LoRa is a wireless communication technology dedicated to long-distance and low-power consumption. Its modulation method greatly increases the communication distance compared to other communication methods. It can be widely used in the field of long-distance and low-rate IoT wireless communication in various occasions. For example, automatic meter reading, building automation equipment, wireless security systems, industrial monitoring and control, etc. It has the characteristics of small size, low power consumption, long transmission distance, strong anti-interference ability, etc. The antenna gain can be adjusted according to the actual application situation.

The LoRaWAN network architecture is a typical star topology. In this network architecture, the LoRa gateway is a transparent relay that connects the terminal device and the server. The gateway and the server are connected via a standard IP, while the terminal device uses a single hop to communicate with one or more gateways, and all nodes are bidirectional.

1．Lora advantages:

The LoRa network has the characteristics of long transmission distance, low power consumption, multiple networking nodes, strong anti-interference and low cost.

(1) Long transmission distance: sensitivity -148dBm, communication distance can reach several kilometers

(2) Low energy consumption: Aloha method connects only when there is data, and the battery can work for several years

(3) Multiple networking nodes: Flexible networking mode, can connect multiple nodes

(4) Strong anti-interference ability: The protocol has LBT function, based on the aloha method, with automatic frequency hopping and rate adaptation functions

(5) Low cost: unlicensed spectrum, low node/terminal cost

2．Lora Disadvantages:

The LoRa network has many advantages, but also certain disadvantages.

(1) Spectrum interference: With the continuous development of LoRa, the number of LoRa devices and network deployments continues to increase, and there will be certain spectrum interference between them.

(2) Need to build a new network: During the deployment of LoRa, users need to build the network themselves.

(3) Small payload: The LoRa transmission data payload is relatively small and has a byte limit.