Propagation Delays and Data Integrity of Cellular and WiFi Networks from IOT devices to cloud storage

Abstract

Transmitting data for cloud storage via the internet with wireless technology is becoming more and more important for researchers, hobbyists and commercial applications. High speed internet connections, such as fiber optic and LTE connections enable users to transmit data to cloud storage in a very fast manner. Taking this into account the question now arises which technology is the more dependable, efficient and cost effective method for sensors to transmit their data via the internet to a cloud storage environment.The aim of this paper is to investigate the propagation delay and data integrity of transmitted data from cellular and WiFi networks to cloud storage. The Main or Sampling unit continuously evaluates the analogue inputs. It will then send the sampled data every so often to the technologies under test. The slave units will then send the sampled data and index number received from the Main unit to cloud storage via their respective communication technologies. The main unit will also record the sampled values, index number and time and date stamp from the GPS to an onboard logger to keep track of the sampled values. This indexing system will then be used to evaluate data integrity and propagation delay. By comparing the sampler units logged data (index, data and time and date stamp information) to that of the slave units cloud data a clear picture of data integrity and propagation delay can be concluded for the technologies under test. The results indicate that WiFi is a quicker option to use compared to cellular, but might be more expensive if a small amount of data is transmitted. The outcome of this research may help researchers, hobbyists and commercial users to make a better informed decision about the technology they wish to use for their particular environment.