Bluetooth (BT) mesh is a new mode of BT operation for low-energy devices that offers group-based publish-subscribe as a network service with additional caching capabilities. These features resemble concepts of information-centric networking (ICN), and the analogy to ICN has been repeatedly drawn in the BT community. In this paper, we compare BT mesh with ICN both conceptually and in real-world experiments. We contrast both architectures and their design decisions in detail. Experiments are performed on an IoT testbed using NDN/CCNx and BT mesh on constrained RIOT nodes. Our findings indicate significant differences both in concepts and in real-world performance. Supported by new insights, we identify synergies and sketch a design of a BT-ICN that benefits from both worlds.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1908.09505,
title = {Bluetooth Mesh under the Microscope: How much ICN is Inside?},
author = {Hauke Petersen and Peter Kietzmann and Cenk Gündoğan and Thomas C. Schmidt and Matthias Wählisch},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1908.09505},
year = {2019}
}