AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN

Gateways serve as a bridge and carry LoRaWAN device data to and from a network server, usually over high-bandwidth networks like Wi-fi, Ethernet, or Cellular. The LoRa Basics Station—an open-source software maintained by Semtech Corporation and distributed via their GitHub repository—running on your gateway is a prerequisite for connecting your gateway to AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN. AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN supports LoRa Basics Station version 2.0.4 and above. LoRa Basics™ Station contains two sub protocols for connecting gateways to network servers, LoRaWAN Network Server (LNS) and Configuration and Update Server (CUPS) protocols. The LNS protocol establishes a data connection between a LoRa Basics Station compatible gateway and a network server. LoRa uplink and downlink messages are exchanged through this data connection. The CUPS protocol enables remote configuration and firmware update of gateways. AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN provides both LNS and CUPS endpoints for LoRaWAN data ingestion and remote gateway management respectively.

AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN supports all devices that comply to the 1.0.x or 1.1 LoRaWAN specifications standardized by LoRa Alliance. Before a LoRaWAN device can start sending data to a network server, a process called activation or join procedure is required. IoT Core for LoRaWAN supports both of the approved ways of device activation as specified by LoRa Alliance: OTAA (Over the air activation) and ABP (Activation by personalization).

LoRaWAN devices can send uplink (device-to-cloud) messages at any time. However, listening for downlinks (cloud-to-device) messages can consume battery capacity and reduce a battery’s lifetime. To support a variety of application requirements with different trade-offs between listening behavior and battery consumption, the LoRaWAN protocol supports three classes of devices (A, B, C). IoT Core for LoRaWAN supports all the three classes. Lastly, IoT Core for LoRaWAN also supports device profiles so that you can define device data rates, channels, and other settings which will be used when the IoT Core for LoRaWAN network server communicates with the device.

AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN provides you visibility into your network health with device and gateway metrics, and enables you to troubleshoot connectivity issues with your devices and gateways. You can query gateway connection status, device status, and receive LoRaWAN network metadata with uplink messages. The metadata included in the device uplink provides network attributes including data rate, frequency, spreading factor, and frame counter of each received message. The metadata also includes the signal strength and signal to noise ratio of the message as received by the gateway through which the device routes the message. When AWS IoT logging is enabled, AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN sends events about your devices and gateways to CloudWatch Logs. This enables you to troubleshoot issues related to device or gateway provisioning, as well as uplink or downlink events.

AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN customers can use US902-928, EU863-870, AS923-1 or AU915 frequency bands to connect LoRaWAN gateways and devices that are physically present in countries that support the frequency ranges and characteristics of these respective bands. US902-928 and EU863-870 bands are commonly used in the North America and European regions respectively. AS923-1 is commonly used in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan among other countries. AU915 is commonly used in Argentina, Chile, and other South American countries. The LoRa Alliance publishes the LoRa Alliance Regional Parameters to help companies decide which frequency bands to use in their region or country. The frequency band implementation for AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN follows the recommendations in this regional parameters specification document. These regional parameters are grouped into a set of radio parameters along with a frequency allocation that is adapted to the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) Band. We recommend customers work with their compliance teams or consult with local regulatory bodies to ensure they meet any applicable regulatory requirements.

AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN has a built-in integration with AWS IoT Core Rules Engine so device data can be automatically routed and transformed according to preset rules. This streamlines the process for application developers to translate proprietary LoRaWAN binary messages, so device data can be more easily integrated with cloud services. For downlink communication, AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN also supports sending command and control messages from the cloud application to the device.