] Evolution,” also referred
to as “HSPA+​ .” The HSPA Evolution represents a logical development
of the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) approach and
is the stepping stone to an entirely new 3GPP radio platform called 3GPP
Long-​Term Evolution (LTE). LTE offers several distinct advantages such as
increased performance attribute(s), high peak data rates, low latency, and
greater efficiencies in using the wireless spectrum.
Low latency makes it possible for IoT applications to query or receive
quicker updates from sensor devices. LTE networks have latencies on the
order of 50–​75 msec, which will open up new types of programming pos-
sibilities for application developers. For example, wearable computers that
require interactive and real-​time feedback will require moving large chunks
of data to be analyzed in the cloud or back-​end systems to create a seamless
user experience.
Higher peak data rates can support applications such as Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) and digital video that require better quality of ser-
vice (QoS). With further advancements in communication technologies such
as Software Defined Radio (SDR) and “Long-​Term Evolution –​Advanced”
(LTE-​A), devices will be able to communicate with better QoS and support
better access to new services with more efficient use of the radio frequency
spectrum.

4.1 RFID
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is of particular import-
ance to IoT as one of the first industrial realizations of IoT is in the use of
RFID technology to track and monitor goods (i.e., things) in the logistics
and supply chain sector. RFID frequency bands range from 125 kHz (low

DOI: 10.1201/9781003303206-4 15
16 Design of Internet of Things

Figure 4.1 UP link and DOWN link speeds.

frequency [LF]) up to 5.8 GHz (super high frequency [SHF]) and the tags
have at least three basic components:

• The chip holds information about the object to which it is attached

and transfers the data to the reader wirelessly via an air interface.
• The antenna allows transmission of the information to/​ from a
reader.
• The packaging encases the chip and antenna and allows the
attaching of the tag to an object for identification.

4.2 IC/​S ensor Cost

Just as the size of the chips is getting smaller, the costs of sensing
components are also dropping to become more affordable. Gartner has
forecast that most technology components such as radio, Wi-​Fi, sensors,
and global positioning systems (GPS), could see a drop in cost of 15%–​
45% from 2010 to 2015, and so on so forth. To illustrate, with cheaper
temperature sensors, cold chain retailers would consider deploying more
temperature sensors to monitor their perishable produce as it traverses the
supply chain.

4.3 6LoWPAN
6LoWPAN is an acronym for “IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area
Networks.” It is a communication standard that allows low-​power devices
 Changing Technologies 17

to communicate and exchange data via IPv6. There are many benefits of
using IP-​based connectivity to form the sensor access network:

• IP connects easily to other IP networks without the need for trans-

lation gateways or proxies.
• IP networks allow the use of existing network infrastructure.
• IP is proven to work and scale. Socket API is well-​known and
widely used.
• IP is open and free, with standards, processes, and documents avail-
able to anyone.
• IP encourages innovation and is well understood.

6LoWPAN works on the IPv6 protocol suite based on IEEE 802.15.4

standard. Hence, it has the characteristics of low-​cost, low-​rate, and low-​
power deployment. The bottom layer adopts the physical (PHY) and media
access control (MAC) layer standards of IEEE 802.15.4 and uses IPv6 as the
networking technology.
It is yet again proven that now and then a new technology like IoT will
emerge that has the potential to disrupt markets and create many new
business opportunities. IoT is poised to disrupt a multitude of industries
across the globe, create new business processes, and create an abundance
of opportunities for those who can see the technical advances in line with
new possibilities. It is to be noted that in this document 6LoWPAN and
LoWPAN are both acronyms that are used frequently for the same.

4.4 M2M, IoT, and IoE Concepts

The term “Internet of Things” coined by British entrepreneur Kevin Ashton
in 1999 described connectivity among physical objects and no longer holds
in its original form. It is now largely mixed-​up, confused, and even mystified
with the term “Internet of Everything” (IoE). IoE is considered a superset of
IoT and machine-​to-​machine (M2M) communication is considered a subset
of IoT. Let’s take a closer look into the differences between IoT, IoE, and
M2M, which have impacted consumers and businesses alike.
Although the concept of the IoE emerged as a natural development of the
IoT movement and is largely associated with Cisco’s tactics to initiate a new
marketing domain, IoE encompasses the wider concept of connectivity from
the perspective of modern connectivity technology use cases.
IoE comprises four key elements including all sorts of connections
imaginable:

• People: Considered as end nodes connected across the Internet to

share information and activities. Examples include social networks,
health and fitness sensors, among others.
18 Design of Internet of Things

• Things: Physical sensors, devices, actuators, and other items gener-

ating data or receiving information from other sources. Examples
include smart thermostats and gadgets.
• Data: Raw data is analyzed and processed into useful information
to enable intelligent decisions and control mechanisms. Examples
include temperature logs converted into an average number of high-​
temperature hours per day to evaluate room cooling requirements.
• Processes: Leveraging connectivity among data, things, and people
to add value. Examples include the use of smart fitness devices and
social networks to advertise relevant healthcare offerings to pro-
spective customers.

IoE establishes an end-​to-​end ecosystem of connectivity including technolo-

gies, processes, and concepts employed across all connectivity use cases.
Any further classifications—​such as Internet of Humans, Internet of Digital,
Industrial Internet of Things, communication technologies, and the Internet
itself—​will eventually constitute a subset of IoE if not considered as such
already.
The aptly named IoT subset M2M initially represented closed, point-​
to-​point communication between physical-​first objects. The explosion of
mobile devices and IP-​ based connectivity mechanisms has enabled data
transmission across a system of networks. M2M also more recently is being
referred to as technology that enables communication between machines
without human intervention. Examples include telemetry, traffic control,
robotics, and other applications involving device-​to-​device communications.

