LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) is a low-power, long-range wireless protocol designed for IoT devices. The Weble universal gateway LoRaWAN driver turns the gateway into a LoRaWAN end-device (sensor/transmitter) using a USB LoRaWAN module. The gateway can then send data over the LoRaWAN network to a LoRaWAN network server (e.g. The Things Network, Chirpstack, Loriot, Actility).
Important: This driver makes the gateway act as a LoRaWAN transmitter (end-device), not as a LoRaWAN gateway/concentrator. The gateway collects data from local protocols (Modbus, BACnet, M-Bus, etc.) and transmits it over LoRaWAN to a remote network server — similar to how a LoRaWAN sensor would send its readings.
This is useful for:
- Remote sites without internet — send building data (energy, temperature, status) over LoRaWAN to the cloud.
- Bridging protocols — route BACnet, Modbus, or M-Bus data to a LoRaWAN network server for centralized monitoring.
- Low-bandwidth telemetry — periodically transmit key values when full internet connectivity is not available or too expensive.
¶ 1. Getting started
¶ 1.1 Prerequisites
A LoRaWAN USB module must be connected to the gateway. The module communicates via serial port and handles the LoRaWAN radio stack (LoRa modulation, MAC layer, encryption).
¶ 1.2 Gateway configuration
Create a new gateway and select the LoRaWAN driver. Configure:
- Serial Port: select the LoRaWAN USB module from the auto-complete list.
- Authentication: choose
OTAA(recommended) orABP. - For OTAA: configure App EUI, App KEY, and Device EUI — these must match the device registration on your LoRaWAN network server.
- Band: select the frequency band for your region (e.g.
EU 868 MHz). - Uplink Data Rate: select the spreading factor and bandwidth (lower SF = faster but shorter range).
¶ 1.3 Sending data
Create addresses in the Emit tab to define the data to send. Each address is linked to a FPort (1-255) and encodes a value using the selected datatype (floatBE, int16BE, etc.).
When a value is written to an emit address (e.g. via a route from a Modbus sensor), the driver sends a LoRaWAN uplink message containing the encoded value on the specified FPort.
¶ 1.4 Receiving data
The Receive tab contains addresses for incoming downlink messages from the network server. These can be used to remotely control the gateway or send configuration updates.
¶ 2. Gateway parameters
¶ 2.1 General parameters
| Label | JSON Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | name | A descriptive name for this LoRaWAN gateway instance. |
| Cluster ID | cluster | Cluster identifier. Use 0 for single-gateway setups. |
| Serial Port | serialPort | Serial interface of the LoRaWAN USB module. Auto-complete lists detected interfaces. |
| BaudRate | serialPortBaudRade | Serial baudrate. Default: 115200. |
| Parity | serialPortParity | Serial parity: none (default), even, or odd. |
| Stopbit | serialPortStopBit | Stop bits: 1 (default) or 2. |
¶ 2.2 LoRaWAN parameters
| Label | JSON Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | authentification | Join method: OTAA (Over The Air Activation — encryption keys are negotiated with the network, recommended) or ABP (Activation By Personalization — keys are pre-configured). |
| App. EUI | appEUI | Application EUI (8 bytes, hex format). Identifies the application on the network server. |
| App. KEY | appKEY | Application Key (16 bytes, hex format). Used for OTAA encryption key derivation. |
| Device EUI | devEUI | Device EUI (8 bytes, hex format). Unique identifier for this device on the network. |
¶ 2.3 Radio parameters
| Label | JSON Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| bandId | bandId | Frequency band: EU 868 MHz or EU 868 MHz (Rx2: SF9). |
| Uplink Data Rate | uplinkDataRate | Spreading factor and bandwidth. Lower SF = higher bitrate but shorter range. Options from SF12/125kHz (250 bps, longest range) to FSK 50k (50000 bps, shortest range). |
