The IIoT connectivity stack model (IIC-IICF) has Internet Protocol as the only protocol standard in the network layer for industrial internet and Industrie 4.0 applications. For multicast communications, Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is used at the network layer. To secure the network, IPSec is a suite of open security standards defined and maintained by the IETF (RFC 4301).
To provide IP connectivity to low-footprint, resource-constrained devices, the IETF has defined the 6LoWPAN standard (RFC 6282). The standard includes encapsulation and header compression mechanisms that allow IPv6 packets to be sent and received over low-rate wireless personal area networks (LR-WPANs).