4.5 IoT—​I nternet of Things

The IoT (i.e., all kinds of M2M devices, virtual devices) holds signifi-
cant promise for delivering social and economic benefits to emerging and
developing economies. This includes areas such as sustainable agriculture,
water quality and use, healthcare, industrialization, and environmental man-
agement, among others. As such, IoT holds promise as a tool in achieving
the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The broad scope of IoT challenges will not be unique to industrialized or
developed countries. Developing regions also will need to respond to and
address IoT challenges to realize the potential benefits of IoT. Besides, the
unique needs and challenges of implementation of IoT in less-​developed
regions shall equally help to the quick development and commercializa-
tion of IoT hence need to be addressed, few pointers in this direction are
infrastructure readiness, market and investment incentives, technical skill
requirements, and policy resources, etc.
 Changing Technologies 19

This set of Internet of Things technologies are realizing a vision of a

miniaturized, embedded, automated environment of devices communi-
cating constantly and automatically. However, connecting up devices or
robots (whether they are bridges, fridges, or widgets) is only a means to
an end—​the really interesting part arises in terms of what can be done
with the data obtained, and the learning outcomes for improving our
future.
Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-​General

Today, the IoT is improving the day-​ to-​

day lives of citizens around
the world. In cities from Barcelona to Chandigarh to Rio de Janeiro, IP-​
connected sensors are monitoring traffic patterns, providing city managers
with key data on how to improve operations and communicate transpor-
tation options. Similar information flows are improving hospitals and
healthcare systems, education delivery, and basic government services such
as safety, fire, and utilities. Sensors and actuators in manufacturing plants,
mining operations, and oil fields are also helping to raise production, lower
costs, and increase safety.
Chapter 5

M 2M

Through automated money transfer supporting machines like automatic

teller machines (ATMs), we could save considerable resources, which are
providing more security to critical sectors. Similarly, M2M applications
will support us to master the demographic changes. Around the mid-​1990s
when the first of the modems came to the market, before our eyes, we saw
the increase of circuit-​switched data transfer standards from speeds of 2400
to 4800 to 9600 baud. Think about the new services and Short Message
Service (SMS) standards from General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) to the
current LTE/​4G/​5G. When things become smart in this way, they open up
entirely new opportunities.
We can already see this with, say, vending machines. A vending telemetry
solution begins by supporting day-​to-​day business. Operators can check
filling levels and operating data remotely and thereby reduce filling and
maintenance costs. New services like mobile payment and digital signage
are integrated and connections with social media channels are established.
But the data collected holds the greatest potential. Operators can see exactly
which products are in demand when and where. This knowledge provides
them with a new basis on which to make business decisions.
M2M communication is on the rise. There will be more machines
connected to the Internet than human beings in the next decade. M2M tech-
nologies transfer data on the condition of physical assets and devices to a
remote central location for effective monitoring and control. While M2M
concepts and technologies have been in use for quite some time, the chan-
ging business scenarios and newer use cases are acting as growth stimulants
(refer Figure 5.1). Greater demand for M2M solutions is primarily being
triggered by the widespread adoption and proliferation of affordable
wireless communication.
M2M applications are now part of our daily life, are not something we
need to highlight. The concept of the IoT has meanwhile established itself.
This in itself proves the new understanding and immense potential when one
talks about the networked economy. Regardless of this, when one regards
the circulated figures of networked machines and equipment, it is clear that

DOI: 10.1201/9781003303206-5 21
22 Design of Internet of Things

Figure 5.1 M2M industry solutions.

we will be networking even more elements with one another, soon. These
intelligent solutions will help us to simplify our lives further.
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) defines
M2M communication as follows: “Machine to Machine (M2M) commu-
nication is the communication between two or more entities that do not
necessarily need any direct human intervention. M2M services intend to
automate decision and communication processes.”—​Remember this is one
of the many definitions that are floating around us, from different bodies.
To take advantage of the opportunities M2M presents, entrepreneurs are
looking into the big picture to find novel solutions to mass usage business
environments. In the current environment, M2M can be used in almost all
aspects of life. If we look at government setup across various ministries and
departments, more than 70% of them are either using M2M or planning to
use M2M technologies in one way or other. With better sensors, wireless
networks, and increased computing capability, deploying an M2M makes
sense for many sectors. “M2M” has opened up many such opportunities
in technology and business, that its myriad applications extend beyond the
corporate world into our daily lives and have transformed the way we live,
work, and play. Let’s have a look at just a few of the possible market oppor-
tunities from M2M technology in three different industries:

Construction: With M2M, everything that can be connected will be

connected. Future buildings are no exception. In an age of smart
 M2M 23

grids, buildings are being equipped with thousands of sensors to

monitor, control, and optimize everything. There’s a tremendous
opportunity for entrepreneurs to reinvent traditional products like
connected plugs, light switches, and heating/​cooling vents that can
make predictive “decisions” by anticipating energy needs without
human intervention.
Transportation: The transportation industry is also rich with “M2M”
opportunities. Several entrepreneurs have already started services
like Fleet Management, Radio Taxi, and smartly managed logistics.
Further, app developers could create smartphone apps for vehicles
with wireless connections to remotely monitor and control fuel
consumption, locate petrol pumps or pre-​cool a car by remotely
switching on AC based on past usage.
Agriculture: There is always a rising demand for food and reducing
agricultural land that puts upward pressure on all food input costs.
There are novel opportunities for M2M solutions in the agriculture
industry, especially for raw materials and energy. Connected devices
can help maximize production efficiency and yield to improve the
grower’s profit margins. For example, entrepreneurs could build
auto-​pilot tractors that automate planting and plowing solutions to
reduce labor costs, fuel, and waste. Furthermore, wireless integration
of farm vehicles with farm management software could integrate
important factors such as tractor usage and crop yield information.

Mobile network coverage is being expanded worldwide. Telemetries are

seen increasingly as sources of greater operational efficiency and increased
incremental revenue.

• M2M applications benefit from R&D and the scale of the mobile
handset industry.
• Technical advances in air interface standards are enabling new
telecom M2M market segments.
• Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are seeking to expand their
data service offerings.
• Government mandates are increasingly requiring the use of
telemetries and related functionality.

As MNOs become more directly involved with M2M application service

providers (ASPs), many are deploying key network elements, specifically
mobile packet gateways (e.g., Gateway GPRS Support Node—​GGSN; Packet
Data Serving Node—​PDSN; etc.), specifically for their M2M operations,
separate from their general mobile data infrastructure. Key benefits of doing
this include simplification of internal business operations and optimization
of network utilization.
24 Design of Internet of Things

There was an estimated half a billion devices connected in 2012, and

the trend is growing 45%–​50% annually. According to different audited
report indications, the global mobile M2M market was to reach $57 billion
by 2014. All types of M2M connections were tripled—​reaching more than
225 million connections 2014.
With the expected increase in the deployment of mobile network elem-
ents dedicated specifically to M2M applications, likely, such equipment will
increasingly be designed for the specific needs of M2M applications. For
example, mobile packet gateways that are optimized for M2M traffic are
designed to handle a large number of packet data sessions, rather than pro-
vide large amounts of throughput. Fundamentally, there is a range of tech-
nical parameters upon which mobile packet gateways can be optimized for
M2M application deployment.

