LoRa Network Server: Integrated or Cloud Based

 

We all are now very well acquainted with the LoRaWAN Technology. Smart Homes, Smart Cities, Industrial Automation, Smart Health & Agriculture are some of the areas where this technology gained a foothold idiom.

As per the LoRaWAN Architecture, numerous end device sensors are communicating with LoRaWAN Gateways predominantly over LoRa Physical Layer for License free Sub Giga Hertz frequencies.

The Communication requires LoRa Network Server & Application Server because the LoRaWAN Gateway is just like a packet forwarder & acts as a bridge between the End Node Sensors & LoRa Network Server.

The LoRaWAN Gateway listens to all packets coming from the Sensors, in its vicinity & transfers it to Cloud Network. There is an IP connection between the Gateway & the LoRa Network Server.

Here the major key to understanding is why the Network Server is the master of the overall Network System.

The Network Server is the core of every LoRaWAN Network. It enables connectivity, management & monitoring of Devices, Gateways & End Sensor Nodes. The main objective of the LNS is the Reliability, Security & Scalability of Data Routing throughout the LoRaWAN Network.

It validates the authenticity and integrity of devices, de-duplicates uplinks, selects the gateways used for downlink, and sends ADR commands to optimize the data rate of devices. It can also register users, applications, devices, and gateways. This will allow for running a reliable, scalable, multi-tenant network, distributed over multiple regions worldwide.

There are two main types of Network servers, one is integrated & the other is Cloud-based. The Cloud Based Server uses several Datacenter Capabilities with multiple tenants and different Geographical Regions.

An Integrated LNS is one that runs on the same hardware platform as the LoRaWAN Gateway itself, reducing dependency on third-party LNS service providers & helping to realize some economies in individual deployments.

When deciding between an integrated LNS or a cloud hosted LNS (available from service providers such as TTN or Loraiot), it is important to consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of each solution. Generally, if the application only requires a small number of sensors in a localized environment then an Integrated LNS can be a good solution. However, the management and scalability of such a solution will always be more limited than a network (or a network of networks) orchestrated from the cloud.