What are the advantages of the LoRaWAN network protocol compared to the LoRa private protocol

Many applications of the Internet of Things now commonly use LoRa technology chips, but the LoRaWan network protocol is not used. After investigation, it is found that the reasons for not using the LoRaWAN network protocol are: the number of application points is small, the scale is small, and some are because of the high cost of LoRaWAN, high technical requirements, and can not be mastered in a short time, so only lora technology can be used. So, what are the advantages of the LoRaWAN network protocol compared with the LoRa private protocol, this article will reveal one by one.

LoRa is a physical layer transmission technology, and its typical characteristics are long distance and low power consumption. The rate is relatively low. The product corresponding to LoRa is a transceiver (tranciever) chip, such as semtech's SX1278. Using this technology and product is to input or read out your own business bits, and all the protocols and services to the upper layer are defined by themselves.

LoRaWAN is a set of protocol standards based on the LoRa physical layer transmission technology based on the MAC layer. With this standard, LoRaWAN becomes a network technology. The products corresponding to this technology include LoRaWAN nodes, LoRaWAN gateways and LoRaWAN protocols and data cloud platforms. When using LoRaWAN network products, there are two interfaces to the user: one is a data interface between the underlying sensor and the LoRaWAN node, and sensor data is transmitted to the network through this interface; the other is the LoRaWAN protocol and data cloud platform and the user’s There is a data interface between the applications to transfer data from the network to the application.

LoRaWAN provides features such as multi-channel access, frequency switching, adaptive rate, channel management, timing transmission and reception, node access authentication and data encryption, and roaming. In addition to the advantages of long transmission distance and low power consumption at the physical layer, compared to the transmission method using only the LoRa physical layer, it has the following advantages:

1. Good safety. 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 verified by multiple applications of various technology companies around the world, and their security is much higher than that of application developers’ temporary agreements. Provide protection for the continued security of the application.
2. There is compatibility. Different sensor nodes of different manufacturers can be connected to the same LoRaWAN network, and the LoRaWAN protocol and the interface of the data cloud platform are unified. For application developers, there is no need to customize all the sensors to shorten the research and development cycle, reduce research and development costs, and be able to deliver quickly.
3. Features continue to expand and upgrade. With the evolution of the LoRaWAN network standard, features such as positioning, roaming, broadcasting, and multicasting can continue to be added. It is equivalent to continuing to benefit from a public technology platform.
4. Large network capacity. Compared with point-to-point or point-to-multipoint applications based on the LoRa physical layer, the LoRaWAN network has a larger data capacity through multi-channel access, frequency switching, and adaptive rate. It can access more nodes and has strong scalability. It is conducive to application developers to develop larger-scale applications and continuous upgradeable applications.

Shenzhen NiceRF Wireless Wireless Technology Co., Ltd as a professional IoT solution provider and a professional manufacturer of industrial-grade long-distance wireless module research and development, provides customers with LoRaWAN standard solutions. We insist on producing high-quality and guaranteed modules. Provide customers with good technical support services.