5.1 M2M Architecture

“M2M” communication can also be carried over mobile networks (e.g.,
GSM-​GPRS and CDMA EVDO networks). Note that, for M2M commu-
nication, the role of the mobile network is largely confined to serving as a
transport network only. The areas in which M2M is currently in use are
listed briefly here:

• Security: Surveillances, Alarm systems, Access control, Car/​driver

security
• Tracking & Tracing: Fleet Management, Order Management, Pay-​
as-​
You-​Drive, Asset Tracking, Navigation, Traffic Information,
Road Tolling, Traffic optimization/​steering
• Payment: Point of sales, Vending machines, Gaming machines
• Health: Monitoring vital signs, Supporting the aged or handi-
capped, Web Access Telemedicine points, Remote diagnostics
• Remote Maintenance/​Control: Sensors, Lighting, Pumps, Valves,
Elevator control, Vending machine control, Vehicle diagnostics
• Metering: Power, Gas, Water, Heating, Grid control, Industrial
metering
• Manufacturing: Production chain monitoring and automation
• Facility Management: Home/​building/​campus automation

M2M applications will be based on the infrastructure that is provided

by one or many communication service providers (CSPs). Applications may
either target end-​users, such as a user of a specific M2M solution, or other
application providers to offer more refined building blocks by which they
can build more sophisticated M2M solutions and services (refer Figure 5.2).
Examples include customer care functionality, elaborate billing functions,
etc. Those services, or service enablers, may be designed and offered by an
 M2M 25

Figure 5.2 M2M architecture.

application provider, but they might be offered by the operator via the oper-
ator platform itself.
M2M features include the following:

• Low Mobility: M2M devices are supposed to be very small and they
need not move. People may move with them (Roaming facility).
• Time Controlled: Possible to send or receive data only at certain
predefined periods.
• Packet Switched: Network operator to provide packet-​ switched
service.
• Small Data Transmissions: M2M devices send or receive small
amounts of data.
• Monitoring: Provide functionality to monitor the events.
• Low Power: Use very low power to improve the system and effi-
ciency of service.

5.2 Key Technical Requirements of M2M

M2M Application communication principles: The M2M system shall be
able to allow communication between M2M applications in the Network
and Applications Domain, and the M2M device or M2M gateway, by using
multiple communication means, e.g., SMS, GPRS, and IP Access. Also, a
Connected Object may be able to communicate in a peer-​to-​peer manner
26 Design of Internet of Things

with any other Connected Object. The M2M system should abstract the
underlying network structure including any network addressing mechanism
used; for example, in the case of an IP-​based network, the session establish-
ment shall be possible when IP static or dynamic addressing is used.

Message delivery for sleeping devices: The M2M system shall be able
to manage communication toward a sleeping device. (One of the
methods is—​the message is delivered whenever the device is live.)
Delivery modes: The M2M system shall support anycast, unicast, multi-
cast, and broadcast communication modes. Whenever possible a
global broadcast should be replaced by multicast or anycast to min-
imize the load on the communication network.
Message transmission scheduling: The M2M system shall be able to
manage the scheduling of network access and of messaging. It shall
be aware of the scheduling delay tolerance of the M2M application.

Message communication path selection: The M2M system shall be able

to optimize communication paths, based on policies such as network cost,
delays, or transmission failures when other communication paths exist.

Communication with devices behind an M2M gateway: The M2M

system should be able to communicate with devices behind an
M2M gateway.
Communication failure notification: M2M applications, requesting reli-
able delivery of a message, shall be notified of any failures to deliver
the message.
Scalability: The M2M system shall be scalable in terms of many
Connected Objects.
Abstraction of technologies heterogeneity: The M2M gateway may
be capable of interfacing with various M2M Area Network
technologies.
M2M service capabilities discovery and registration: The M2M system
shall support mechanisms to allow M2M applications to discover
M2M Service Capabilities offered to them. Additionally, the M2M
device and M2M gateway shall support mechanisms to allow the
registration of its M2M Service Capabilities to the M2M system.
M2M trusted application: The M2M Core may handle service request
responses for trusted M2M applications by allowing streamlined
authentication procedures for these applications. The M2M system
may support trusted applications that are applications pre-​validated
by the M2M Core.
Mobility: If the underlying network supports seamless mobility and
roaming, the M2M system shall be able to use such mechanisms.
 M2M 27

Communications integrity: The M2M system shall be able to

support mechanisms to assure communication integrity for M2M
services.
Device/​Gateway integrity check: The M2M system shall support M2M
device and M2M gateway integrity checks.
Continuous connectivity: The M2M system shall support continuous
connectivity, for M2M applications requesting the same M2M ser-
vice on a regular and continuous basis. This continuous connect-
ivity may be deactivated upon request of the application or by an
internal mechanism in the M2M Core.
Confirm: The M2M system shall support mechanisms to confirm
messages. A message may be unconfirmed, confirmed, or transac-
tion controlled.
Priority: The M2M system shall support the management of pri-
ority levels of the services and communications services. Ongoing
communications may be interrupted to serve a flow with higher
priority (i.e., preemption).
Logging: Messaging and transactions requiring nonrepudiation shall be
capable of being logged. Important events (e.g., received informa-
tion from the M2M device or M2M gateway is faulty, unsuccessful
installation attempt from the M2M device or M2M gateway, ser-
vice not operating, etc.) may be logged together with diagnostic
information. Logs shall be retrievable upon request.
Anonymity: The M2M system shall be able to support anonymity. If
anonymity is requested by an M2M application from the M2M
device side and the request is accepted by the network, the net-
work infrastructure will hide the identity and the location of the
requestor, subject to regulatory requirements.
Time Stamp: The M2M system shall be able to support accurate secure
and trusted time-​stamping. M2M devices and M2M gateways may
support accurate secure and trusted time-​stamping.
Device/​Gateway failure robustness: After a nondestructive failure, for
example, after a power supply outage, an M2M device or gateway
should immediately return in a full operating state autonomously,
after performing the appropriate initialization, for example, integ-
rity check if supported.
Radio transmission activity indication and control: The radio transmit-
ting parts (e.g., GSM/​GPRS) of the M2M device/​gateway should be
able to provide (if required by particular applications, e.g., eHealth)
a real-​time indication of radio transmission activity to the applica-
tion on the M2M device/​gateway, and may be instructed real-​time
by the application on the M2M device/​gateway to suspend/​resume
the radio transmission activity.
28 Design of Internet of Things

Figure 5.3 M2M protocol stack.

