How to deploy LoRaWAN gateway and sensor?

[NetDevOps]

I am new to Cisco IoT devices deployment and configuration so please assist me to understand the whole deployment of the IoT devices and LoRaWAN.

[Claudia de Luna]

Hi @NetDevOps 

Thats a pretty broad question but let me try to provide a high level overview.

I suspect you are asking about this because you have an IoT application in mind.

Monitoring temperature, parking spaces (you have to check out some of the IoT sessions at CiscoLive last year!), doors opening and closing...the list is very very long.

So you probably have a sensor in mind already.  Thats the first part.  Normally sensors don't require much or any set up.  You turn them on and they start transmitting.  Next you need your LoraWAN gateway. That does require some configuration.  If you have a Cisco IXM and you have configured other Cisco network devices the interface will be somewhat familiar to you.  It is iOS-ish.  Your gateway will define your backhaul. This is typically LTE, Wireless (Wifi) or Ethernet based.   Your Gateway will talk to your Network Server. This device (on prem or cloud) will collect all the data from your sensors. Depending on the sensors you have and what you are trying to do, your network server can also "tune" your devices.   The last component is the Application Server.  This is the "brains" of the operation.  This is what gets you the information you were after...the information you want from your sensors.

The post below will go into a bit more detail and might have some useful information for you.
https://gratuitous-arp.net/network-automation-skills-have-broad-applicability/

If you are new to IoT I strongly recommend you get a sensor of some kind (they abound on ebay), get a low cost LoraWAN gateway (also abound one bay) and use The Things Network (TTN) as your network server.  This will put all the pieces together for your. Once you are logging data to TTN (this is free, very easy, and lots of documentation is available which is why I'm suggesting it it) depending on what sensor you have there are a variety of Application servers (free and at cost) to choose from.

One additional note.  The LoraWAN frequency spectrum has been divided into bands and so you need to make sure your sensor and your gateway are using the same band or bands and that those bands are what you should be using in your country.
https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/docs/lorawan/frequencies-by-country/

[NetDevOps]

Thanks for your reply

This answer helps me to understand the whole process of IoT devices transmitting data and process it then we can easily read that data.
But, I have two questions

1) How I deploy LoRaWAN if I use Cisco IAV? Means what are the prerequisite like avoid interference, how many sensors connect to one LoRaWAN gateway.
2) How sensor connect to LoRaWAN? Are they work on IPv4 and IPv6?

[Claudia de Luna · Accepted solution]

Hi,

I don't have firsthand knowledge of IAV (I can't wait to try it out!). You've probably seen this little video  by one of Cisco's top experts in this space, Kevin Holcomb.  IAV basically makes provisioning your gateway and sensors very easy it looks like (with a little mobile app).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWjjIv-x4-8

The sizing of a LoraWAN deployment depends on the payload size of the data being sent, the number of sensors, and the frequency which which they send data (there are actually other key factors like region, spreading factor but those are pretty big ones) so its hard to provide limits like you may be used to seeing on the network side.

Interference will depend on your region.  For example in the US (Band US902-928) we like to avoid those old 900Mhz cordless phones. 

The LoRa Alliance  page  has lots of tutorials you should check out.
https://lora-alliance.org/about-lorawan/

2.  The sensors to the Gateway do not use IP.  They use a proprietary protocol using chirp spread-spectrum technology.
Some links you might find helpful.

https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/docs/lorawan/modulation-data-rate/ 

https://lora-developers.semtech.com/library/tech-papers-and-guides/the-book/intr/ 

Hope some of this is helpful.

Claudia