A physical device, virtual device, service, or application
Network identity
Address used to communicate, normally an XMPP JID
Conceptual identity
Persistent identity of the thing independent of a connection
Data source
A named source tree exposed by a concentrator
Node
A physical or virtual item inside a data source
Partition
Optional discriminator when node IDs are reused in separate partitions
Sensor
Exposes read-only fields over time
Actuator
Exposes writable, typed control parameters/actions
Concentrator
One network identity that contains many sources/nodes
A standalone device uses its JID as the address for sensor/control operations. A concentrator operation adds source ID, node ID, and optional partition.
Query capabilities before calling an interface. A concentrator can expose sensor data, control, node management, commands, queries, events, and troubleshooting features independently.
Basic sensor and control models enable human UIs. Harmonized interfaces add agreed machine semantics for a use case. A device advertises the qualified interface identifiers it supports, allowing cross-vendor applications to interpret data without model-specific code.