How LoRaWAN public network support works - AWS IoT Wireless
Public LoRaWAN network conceptsPublic LoRaWAN network support architecture

How LoRaWAN public network support works

AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN supports the passive roaming feature, according to the LoRa Alliance specification. With passive roaming, the roaming process is entirely transparent to the end device. End devices that roam outside the home network can connect to gateways in that network and exchange uplink and downlink data using the application server. The devices stay connected to the home network throughout the entire roaming process.

Note

AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN supports only the stateless feature of passive roaming. Handover roaming is not supported. In handover roaming, your device will switch to a different carrier when it travels outside the home network.

Public LoRaWAN network concepts

The following concepts are used by the public network feature supported by AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN.

LoRaWAN network server (LNS)

An LNS is a standalone private server that can run on your premises or can be a cloud-based service. AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN is an LNS that offers services on the cloud.

Home network server (hNS)

The home network is the network that the device belongs to. The home network server (hNS) is an LNS where AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN stores the provisioning data of the device, such as the DevEUI, AppEUI, and session keys.

Visited network server (vNS)

The visited network is the network that the device gets coverage from when it leaves the home network. The visited network server (vNS) is an LNS that has a business and technical agreement with the hNS for being able to serve the end device. AWS partner, Everynet, acts as the visited network to provide coverage.

Serving network server (sNS)

The serving network server (sNS) is an LNS that handles the MAC commands for the device. There can be only one sNS for one LoRa session.

Forwarding network server (fNS)

The forwarding network server (fNS) is an LNS that manages the radio gateways. There can be zero or more fNS involved in one LoRa session. This network server manages the forwarding of data packets that are received from the device to the home network.

Public LoRaWAN network support architecture

The following architecture diagram shows how AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN partners with Everynet to provide public network connectivity. In this case, Device A is connected to the hNS (home network server) provided by AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN through a LoRa gateway. When Device A moves out of the home network, it enters a visited network, and is covered by the visited network server (vNS) provided by Everynet. The vNS also extends coverage to Device B which doesn't have a LoRa gateway to connect to.

You can view the public network coverage information in the AWS IoT console as described in the following section.

Image showing how AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN supports roaming to support devices that move out of home network, and to extend coverage to devices that don't have a gateway to connect to.

AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN uses a roaming hub functionality, in accordance with the LoRa Alliance LoRaWAN Roaming Hub Technical Recommendation. The roaming hub provides an endpoint for Everynet to route the traffic received from the end device. In this case, Everynet acts as a forwarding network server (fNS) to forward the traffic received from the device. It uses an HTTP RESTful API, as defined by the LoRa Alliance specification.

Note

If your device moves from its home network and enters a location where both your home network and Everynet can offer coverage, it uses first-come-first-serve policy to determine whether to connect to your LoRa gateway, or to Everynet's gateway.

When visiting a public network, the hNS and serving network server (sNS) are separated. Uplink and downlink packets are then exchanged between the sNS and hNS.