Figure 5.3 presents the M2M protocol stack as viewed by many CSPs and
application vendors.
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A Popular Account of the German General Staff
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Title: The Brain of an Army: A Popular Account of the German

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BRAIN OF AN

ARMY: A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF THE GERMAN GENERAL STAFF ***
 THE
BRAIN OF AN ARMY

A POPULAR ACCOUNT
OF THE
GERMAN GENERAL STAFF

BY
SPENSER WILKINSON

NEW EDITION

WITH LETTERS FROM

COUNT MOLTKE AND LORD ROBERTS

WESTMINSTER
ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE
& CO 1895
 BY THE SAME AUTHOR

THE COMMAND OF THE SEA

THE BRAIN OF A NAVY
THE GREAT ALTERNATIVE

and in conjunction with

SIR CHARLES W. DILKE, BART.

IMPERIAL DEFENCE

[Transcriber's note: the errata items below have been applied to this text.]

ERRATA.

page 9, line 6 for have read has

page 10, line 21, for occasion read occasions

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

Six years ago a Royal Commission, under the presidency of Lord

Hartington, was known to be inquiring into the administration of the national
defence. There was much talk in the newspapers about the Prussian staff,
and many were the advocates of its imitation in this country. Very few of
those who took part in the discussions seemed to know what the Prussian
staff was, and I thought it might be useful to the Royal Commission and to
the public to have a true account of that institution, written in plain English,
so that any one could understand it. The essay was published on the 11th of
February, 1890, the day on which the Report of Lord Hartington's
Commission was signed.

The essential feature of the Prussian staff system consists in the

classification of duties out of which it has arisen. Every general in the field
requires a number of assistants, collectively forming his staff, to relieve him
of matters of detail, to act as his confidential secretaries, and to represent
him at places where he cannot be himself. The duties of command are so
multifarious that some consistent distribution of functions among the
officers of a large staff is indispensable. In Prussia this distribution is based
on a thoroughly rational and practical principle. The general's work is
subdivided into classes, according as it is concerned with administration and
discipline or with the direction of the operations against the enemy. All that
belongs to administration and discipline is put upon one side of a dividing
line, and upon the other side all that directly affects the preparation for or the
management of the fighting—in technical language, all that falls within the
domain of strategy and tactics. The officers entrusted with the personal
assistance of the general in this latter group of duties are in Prussia called his
"general staff." They are specially trained in the art of conducting operations
against an enemy, that is in the specific function of generalship, which has
thus in the Prussian army received more systematic attention than in any
other. In the British army the assistants of a general are also grouped into
classes for the performance of specific functions in his relief. But the
grouping of duties is accidental, and follows no principle. It has arisen by
chance, and been stereotyped by usage. The officers of a staff belong to the
adjutant-general's branch or to the quartermaster-general's branch, but no
rational criterion exists by which to discover whether a particular function
falls to one branch or to the other. That this is an evil is evident, because it is
manifest that there can be no scientific training for a group of duties which
have no inherent affinity with one another. The evil has long been felt, for
the attempt has been made to remedy it by amalgamating the two branches
in order to sever them again upon a rational plane of cleavage.

But while the essence of the Prussian general staff lies deeply embedded
in the organization of the Prussian army, the interest of the general public
has been attracted by the fact that the great strategist to whom the victories
of 1866 and 1870 are ascribed was not the commander of the Prussian army,
but merely the chief of the general staff of a royal commander-in-chief. It
may well be doubted whether this feature of the Prussian system is suitable
for imitation elsewhere. The Germans themselves evidently regard it as
accidental rather than essential, for in organizing their navy they have, after
much experiment and deliberation, adopted a different plan. They have
appointed their chosen admiral to be, not chief of the staff to an Emperor
who in war, as he takes the field with the army, cannot undertake the
command of the navy, but to be "the commanding admiral."

I refrained in the first edition of this essay from drawing from the German
institution which it describes a moral to be applied to the British army, and
was content with a warning against overhasty imitation. At that time the
nature of the relation between Moltke and the King was still to some extent
veiled in official language, and nothing so far as I am aware had been
published which allowed the facts to rest upon well authenticated, direct
evidence as distinguished from inference. Since then the posthumous
publication of Moltke's private correspondence,[1] and of the first instalment
of his military correspondence,[2] has thrown a flood of light upon the
whole subject. I had the good fortune to be furnished with an earlier clue. As
soon as my essay was ready for the press I ventured to send a proof to Count
Moltke, with a request that he would allow me in a dedication to couple his
name with studies of which his work had been the subject. He was good
enough to reply in a letter of which the following is a translation:—

BERLIN, January 20, 1890.

DEAR SIR,—

I have read your essay on the German general staff with great interest.

I am glad that on p. 63 you dispose of the ever-recurring legend according

to which before every important decision a council of war is assembled. I
can assure you that in 1866 and in 1870-71 a council of war was never
called.

If the commander after consultation with his authorized adviser feels the
need of asking others what he ought to do, the command is in weak hands.
 If King William I. ever really used the expression attributed to him on p.
58, he did himself a great injustice. The king judged the perpetually
changing military situation with an uncommonly clear eye. He was much
more than "a great strategist." It was he who took upon himself an
immeasurable responsibility, and for the conduct of an army character
weighs more than knowledge and science. I think your excellent work would
lose nothing if that passage were omitted.

You touch on p. 112[3] upon the relation between the commander and the
statesman. Neither of the two can set up for himself in advance a goal to be
certainly reached. The plan of campaign modifies itself after the first great
collision with the enemy. Success or failure in a battle occasions operations
originally not intended. On the other hand the final claims of the statesman
will be very different according as he has to reckon with defeats or with a
series of uninterrupted victories. In the course of the campaign the balance
between the military will and the considerations of diplomacy can be held
only by the supreme authority.

It has not escaped your penetration that a general staff cannot be

improvised on the outbreak of war, that it must be prepared long beforehand
in peace, and be in practical activity and in close intercourse with the troops.
But even that is not enough. It must know who is to be its future commander,
must be in communication with him and gain his confidence, without which
its position is untenable.

