LoRa technology, as a major tool in the field of IoT, is becoming increasingly popular and sought after. In LoRa network, LoRa gateway and LoRa terminal are two crucial roles. LoRa gateway can be understood as the bridge connecting LoRa terminal and the Internet, while LoRa terminal is the actual device that senses the environment and collects data. The two are inseparable and together form a complete LoRa IoT system.
LoRa Gateway: A Bridge to Connect the World
En Pasarela LoRa connects end devices to the server. It collects data from each LoRa end device, and then transmits the data to the server for processing and analysis. The coverage range of LoRa gateway generally varies from a few hundred meters to a few tens of kilometers, and its transmission distance is mainly affected by the common influence of buildings or other interfering factors. The LoRa gateway is also capable of communicating with multiple end devices at the same time, which provides stable and reliable connection for the whole IoT system.
When building a LoRa IoT system, choosing a suitable LoRa gateway is an important thing. An excellent LoRa gateway should have good data processing capability, stable communication performance, and flexible deployment methods. Proper configuration and management of LoRa gateway can realize efficient monitoring and easy management of IoT system.
LoRa terminals: Tools for real-time sensing and data collection
LoRa terminal is a device used to sense the environment and collect data. It transmit the collected data to the cloud for processing and analyzing by applying LoRa technology. After installing and deploying LoRa terminals, we can monitor and effectively manage a wide range of information in real time.
In real life, LoRa terminals can be used in smart agriculture, smart cities, industrial automation and other fields. Using LoRa gateway with LoRa terminal provides great convenience for data collection and transmission of IoT system.
Connection process between LoRa gateway and LoRa endpoints
The connection process between the LoRa gateway and the LoRa endpoint involves multiple steps, and the following is a simplified overview of the process:
Step 1. The initialization of the terminal device:
We need to power up the LoRa end device so that it can automatically initialize the hardware and software resources, including the LoRa module.
Step 2. Join the network:
The end device uses the LoRa wireless communication protocol to send a “join request” to the LoRa gateway, which contains the identification information of the end device. The whole joining process may involve key exchange and authentication, and only authorized devices can join the network.
Step 3. Gateway reception:
The LoRa gateway receives the join request from the end device and forwards it to the network server. LoRa gateway has the function of multi-channel and can receive “join request” from multiple end devices at the same time.
Step 4. Server processing:
When the server receives the request forwarded by the gateway, it will decrypt and verify the data. The server will check the join request of each end device, if everything is OK, the server will send a “join accepted” message to the end device.
Step 5. Confirmation and configuration:
Soon, the end device receives a “Join Accepted” message. This signifies that it can successfully “join”, and then it only needs to confirm that it has successfully joined the network. The server may send configuration information to the end device, and the end device needs to follow its instructions to complete the configuration work.
Step 6. Data transmission:
After waiting for the terminal device to join the network and complete the configuration, it can start transmitting data. The end device will send the data packets to the LoRa gateway, which will then forward these data to the server.
Step 7. Acknowledgement and retransmission:
There is an acknowledgement mechanism in the LoRa protocol which guarantees the reliability of the data. Once the server does not receive the packet or the packet is corrupted then it will ask the end device to retransmit the data. This is very important for data acquisition.
Step 8. To maintain the connection:
In order to maintain the network connection, the end device will periodically send heartbeat packets or maintenance packets to indicate to the network server that it is still active and maintains the connection status. If there is no data transmission for a long period of time, the network connection may be shut down by the router or server in some network protocols. Heartbeat packets can prevent this from happening.
Above is the process of connecting the LoRa gateway to the LoRa endpoints, which are managed by the LoRa protocol and the back-end logic of the web server.
As the core components of the LoRa IoT system, LoRa gateways and LoRa terminals play an important role in connectivity and data collection. Efficient monitoring and management of the IoT system can be realized by effectively managing and configuring LoRa gateways and terminal devices. With the continuous development of IoT technology, LoRa technology will surely usher in a broader development space and bring more convenience and benefits to the society.