OccamSmart Packet Forwarder for LoRaWAN

The OccamSmart Packet Forwarder implements a LoRaWAN 1.0 Class A gateway based on the OccamSmart mPCIe Smart Gateway Card.

Getting Started

Binaries are currently available for Ubuntu 16.04 and Windows 10 on the Releases page.

Installation

Ubuntu 16.04

1. Download the latest release for Ubuntu 16.04.

2. (Optional) If you would like to install a systemd service file for the Packet Forwarder, run the install_service.sh script as root, e.g.

   sudo ./install_service.sh

3. Proceed to Configuration.

Windows

1. Download and extract the latest release for Windows 10.

2. Download the Cygwin x86_64 setup.

3. (Optional) If you would like to install the Packet Forwarder as a Windows Service, you will need to install the cygrunsrv package. On the Select Packages screen of the Cygwin setup, set the View to Not Installed, and search for cygrunsrv. Set the package to be installed by clicking the circular arrow symbol under New.

4. (Optional) To install the service, run the install_service.bat script. The service can then be managed using the Windows Services app or using Powershell. To uninstall the service, run uninstall_service.bat.

5. Complete the Cygwin setup, and all of the necessary dependencies should be installed.

6. Add the Cygwin bin directory, e.g. C:\cygwin\bin, to your Path.

7. Now you may continue to Configuration.

Configuration

To configure the Packet Forwarder to properly connect to the OccamSmart Smart Gateway Card, the configuration file global_conf.json (/var/lib/occamsmart/global_conf.json if the service was installed) will need to be edited.

1. serial_device_name

   Ubuntu 16.04

   On Ubuntu, the Gateway Card often enumerates as /dev/ttyACM0, which should be the default in global_conf.json. If the Packet Forwarder runs successfully, no configuration of this option is necessary

   In the case that it does not, to locate the correct value for the serial_device_name option look in /dev/serial/by-id:

    ls  /dev/serial/by-id
   

   The usb serial device will enumerate as something similar to

   usb-Microchip_Technology_Inc._MCP2200_USB_Serial_Port_Emulator_SOMEIDENTIFIER-if00

   So the serial_device_name in this case would be

    /dev/serial/by-id/usb-Microchip_Technology_Inc._MCP2200_USB_Serial_Port_Emulator_SOMEIDENTIFIER-if00
   

   {
       "gateway_conf": {
           "serial_device_name":   "/dev/serial/by-id/usb-Microchip_Technology_Inc._MCP2200_USB_Serial_Port_Emulator_SOMEIDENTIFIER-if00",
           "gateway_ID": "ABCDEF000000000",
           ...
       },
       ...
   }
   

   Windows 10

   On Windows 10, the serial device name can be found by opening Device Manager, and expanding Ports (COM & LPT). Look for a USB Serial Port.

   Because Windows numbers COM ports starting from COM1, while Cygwin numbers serial ttys starting from /dev/ttyS0, COM1 will actually be /dev/ttyS0, COM2 will be /dev/ttyS1, etc.

   So for example, if the Gateway Board has enumerated as COM4, your serial_device_name should look as follows:

   {
       "gateway_conf": {
           "serial_device_name":   "/dev/ttyS3",
           "gateway_ID": "ABCDEF000000000",
           ...
       },
       ...
   }
   

2. Gateway ID: You should configure a unique 16 hexadecimal digit Gateway ID for your gateway, e.g.

   {
       "gateway_conf": {
           ...
           "gateway_ID": "1234ABCD1234ABCD",
           ...
       },
       ...
   }
   

3. Frequency configuration

   The Smart Gateway Board is based on the Semtech SX1301, which contains two Radios, radio_0 and radio_1, and 8 channels, chan_multiSF_0 through chan_multiSF_7, each of which can be attached to one of the two radios.

   Each of the two radios is specified in the config file as below:

   { 
       "SX1301_conf": {
           ...
           "radio_0": {
               "enable": true,
               "type": "SX1257"
               "freq": 902700000, /* Center frequency (Hz) */
               "rssi_offset": -166.0,
               "tx_enable": true,
               "tx_freq_min": 902000000,
               "tx_freq_max": 928000000
           },
           ...
       }
   }

   The most important field is the freq field, which determines the base frequency in Hz which each attached channel's offset is added to.

   The channels are specified as below:

   { 
       "SX1301_conf": {
           ...
           "chan_multiSF_3": {
               /* Lora MAC channel, 125kHz, all SF, 902.9 MHz */
               "enable": true,
               "radio": 0,
               "if": 200000
           },
           ...
       }
   }

   The if field specifies the offset from the center frequency of the radio the channel is attached to. For instance, if radio_0 has freq set to 902700000, and chan_multiSF_3 has if set to 200000, then channel 3 will receive all LoRa packets sent at 902700000 + 200000 = 902900000 Hz, (902.3 MHz).

License

This software is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License, with some components licensed under the BSD or MIT licenses. See the LICENSE file.