Great is the advantage if the head of the State is also the leader in war. He
knows his general staff and his troops, and is known by them. In such armies
there are no pronunciamentoes.

The constitution, however, does not in every country admit of placing the
head of the State at the head of the army. If the Government will and can
select in advance the most qualified general for the post, that officer must
also be given during peace the authority to influence the troops and their
leaders and to create an understanding between himself and his general staff.
This chosen general will seldom be the minister of war, who during the
whole war is indispensable at home, where all the threads of administration
come together.
 You have expressed the kind intention of dedicating your interesting
essay to me, but I suggest that you should consider whether without such a
dedication it would not still better preserve the character of perfectly
independent judgment.

With best thanks for your kind communication,

I am, dear sir, yours very truly,
COUNT MOLTKE,
Field Marshal.

It was hardly possible for Moltke, bound as he was by his own high
position, to have expressed more plainly his opinion of the kind of reform
needed in the British army, nor to have better illustrated than by that opinion
the precise nature of his own work.[4]

With Moltke's view that the peculiar position which he held was not
necessarily the model best suited for the circumstances of the British army it
is interesting to compare the judgment expressed quite independently by
Lord Roberts, who kindly allows me to publish the following letter:—

SIMLA,
11th September, 1891.

DEAR MR. WILKINSON,—

I am much obliged to you for so kindly sending me The Brain of an Army

and the other military works which reached me two or three mails ago. Some
of the books I had seen before, and The Brain of an Army I had often heard
of, and meant to study whenever sufficient leisure was vouchsafed to me,
which, alas! is but seldom. I have now read it with great interest.

One point that strikes me is the strong inclination evinced at present to

assume that the German system of apportioning the duties of command and
staff is deserving of universal adoption because under exceptional
circumstances, and with quite an exceptional man to act as head of the Staff,
it proved eminently successful in the wars between Prussia and Austria and
Prussia and France.

The idea of a Chief of the Staff who is to regulate the preparations for and
the operations during a campaign, and who is to possess a predominant
influence in determining the military policy of a nation, is quite opposed to
the views of some of the ablest commanders and strategists, as summarized
at pages 17 and 18 of Home's Précis of Modern Tactics, Edition 1882; and I
doubt whether any really competent general or Commander-in-Chief would
contentedly acquiesce in the dissociation of command and responsibility
which the German procedure necessarily entails. That Von Moltke was the
virtual Commander-in-Chief of the German forces during the wars in
question, and that the nominal commanders had really very little to say to the
movements they were called upon to execute, seems to be clearly proved by
the third volume of the Field Marshal's writings, reviewed in The Times of
the 21st August last. Von Moltke was a soldier of extraordinary ability, he
acted in the Emperor's name, the orders he initiated were implicitly obeyed,
and the military machine worked smoothly. But had the orders not been
uniformly judicious, had a check or reverse been experienced, and had one
or more of the subordinate commanders possessed greater capacity and
resolution than the Chief of the Staff, the result might have been very
different.

In military nations a Chief of the Staff of the German type may perhaps
be essential, more especially when, as in Germany, the Emperor is the head
of the Army and its titular Commander-in-Chief. The reasons for this are
that, in the first place, he may not possess the qualities required in a
Commander-in-Chief who has to lead the Army in war; and in the second
place, even if he does possess those qualities, there are so many other
matters connected with the civil administration of his own country, and with
its political relations towards other countries, that the time of a King or
Emperor may be too fully occupied to admit of his devoting that exclusive
attention to military matters which is so necessary in a Commander-in-Chief,
if he desires to have an efficient Army. A Chief of the Staff then becomes
essential; he is indeed the Commander-in-Chief.

In a small army like ours, however, where the Commander-in-Chief is a

soldier by profession, I am inclined to think that a Chief of the Staff is not
required in the same way as he is in Germany. With us, the man of the stamp
sketched in chapter iv. of The Brain of an Army should be the head of the
Army—the Commander-in-Chief to whom every one in the Army looks up,
and whom every one on service trusts implicitly. The note at page 12 [61] of
your little book expresses my meaning exactly. Blucher required a
Scharnhorst or a Gneisenau "to keep him straight," but would it not have
been better, as suggested in your note, "to have given Scharnhorst and
Gneisenau the actual command"?

I think, too, that an Emperor or King would be more likely than a man of
inferior social standing to take the advice of a Chief of the Staff. The former
would be so immeasurably above all those about him that he could afford to
listen to advice—as the Emperor of Germany undoubtedly did to that of Von
Moltke on the occasion mentioned in the note at page 14 [64]. But the
Commander of about much the same standing socially as his Chief of the
Staff, and possibly not much the latter's senior in the Army, would be apt to
resent what he might consider uncalled-for interference; and this would be
specially the case if he were of a narrow-minded, obstinate disposition.
Indeed, I think that such a feeling would be almost sure to arise, unless the
Commander-in-Chief were one of those easy-going, soft natures which
ought never to be placed in such a high position.

My personal experience is, of course, very slight, but I have been a

Commander with a Chief of the Staff, and I have been (in a very small way)
the Chief of the Staff to a Commander, with whom I was sent "to keep him
straight." It was not a pleasant position, and one which I should not like to
fill a second time. In my own Chief of the Staff (the late Sir Charles
Macgregor) I was particularly fortunate; he was of the greatest possible
assistance to me; but without thinking myself narrow-minded and obstinate,
I should have objected if he had acted as if he were "at the head of the
Army."

I have been referring hitherto more to war than peace, but even in peace
time I doubt if a Chief of the Staff of the German type is suitable to our
organization, and to the comparative smallness of our army. In war time it
might easily lead to disaster. The less capacity possessed by the nominal
Commander-in-Chief the greater might be his obstinacy, and the more
capacity he possessed the more he would resent anything which might
savour of interference. Altogether I think that the office of Chief of the Staff,
as understood in Germany, might easily be made impossible under the
conditions of our service. My opinion is that the Army Head-Quarters Staff
are capable of doing exactly the same work as the Grand General Staff of the
German Army perform, and that there is no need to upset our present system.
We have only to bring the Intelligence and Mobilization Departments more
closely into communication with, and into subordination to, the Adjutant-
General and Quarter-Master-General, as is now being done in India with the
best results.

