On Quantifying the Complexity of IoT Traffic

Abstract

A single quantitative measure for characterizing the complexity of Internet-of-Things (IoT) network traffic remains elusive. Such a quantifier holds value in distinguishing the relative complexities of IoT network traffic in an increasingly heterogeneous IoT device landscape, enabling network operators to anticipate and provision for, as well as manage existing network infrastructure. In this paper, we apply relevant contemporary techniques used to quantify the complexity of regular network traffic to a modern, comprehensive empirical IoT network traffic dataset. The results were interpreted to discover their merits and pitfalls. Based on our findings, we contend there is a need to develop new quantitative measures that can accommodate the diversity of IoT traffic.