Some Q&A for our Built-in Network Server
We are proud of the Built-In Network Server in our Commercial Gateways and it seems that you, our customers, are quite interested in it as well. In time we received a lot of questions about it. Here we will summarize them and provide for you the information that you most frequently are looking for.
What is the RAKwireless Build-In Network Server?
The Built-In Server is the one thing that you need to be able to make an independent network by yourself.
The key role in the deployment of sensors communicating through a LoRaWAN® Network is played by a Network Server. That one thing that is in charge of the management of the other gateways, the authorization of the sensors, and the exchange of data (uplink, downlink) between the sensors and the applications.
As the heart of the network, the central gateway with the enabled Built-In Server collects the data from all gateways and end-node devices in that network. It filters duplicate packets, performs security checks, and for the collected frames handle the authentication, LoRaWAN mac-layer (and mac-commands), communication with the Application Server, and the scheduling of downlink frames, and manage the network.
The data then goes into the “hands” of the Application Server. It is responsible for the device “inventory” part of a LoRaWAN infrastructure, managing of join-request, and the handling and encryption of application payloads.
The cool thing is that the application server is also there! The Built-In Server combines the network and the application servers inside your gateway, making it the one tool to manage all your data as well as managing the communication frequencies, data rate, and power for all devices.
Does the enabling of the Built-in Network Server affect the rest of the gateway's functionality?
The Built-in Server does not affect any other functionality of the device. The gateway may still be used as a regular gateway as it listens to its nodes as well as the other connected gateways and their nodes. Check out our RAKwireless Commercial Gateways use cases, or You have it, now what to do with it? article for more information.
How can I get data from my devices if I use the Built-in Network Server?
The Gateway itself has a Built-In LPP Decoder that allows the data from your nodes to be decoded in a human-readable format. However, this is possible only if the data form is sent in Cayenne LPP. If in your case it is not so you can use the many integration options to process your data.
You can use HTTP or MQTT endpoints to get your data as well. With the HTTP Post-Get Method, the data can be visualized directly on your website. If you are more comfortable with your data in a Cloud, do that! It is all possible.
Can I receive data on only my devices?
Filtering your nodes is possible and is one of the main features of the Built-In Server. You can filter incoming traffic and only forward packets from the desired nodes to optimize bandwidth usage over the backhaul. With the help of whitelisting you have the functionality to filter by OUI or Network ID. There is also a functionality that allows Nodes to be automatically dropped following a set of parameters. One can set threshold values for Discard Period, Join Period, Join Interval, and Join Count are some of the parameters that you have the option to make your gateway automatically drop your nodes.
Do you require Internet connectivity?
The Gateways can work as a separate network or connected to the cloud. The built-in functionality is sufficient to deploy a private network.
Is the Built-in Server featured in all RAK gateways?
All commercial gateways have this functionality. In other words, the built-in server is in all gateways from the WisGate Edge series.
Is the Built-In Server to be free?
The Built-in Network Server functionality of the gateway is going to be offered for free with every compatible gateway, starting 1st of January 2021. It will have its full functionality at no additional cost to the one paid for the gateway itself. We have decided that this is the best to give back to our customers and make our platform more open and popular.
We know that even if at first glance everything is clear, there are still questions that may pop up. For more information about the Built-In Network Server and other products of ours, you may visit the forum, where all kinds of discussions are on and our RAKstars are ready to help!