You will understand that the foregoing remarks are based on the
assumption that in the British Service the office of Commander-in-Chief is
held by the soldier who, from his abilities and experience, has commended
himself to the Government as being best qualified to organize the Army for
war, and if requisite to take command in the field. If, however, for reasons of
State it is thought desirable to approximate our system to the German system
in the selection of the head of the Army, it might become necessary to
appoint a Chief of the Staff of the German type to act as the responsible
military adviser of the Commander-in-Chief and the Cabinet. But in this case
the responsibility of the Officer in question should be fully recognised and
clearly defined.

Believe me,
Yours very truly,
FRED ROBERTS.

To SPENSER WILKINSON, Esq.

The Report of Lord Hartington's Commission, which appeared in the

spring of 1890, seemed to justify the apprehension which had caused me to
write, for it recommended the creation, under the name of a general staff, of
a department bearing little resemblance to the model which it professed to
copy. The Commission, however, was in a most awkward dilemma. It was
confronted in regard to the command of the army with two problems, one of
which was administrative, the other constitutional. The public was anxious
to have an army efficient for its purpose of fighting the enemies of Great
Britain. The statesmen on the Commission were intent upon having an army
obedient to the Government. The tradition that the command of the army
being a royal prerogative could be exercised otherwise than through the
constituted advisers of the Crown was not in practice altogether extinct. It
can hardly be doubted that the Commission was right in wishing to establish
the principle that the army is a branch of the public service, administered and
governed under the authority of the Cabinet in precisely the same way as the
post office. No other theory is possible in the England of our day. But the
attempt to make the theory into the practice touched certain susceptibilities
which it was felt ought to be respected, and the Commission perhaps
attached more importance to this kind of consideration than to the necessity
of preparing the war office for war.

It was no doubt of the first importance to guard against the recurrence of

a state of things in which all attempts to bring the army into harmony with
the needs of the time and of the nation were frustrated by an authority not
entirely amenable to the control of the Secretary of State. Not less important,
however, was the requirement that any change by which this result, in itself
so desirable, might be attained should at the same time contribute to the
supreme end of readiness for conflict with any of the Great Powers whose
rivalry with Great Britain has in recent times become so acute.

In the war of which a part is examined in the following pages a chief of

the staff is seen drafting the orders by which the whole army is guided. He
has no authority; the orders are issued in the name of the commander,—that
is in Prussia, of the king. When, as was the case in 1866 and in 1870-1, the
king shows his entire confidence in the chief of the staff by invariably
accepting his drafts, the direction of the army, the generalship of the
campaign, is really the work of the chief of the staff, though that officer has
never had a command, and has been sheltered throughout under the authority
of another. The generalship or strategy of the campaigns of 1866 and 1870-1
was Moltke's, and Moltke's alone, and no one has borne more explicit
testimony to this fact than the king. At the same time no one has more
emphasized the other fact, that he was covered by the king's responsibility,
than Moltke himself.

The work of generalship can rarely be given to any one but the
commander of an army. When the commander owes his position to other
than military considerations, as is the case in Prussia, where the king is born
to be commander-in-chief as he is born to be king, he is wise to select a good
professional general to do the work. But where a government is free to
choose its commander, that officer will wish to do his own work himself,
and will resent the suggestion that an assistant should prompt and guide him.
The Hartington Commission proposed at the same time to abolish the office
of commander-in-chief, and to create that of a "chief of the staff." This new
officer was to advise the Secretary of State—that is, the Government—upon
all the most important military questions. He was to discuss the strength and
distribution of the army, and the defence of the Empire; to plan the general
arrangements for defence, and to shape the estimates according to his plan.
In a word, he was to perform many of the most important duties of a
commander-in-chief. But he was to be the adviser or assistant, not of a
military commander, but of a civilian governor-general of the army.

An army cannot be directed in war nor commanded in peace under the

immediate authority of a civilian. There must be a military commander, the
obedient servant of the Government, supported by the Government in the
exercise of his powers to discipline and direct the army, and sheltered by the
Government against all such criticism as would weaken his authority or
diminish its own responsibility. The scheme propounded by the Hartington
Commission evaded the cardinal question which has to be settled: that of the
military command of the army in war. War cannot be carried on unless full
and undivided authority is given to the general entrusted by the Government
with the conduct of the military operations. That officer will necessarily be
liable to account to the Government for all that is done, for the design and
for its execution.

The Report of the Commission made no provision whatever for the

command of the army in war. The proposed "chief of the staff" was to be
entrusted during peace with the duty of the design of operations. Had the
Commission's scheme been adopted, the Government would, upon the near
approach of war, still have had to select its commander. The selection must
fall either upon the "chief of the staff" or upon some other person. But no
general worth his salt will be found to stake his own reputation and the fate
of the nation upon the execution of designs supplied to him at second-hand.
No man with a particle of self-respect would undertake the defence of his
country upon the condition that he should conduct it upon a plan as to which
he had never been consulted, and which, at the time of his appointment, it
was too late to modify. Accordingly, if the scheme of the Commission had
been adopted, it would have been necessary to entrust the command in war
to the officer who during peace had been chief of the staff. But this officer
being in peace out of all personal relation with the army could not have the
moral authority which is indispensable for its command. The scheme of the
Hartington Commission could therefore not be adopted, except at the risk of
disaster in the event of war.

While I am revising the proof of this preface come the announcements,

first, that Lord Wolseley is to succeed the Duke of Cambridge, and,
secondly, that though the title of Commander-in-Chief is to be retained, the
duties attaching to the office are to be modified and its authority diminished.

The proposed changes in the status of the Commander-in-Chief show that

the present Government is suffering from the pressure of an anxiety exactly
like that which paralysed Lord Hartington's Commission, while from the
speeches in which the new scheme has been explained the idea of war is
altogether absent. The Government contemplates depriving the Commander-
in-Chief of his authority over the Adjutant-General and the Quartermaster-
General, as well as over the heads of some other military departments.

The Adjutant-General's department embraces among other matters all that

directly concerns the discipline, training, and education of the army; while
such business as the quartering and movements of troops passes through the
office of the Quartermaster-General. These officers are to become the direct
subordinates of the Secretary of State. In other words, the staff at the
headquarters of the army is to be the staff, not of the nominal Commander-
in-Chief, but of the Secretary of State, who is thus to be made the real
Commander-in-Chief of the army.