| Tx Power Level (EIRP) | txPowerLevel | RF output power (0-16). Higher = longer range but more power consumption. Default: 16. |
| Duty Cycle Control | dutyCycleControl | Enable LoRaWAN duty cycle enforcement (mandatory in EU). Limits transmission time to comply with regulations. Default: enabled. |
| Class C Support | classCSupport | Enable Class A & C operation. Class C keeps the receive window open continuously for lower latency downlinks. Default: enabled. |
| Automatic Power Saving | autoPowerSaving | Enable automatic low-power mode when the module is idle. |
| CData Retransmissions | numberOfRetransimssions | Maximum retransmission attempts for confirmed uplinks when no acknowledgment is received. Default: 7. |
| Sync. RTC | syncRTC | Synchronize the LoRaWAN module's real-time clock with the gateway's system time. |
| Ping interval (ms) | pingInterval | Interval in milliseconds for keepalive pings to the LoRaWAN module. Default: 2000. |
¶ 2.4 Gateway JSON example
{
"serialPort": "/dev/serial/by-id/usb-IMST_iU880B-if00",
"serialPortBaudRade": 115200,
"serialPortStopBit": 1,
"serialPortParity": "none",
"authentification": "OTAA",
"appEUI": "F0-3D-29-AC-71-00-00-01",
"appKEY": "01-02-03-04-05-06-07-08-09-0A-0B-0C-0D-0E-0F-10",
"devEUI": "70-B3-D5-8F-F1-01-29-F7",
"bandId": 1,
"uplinkDataRate": 3,
"txPowerLevel": 16,
"dutyCycleControl": true,
"classCSupport": true,
"autoPowerSaving": false,
"numberOfRetransimssions": 7,
"syncRTC": true,
"pingInterval": 2000
}
¶ 3. Addresses
¶ 3.1 Address tabs
The driver organizes addresses into three tabs:
| Tab | Description |
|---|---|
| Emit | Uplink addresses — data sent from the gateway to the LoRaWAN network server. |
| Receive | Downlink addresses — data received from the network server. Read-only. |
| Informations | Module status addresses (battery level, RTC, HCI info). Auto-created, read-only. |
¶ 3.2 Address format
Emit and Receive addresses use the prefix %lora: followed by the data type and FPort number:
¶ Emit addresses
| Format | Description |
|---|---|
%lora:C<port> |
Confirmed uplink on FPort <port>. The network server sends an acknowledgment. Retransmitted if no ACK received. |
%lora:U<port> |
Unconfirmed uplink on FPort <port>. No acknowledgment, fire-and-forget. |
¶ Receive addresses
| Format | Description |
|---|---|
%lora:RC<port> |
Receive confirmed downlink on FPort <port>. |
%lora:RU<port> |
Receive unconfirmed downlink on FPort <port>. |
¶ Examples
%lora:C1— send confirmed data on FPort 1%lora:U10— send unconfirmed data on FPort 10%lora:RC1— receive confirmed data on FPort 1
¶ 3.3 Address parameters
| Label | JSON Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| FPort | (from name) | LoRaWAN port number (1-255). Different FPorts can be used to separate different data types or sensors. |
| Data type | (from name) | Confirmed (C) or Unconfirmed (U) transmission. |
| Value encode | datatype | Encoding format for the payload: floatBE, floatLE, int16BE, int16LE, int32BE, int32LE, uint32BE, uint32LE, object (JSON), utf8 (string), or number. |
| Description | description | Optional description. |
| Log | log | Logging mode. |
¶ 3.4 Information addresses
| Address | Description |
|---|---|
%lora:HCI/batteryLevelStatus |
Battery level of the LoRaWAN module (writable to update). |
%lora:HCI/targetTimeRTC |
RTC time on the module (writable to sync). |
%lora:LoRaWAN/... |
LoRaWAN stack information (join status, counters, etc.). |
¶ 4. Authentication methods
¶ 4.1 OTAA (Over The Air Activation) — recommended
The device joins the network by exchanging cryptographic keys with the network server. The App EUI, App KEY, and Device EUI must be registered on the network server before the device can join.
Benefits: keys are refreshed on each join, more secure, standard approach.
¶ 4.2 ABP (Activation By Personalization)
The encryption keys are pre-configured on both the device and the network server. The device does not need to perform a join procedure.
Benefits: simpler setup, works immediately. Drawback: keys never change, less secure.