Devices and methods for QoS determination of IoT-based applications

A method of an Internet of Things (IoT) service managing device for determining an overall QoS for a first group of IoT devices comprising a first IoT device and a second IoT device, the method comprising:

• acquiring a first QoS measure for the first IoT device;
• acquiring first availability information for the first IoT device;
• acquiring a second QoS measure for the second IoT device;
• acquiring second availability information for the second IoT device;
• determining an overall QoS for the first group of IoT devices based on the first QoS measure for the first IoT device, the second QoS measure for the second IoT device, the first availability information for the first IoT device, and the second availability information for the second IoT device;
• determining that the overall QoS for the first group of IoT devices is less than a threshold;
• after determining that the overall QoS for the first group of IoT devices is less than the threshold, determining whether an overall QoS for a second group of IoT devices is greater than the threshold;
• as a result of determining that the overall QoS for a second group of IoT devices is greater than the threshold, directing an IoT application to the second group of IoT devices;
• and
• as a result of determining that the overall QoS for a first group of IoT devices is less than the threshold, refraining from directing the IoT application to the first group of IoT devices.

A network node configured to enable determining of an overall Quality of Service (QoS) of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, the network node comprising a processing unit and a memory, wherein the network node is configured to:

• transmit, to a device connectivity middleware (DCM) node, a first request message comprising an identifier (ID) of the IoT device;
• receive, from the DCM node, a first response message responsive to the first request message, the first response message comprising a network profile of the IoT device associated with said identifier;
• transmit, to a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), a second request message comprising the received network profile;
• receive, from the SCEF, a second response message responsive to the second request message, the second response message comprising a QoS measure associated with the network profile of the IoT device, wherein the SCEF acquired the QoS measure from a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) function which determined the QoS measure based on the network profile of the IoT device;
• transmit, to a Lightweight Machine-to-Machine (LWM2M) device, a third request message requesting availability information for the IoT device;
• receive, from the LWM2M device, a third response message responsive to the third request message, the third response message comprising the requested availability information;
• and
• determine the overall QoS of the IoT device based on the received QoS measure and the availability information.

An Internet of Things (IoT) service managing device configured to determine an overall QoS for a first group of IoT devices comprising a first IoT device and a second IoT device, the IoT service managing device comprising a processing unit and a memory, wherein the IoT service managing device is configured to:

• acquire a first QoS measure for the first IoT device;
• acquire first availability information for the first IoT device;
• acquire a second QoS measure for the second IoT device;
• acquire second availability information for the second IoT device;
• and
• determine an overall QoS for the first group of IoT devices based on the first QoS measure for the first IoT device, the second QoS measure for the second IoT device, the first availability information for the first IoT device, and the second availability information for the second IoT device;
• determine that the overall QoS for the first group of IoT devices is less than a threshold;
• after determining that the overall QoS for the first group of IoT devices is less than the threshold, determine whether an overall QoS for a second group of IoT devices is greater than the threshold;
• as a result of determining that the overall QoS for a second group of IoT devices is greater than the threshold, direct an IoT application to the second group of IoT devices;
• and
• as a result of determining that the overall QoS for a first group of IoT devices is less than the threshold, refrain from directing the IoT application to the first group of IoT devices.