This is evidently a momentous change, not to be lightly or rashly

approved or condemned. The first duty is to discover, if possible, the
motives by which the Government is actuated in proposing it. Mr. Balfour,
speaking in the House of Commons on the 31st of August, explained the
view of the Government.
 "What," he said, "is the substance and essence of the criticisms passed by
the Harrington Commission upon the War Office system, which has now
been in force in this country for many years? The essence of the criticisms of
the Commissioners was that by having a single Commander-in-Chief,
through whom, and through whom alone, army opinion, army matters, and
army advice would come to the Secretary of State for War, you were, in the
first place, throwing upon the Commander-in-Chief a burden which no
single individual could possibly support; and, secondly, you were practically
destroying the responsibility of the Secretary of State for War, who
nominally is the head of the department. If you put the Secretary of State for
War in direct communication with the Commander-in-Chief alone, I do not
see how the Secretary of State for War can be anything else than the
administrative puppet of the great soldier who is at the head of the army. He
may come down to the House and express the views of that great officer, but
if he is to take official advice from the Commander-in-Chief alone it is
absolutely impossible that the Secretary of State should be really
responsible, and in this House the Secretary of State will be no more than the
mouthpiece of the Commander-in-Chief."

Mr. Balfour's first point is that the burden thrown upon a single
Commander-in-Chief is too great for one man to bear. Marlborough,
Wellington or Napoleon would, perhaps, hardly have accepted this view. But
supposing it were true, the remedy proposed is infinitely worse than the
disease. In 1887 the Royal Commission, over which the late Sir James
Stephen presided, examined with judicial impartiality the duties of the
Secretary of State for War. That Commission in its report wrote as follows:
—

"The first part of the system to be considered is the Secretary of State. On

him we have to observe, first, that the scope of his duties is immense;
secondly, that he performs them under extreme disadvantages. He is charged
with five separate great functions, any one of which would be sufficient to
occupy the whole time of a man of first-rate industry, ability, and
knowledge.
 "First, he is a member of the Cabinet, and a Member of Parliament, in
which capacity he has to give his attention, not only to the matters of his
own department, but to all the leading political questions of the day. He has
to take part in debates on the great topics of discussion, and on many
occasions to speak upon them in his place in Parliament.

"Secondly, he is the head, as has been already observed, of the political

department of the army. He may have to consider, and that at the shortest
notice, the whole conduct of a war; all the important points connected with
an expedition to any part of the globe; political questions like the abolition
of purchase; legislative questions like the Discipline Act, and many others of
the same kind.

"Thirdly, he is the head of the Ordnance Department, which includes all

the questions relating to cannon, small arms, and ammunition, and all the
questions that arise upon the management of four great factories, and the
care of an enormous mass of stores of every description.

"Fourthly, he has to deal with all the questions connected with

fortifications and the commissariat.

"Fifthly, he is responsible for framing the Military Estimates, which

override all the other departments, and regulate the expenditure of from
£16,000,000 to £18,000,000 of public money.

"It is morally and physically impossible that any one man should
discharge all these functions in a satisfactory manner. No one man could
possess either the time or the strength or the knowledge which would be
indispensable for that purpose; but even if such a physical and intellectual
prodigy were to be found, he would have to do his duty under disadvantages
which would reduce him practically to impotence."

If, then, the Commander-in-Chief is overburdened, it is at least certain

that the right way to relieve him cannot possibly consist in adding to the
functions of the Secretary of State.
 The real point of Mr. Balfour's statement of the case is in what follows. If
you have a single Commander-in-Chief through whom, and through whom
alone, army opinion, army matters, and army advice would come to the
Secretary of State, then, according to Mr. Balfour, you practically destroy the
responsibility of the Secretary of State.

It is a mark of the hastiness of debate that the word responsibility has

crept in here. No word in the political vocabulary is so dangerous, because
none is so ambiguous. Properly speaking, a person is said to be responsible
when he is liable to be called to account for his acts, a liability which implies
that he is free to act in one way or another. These two aspects of the term,
the liability and the freedom of choice implied, lead to its use in two
opposite senses. Sometimes responsibility means that a man must answer for
what he does, and sometimes that he may do as he pleases without being
controlled by any one. The word is as often as not a synonym for authority.
When Moltke speaks of the "immeasurable responsibility" of the King of
Prussia, he really means that the King took upon himself as his own acts
decisions of the gravest moment which were prompted by his advisers, and
that by so doing he covered them as against the rest of the world; he did not
mean that the King had to account for his conduct except to his own
conscience and at the bar of history. A Secretary of State for War, in his
relations with the army, wields the whole authority of the Government. The
only thing which he cannot do is to act in opposition to the wishes of his
colleagues, for if he did he would immediately cease to be Secretary of
State. As long as they are agreed with him he is the master of the army. But
his liability to be called to account is infinitely small. The worst that can
happen to him is that if the party to which he belongs should lose its
majority in the House of Commons the Cabinet of which he is a member
may have to resign. That is an event always possible quite apart from his
conduct, and his actions will as a rule not bring it about unless for other
reasons it is already impending. Whenever, therefore, the phrase "the
responsibility of the Secretary of State" occurs, we ought to substitute for it
the more precise words: "the power of the Cabinet to decide any matter as it
pleases, subject to the chance of its losing its majority."

What Mr. Balfour deprecates is a single Commander-in-Chief, and it is

important to grasp the real nature of his objection. If the whole business of
the army be conceived to be a single department of which the Commander-
in-Chief is the head, so that the authority of the Secretary of State extends to
no other matters than those which lie within the jurisdiction of the
Commander-in-Chief, then undoubtedly the Secretary of State and the
Commander-in-Chief are each of them in a false position, for one of them is
unnecessary. The Secretary of State must either simply confirm the
Commander-in-Chief's decisions, in which case his position as superior
authority is a mere form, or he must enter into the reasons for and against
and decide afresh, in which case the Commander-in-Chief becomes
superfluous. It is bad organization to have two men, one over the other, both
to do the same business.

Mr. Balfour's objection to this arrangement is, however, not that it sins
against the principles of good organization, but that it practically abolishes
the Secretary of State. It leaves the decision of questions which arise within
the War Office and the army in the hands of a person who is outside the
Cabinet. In this way it diminishes the power of the Cabinet, which rests
partly upon the solidarity of that body, and partly upon the practice by which
every branch of Government business is under the control of one or other of
its members.

