This article is sourced from: Low Power Wide Area Network Review
With the gradual promotion of LoRa technology, many applications have adopted LoRa technology chips, but for various reasons, they have not utilized the LoRaWAN network protocol. So, what advantages does the LoRaWAN network protocol have compared to LoRa private protocols?
Many applications have adopted LoRa technology chips but have not used the LoRaWAN network protocol. Some do so because the number of application points is small, and the scale is limited, making the cost of using LoRaWAN high. Others find the technical threshold of LoRaWAN too high to master in the short term, thus opting for alternatives. However, as the scale of the Internet of Things continues to expand and applications become more widespread, the use of LoRaWAN will become an inevitable trend.
LoRa is a physical layer transmission technology characterized by long range and low power consumption, with relatively low data rates. The corresponding product for LoRa is the transceiver chip, such as Semtech’s SX1278. Using this technology and product means inputting or reading your business bits, with all higher-level protocols and services being defined by yourself.
LoRaWAN is a set of protocol standards primarily based on the MAC layer, built on top of the LoRa physical layer transmission technology. With this standard, LoRaWAN becomes a network technology. The products corresponding to this technology include LoRaWAN nodes, LoRaWAN gateways, and the LoRaWAN protocol and data cloud platform.
When using LoRaWAN network products, there are two user interfaces: one is a data interface between the underlying sensors and the LoRaWAN nodes, through which sensor data is transmitted to the network; the other is a data interface between the LoRaWAN protocol and data cloud platform and the user’s application, which transmits network data to the application.
LoRaWAN offers features such as multi-channel access, frequency hopping, adaptive data rates, channel management, timed transmission and reception, node access authentication, data encryption, and roaming. In addition to maintaining the advantages of long transmission distance and low power consumption at the physical layer, it has the following advantages over using only the LoRa physical layer for transmission:
1. Compatibility. Different sensor nodes from various manufacturers can connect to the same LoRaWAN network, and the interfaces at the LoRaWAN protocol and data cloud platform end are unified. For application developers, there is no need to customize all sensors, which shortens the R&D cycle and reduces development costs, enabling rapid delivery.
2. Large network capacity. Through multi-channel access, frequency hopping, and adaptive rates, the LoRaWAN network has a larger data capacity compared to point-to-point or point-to-multipoint applications based on the LoRa physical layer, allowing for more nodes to connect and strong scalability. This is beneficial for application developers to create larger-scale applications and continuously upgrade them.
3. Good security. The LoRaWAN network is designed with security mechanisms such as node access authentication and data encryption. These mechanisms have been reviewed by industry experts and validated through various applications by global technology companies, providing significantly higher security than temporary protocols developed by application developers. This ensures ongoing security for applications.
4. Continuous feature expansion and upgrades. As the LoRaWAN network standard evolves, features such as positioning, roaming, broadcasting, and multicasting can be continuously added. This is equivalent to benefiting continuously from a public technology platform.
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