How to choose a LoRaWAN gateway

An important reference for choosing a LoRaWAN gateway

　　 LoRaWAN has become the de facto standard for low-power wide area networks in the world. The gateway is responsible for connecting terminals and servers. It is the cornerstone of the stable operation of the network. The radio frequency is from SX1278 to SX1301, and the computing platform is from MCU to ARM+Linux... Today we summarized the five main points of how to identify high-quality LoRaWAN gateways:

　　1, select SX1301 

　　 The LoRa gateway based on SX1276/8 can only receive data packets of 8 nodes "serially", and the throughput rate of the gateway is extremely limited. SX1301 has a total of 8 channels of "frequency division multiplexing", which enables the LoRaWAN gateway to "parallel receive" data packets in 8 frequency bands, which greatly improves the throughput rate.

　　The gateway strictly follows the LoRaWAN protocol, which can bring at least the following 3 benefits:

 　　1) Low cost, free traffic.

　　 LoRaWAN has a good ecosystem and open source design, which greatly reduces the cost of equipment; like WiFi, it works in an unlicensed frequency band and has free traffic. 

　　 2) Standardization and interconnection.

　　LoRaWAN is an international standard, which realizes the "interconnection" of equipment from various manufacturers, which brings great flexibility and autonomy to users.

　　3) Intelligent, with its own positioning. 

　　 LoRaWAN's TDOA (time difference of arrival) can achieve more accurate positioning (20-200 meters); it does not rely on GPS /BLE / WiFi, therefore, greatly reduces hardware costs and achieves better energy saving.

　　3, choose Linux 

　　 The LoRaWAN gateway based on Linux will achieve the following two advantages:

 　　(1) Easy to expand

 　　 LoRaWAN Class B realizes low-power wake-up, and the official standard will be released soon; Linux makes the development and upgrade of the gateway more convenient.

 　　(2) Easy to use

 　　 Configure the gateway parameters, view the gateway operation log, and diagnose the gateway failure. . . . Linux realizes all this easily with unified operation and rich tools.

　　4, choose mature and stable

　　It is easy to implement a LoRaWAN gateway; the real challenge is to be mature and stable!

　　(1) Handling exception 

　　Experience shows: SX1301 shuts down and receives CRC_FAIL=100%. . . These exceptions need to be handled carefully.

 　　(2) Long-term operation 

　　 Build a LoRaWAN Internet of Things, 365 days x 24 hours of testing, statistical network stability.

 　　(3) Production process 

　　Electromagnetic compatibility is designed in accordance with IEC61000-4 standard, SMT high-precision production, metal chassis to reduce noise, matching antenna, high-quality power supply. 

　　 5. Choose ADR

 　　 ADR (Adaptive DataRate, rate adaptation), according to the distance between Nodes and Gateway: the closer, the Nodes will use a high rate; the farther, the Nodes will use a low rate.

　　ADR technology can bring 3 major benefits:

　(1) Higher speed: The short-distance Nodes use high speed, which greatly shortens the air time.

 　(2) Lower energy consumption: High-speed Nodes will sleep more and the battery life will be longer.

　(3) Easy expansion: Adding Gateway will speed up Nodes and significantly increase network bandwidth.

　　According to analysis, the throughput rate of the SX1301 gateway with ADR function is 18.6 times that of the SX1276/8 gateway.