Both these objections appear to me to rest upon false premises. I shall

show presently that the duties of the Secretary of State must necessarily
include matters which do not properly come within the scope of a
Commander-in-Chief, and I cannot see how the authority of the Cabinet to
manage the army rationally would be impaired by a War Office with a
military head, the subordinate of the Secretary of State.

But both objections, supposing them to be valid, would be overcome by

making the Commander-in-Chief Secretary of State—that is, by abolishing
the office of Secretary of State for War, and entrusting his duties to the
Commander-in-Chief as a member of the Cabinet. Why, then, does not the
Government adopt this plan, which at first sight appears so simple? There is
a good reason. The Cabinet is a committee of peers and members of
Parliament selected by the leader of a party from among his followers. The
bond between its members is a party bond, and their necessary main purpose
is to retain their majority in the House of Commons. A military Commander-
in-Chief means an officer selected as the representative, not of a party, but of
a subject. He is the embodiment of strategical wisdom, and to secure that
strategical knowledge and judgment receive due attention in the councils of
government is the purpose of his official existence. To make him a member
of the Cabinet would be to disturb the harmony of that body by introducing
into it a principle other than that of party allegiance, and the harmony could
not be restored except either by subordinating strategy to party, which would
be a perversion of the Commander-in-Chief, or by subordinating party to
strategy, a sacrifice which the leaders of a party will not make except under
the supreme pressure of actual or visibly impending war.

The preliminary decision, then, which may be taken as settled—for the

other party if it had been in power would certainly have come to the same
conclusion—is that no military officer, either within or without the Cabinet,
is to have in his hands the whole management of the army; the absolute
power of the Cabinet must be preserved, and therefore no military officer is
to have more than departmental authority; the threads are not to be united in
any hands other than those of the Secretary of State. This determination
appears to me most unfortunate, for to my eye the time seems big with great
events requiring a British Government to attach more importance to
preparation for conflict than to the rigorous assertion of Cabinet supremacy.
Be that as it may, the practical question is whether the proposed sub-division
of the business of the War Office into departments is a good or a bad one. I
think it incurably bad, because it follows no principle of classification
inherent in the nature of the work to be done.

To find the natural and necessary classification of duties in the

management of an army we must look not at the War Office but at war.
Suppose the country to be engaged in a serious war, in which the army, or a
large portion of it is employed against an enemy, who it may be hoped will
not have succeeded in invading this island. In that case we can distinguish
clearly between two functions. There must be an authority directing against
the enemy the troops in the field; a general with full powers, implicitly
obeyed by all the officers and officials accompanying his army. There must
also be an administrative officer at home, whose function will be to procure
and convey to the army in the field all that it requires—food, ammunition,
clothing and pay, fresh men and fresh horses to replace casualties. This
officer at home cannot be the same person as the general in the field; for the
two duties must be carried on in two different places at the same time. The
two functions, moreover, correspond to two different arts or branches of the
military art. The commander in the field requires to excel in generalship, or
the art of command; the head of the supply department at home requires to
be a skilled military administrator in the sense not of a wielder of discipline
or trainer of troops, but of a clever buyer, a producer and distributor on a
large scale. Neither of these officers can be identical with the Secretary of
State, whose principal duty in war is to mediate between the political
intentions of the Government and the military action conducted by the
commander in the field. This duty makes him the superior of the
commander; while the officer charged with military supply, though he need
not be the formal subordinate of the commander, must yet conform his
efforts to the needs of the army in the field.

There are many important matters which cannot be confined either to the
department of command or to that of supply. Under this head fall the terms
of service for soldiers, the conditions of recruiting, the regulations for the
appointment and promotion of officers. These are properly the subjects of
deliberation in which not only military, but civil opinions and interests must
be represented; for their definition the Secretary of State will do well to refer
to a general council of his assistants, and the ultimate settlement will require
the judgment of the Cabinet, and sometimes also the sanction of Parliament.
In time of war it is generally necessary quickly to levy extra men, and to
drain into the army a large part of the resources of the country. Such
measures must be thought out and arranged in advance during peace, for the
greatest care is required in all decisions which involve the appropriation by
the State of more than the usual share of the energies, the time and the
money of its citizens. Regulations of this kind can seldom be framed except
as the result of the deliberations of a council of military and civil officers of
experience. These, then, are the rational sub-divisions of army business.
There is the department of command, embracing the discipline and training
of the troops, their organization as combatant bodies, the arrangement of
their movements and distribution in peace and war, and all that belongs to
the functions of generalship. These matters form the proper domain of a
Commander-in-Chief. Side by side with them is the department of supply,
which procures for the commander the materials out of which his fighting
machine is put together and kept in condition. Harmony between them is
secured by the authority of the Government, wielded by the Secretary of
State, who regulates according to the state of the national policy and of the
exchequer the amount to be spent by each department, and who presides
over the great council which lays down the conditions under which the
services of the citizens in money, in property, or in person are to be claimed
by the State for its defence.

The examination, then, of the conditions of war, and the application,

during peace, of the distribution of duties which war must render necessary,
lead to the true solution of the difficulty raised by Mr. Balfour. The internal
affairs of the army are indeed one department, but the position of head of
that department, while it could properly be filled by a Commander-in Chief,
is not and cannot be identical with that of the minister who personifies the
Cabinet in relation to the army. The minister ought to be concerned chiefly
with the connexion between the national policy and the military means of
giving it effect. The intention to make the Secretary of State head of the
military department seems to me to prove that the Government really takes
no account of what should be his higher duties. The lack of the conception of
a national policy is thus about to embarrass the military management of the
army.

It is not my object here to consider in detail how the principles of

organization for war should be applied to the British army. That subject has
been fully treated by Sir Charles Dilke and myself in the last chapter of our
"Imperial Defence," a chapter which has not been criticised except with
approval. But I am concerned to show that the German practice cannot at
any point be quoted in support either of the recommendations of the
Hartington Commission or of the proposals now announced by the
Government, which to any one who regards them from the point of view of
the nation, that is of the defence of the Empire, must appear to be at once
unnecessary, rash and inopportune.

3, MADEIRA ROAD,
STREATHAM, S.W.
September 3rd, 1895.

[1] See in particular the passage in Moltke, Gesammelte Schriften, V. 298-9, which
I have translated in an essay entitled "The Brain of the Navy," p. 28.
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