Caching Content on the Network Layer: A Performance Analysis of Caching Schemes in ICN-Based Internet of Things

Information-centric networking (ICN) is a promising paradigm shift that aims to tackle the traditional Internet architectural problems and to fulfill the future Internet requirements. The traditional Internet architecture is a host-oriented architecture (i.e., TCP/Internet protocol (IP) approach) due to which the Internet of Things (IoT) have been facing issues related to data dissemination across the distant locations. Therefore, a quick comprehension to enhance the communication for improving the content transmission services is of upmost importance. To deal with the challenges of traditional IP networks, the ICN paradigm was proposed which is different from traditional IP networking in terms of: 1) naming; 2) routing and forwarding; and 3) caching. One of the most common and important features of ICN architectures is in-network caching, which can significantly reduce content retrieval latency and improve data availability. Furthermore, in an ICN-based IoT environment, content caching at intermediate network nodes reduces the path stretch between end users and caches the content to meet future demands. This article compares and thoroughly investigates ICN-based caching strategies in terms of content retrieval latency, cache hit ratio, stretch, and link load, with a focus on IoT-based environments. Following a thorough simulation study, we discovered that ICN in-network caching is one of the most beneficial features for enhancing IoT-based networks.

I. Introduction

The conventional Internet architecture is based on Internet protocols (IPs), called host-oriented architecture, that focuses on identifying the communication endpoints by assigning IP address to them [1]. However, due to location dependency, data communication has been facing several critical issues, such as latency and network link congestion. Moreover, applications on the Internet have continued to evolve, shifting their focus from end points to the content. Users and applications are more interested in the content itself rather than the container of the content [2]. This mismatch of traditional Internet causes a number of issues in terms of data availability, scalability, mobility, and security.