the LoRaWAN server processes the LoRaWAN packets and send
them on to the nominated LoRa App Server
◦
since it may receive the same data from two or more
Gateways, the LoRaWAN Server picks the one with the best
signal strength to on-forward and rejects the others
the LoRa App Server receives the data and stores it in a temporary
database
◦
the LoRa App Server will then make the data available via one
or more standard formats (protocols) to an Application Server
◦
most LoRa App Servers support a version of an XML or JSON
format for accessing the data
◦
many also provide support for the MQTT (Message Queuing
Telemetry Transport) protocol, which is gaining wide use in the
internet of things (IoT) sector
the Application Server is the program responsible for displaying
and analysing the readings.
Normally the LoRaWAN Server and LoRa App Server reside on Internet
connected servers. In remote locations, the time taken for messages to
travel back to the LoRaWAN server can cause issues with processing the
data packets, so on some Gateways it is possible to run the LoRa WAN
Server and LoRa App server on the Gateway.
The TBS12 units have been tested with the following LoRa Suites:
The Things Network (free service)
Loriot (subscription service)
Brocaar LoRa APP Server (Open Source).
To make it easier for older (legacy) systems to bring in data from a LoRa
WAN system, Tekbox have implemented a LoRaWan Broker. The Broker
collects the data from the LoRa App Server, stores it in a short term
database and then makes it available via a number of standard formats to
third party systems. The Broker currently supports the LoRa Suites shown
above and can make data available in the following formats:
MQTT: clients can subscribe to the broker to pull down data
FTP: the broker can periodically export the data in CSV format to a
nominated server.
Support for XML and JSON formats is being added and should users
require a custom format, it can also be supported.
For further details on using the Broker, refer to the Tekbox LoRaWAN
Broker manual.
