INDP2: IOT & CLOUD

ARCHITECTING IOT DEVICE

PART 2: IOT DEVICE CONNECTIVITY

O. BEN RHOUMA, M. BEN ROMDHANE, F. TLILI

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

1
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT
© SUPCOM, © 2025
January 2025
 LECTURE OUTLINE
▪ Part 1: IoT Concepts & Architectures
▪ Part 2: IoT device Connectivity
▪ Part 3: IoT-device Power efficient design
▪ Part 4: IoT-device smart sensors
▪ Part 5: IoT-device digital processing

2
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENTS
Use Case eHealth Smart Home Transportation Smart Metering
Mobility Low mobility Low/no mobility High-speed No mobility
mobility
Latency tolerance Milliseconds (emergency Minutes Milliseconds to Seconds to hours
case) to hours (remote minutes
monitoring)

Traffic pattern Random Random Random Regular

Message size Few bytes Bytes to Kilo bytes Bytes Small

Device density Medium Low High Medium

Required 10 kbps (blood pressure kbps to Mbps 1–3 kbps 9.6–56 kbps
throughput monitor) to 91 kbps (depending on
(H.263 video-encoding installed devices)
streams)
3
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 TECHNOLOGIES

4
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
TECHNOLOGIES : RANGE, DATA RATE AND POWER CONSUMPTION

5
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 OBJECTIVES

The Internet of Things (IoT) starts with connectivity, but since IoT is a
widely diverse and multifaceted realm, we certainly cannot find a one-size-
fits-all communication solution. The objectives of this part consist in:

▪ Presenting an overview of short range and long range IoT standards and
architectures

▪ Presenting LoRaWAN architecture and communication protocols

6
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LECTURE OUTLINE

▪ Part 1: IoT concepts & archirectures

▪ Part 2: IoT device connectivity

– LPWAN architecture

– Short Range standards

– Long Range standards

▪ Part 3: IoT-device power efficient design

▪ Part 4: IoT-device smart sensors

▪ Part 5: IoT-device digital processing

7
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LPWAN ARCHITECTURE

Short range

Long range

Devices

8
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LPWAN CHARACTERISTICS

▪ Long Range: The operating range of LPWAN technology varies from a few kilometers in urban areas to over
10 km in rural settings. It can also enable effective data communication in previously infeasible indoor and
underground locations.

▪ Low Power: Optimized for power consumption, LPWAN transceivers can run on small, inexpensive batteries
for up to 20 years

▪ Low Cost: LPWAN's simplified, lightweight protocols reduce complexity in hardware design and lower device
costs. Its long range combined with a star topology reduce expensive infrastructure requirements, and the use
of license-free or licensed bands reduce network costs.

9
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 DEVICE’S OPERATION

The device can:

▪ Publish or Subscribe

▪ Be online or offline

▪ Manage messages of different formats

▪ Have different types of communication channels

▪ Have one channel or several data streams

10
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LECTURE OUTLINE
▪ Part 1: IoT concepts & archirectures

▪ Part 2: IoT device connectivity

– LPWAN architecture

– Short Range standards

▪ Bluetooth

▪ ZigBee

▪ WiFi

– Long Range standards

▪ Part 3: IoT-device power efficient design

▪ Part 4: IoT-device smart sensors

▪ Part 5: IoT-device digital processing

11
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 BLUETOOTH CHARACTERISTICS
▪ Short range communication technology

▪ Low cost

▪ Low power

▪ Wireless synchronization

▪ Internet connectivity
Class Maximum Power Range

1 100 mW ~100 m

2 2,5 mW ~10 m

3 1 mW ~1 m
12
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 BLUETOOTH AND IOT
BLE : Bluetooth Low Energy or Bluetooth Smart
▪ Offer significantly reduced power consumption.
▪ widespread integration in smartphones and many other mobile devices
▪ Connection improvement
▪ Low latency
Range ~ 150m
Latency ~ 6ms
Data rate 1 Mbits/s – 2 Mbits/s
Modulation GFSK at 2.4 GHz
Power consumption 10 mW
Peak current consumption < 15 mA
Sleep current ~1 µA
13
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 BLUETOOTH AND BLUETOOTH LOW ENERGY
Perfect personal IoT devices like wearables and fitness trackers
solution for
→Bluetooth has long been popular in the consumer electronics segment for its
ability to continuously stream large amounts of data.
Why? →BLE was designed specifically for low-powered IoT devices.
→BLE is best suited for devices that transmit low volumes of data in bursts, as
the devices are designed to save power when they are not transmitting data.

→Its application in industrial projects has been limited because of its very short-
range connectivity and high battery consumption.
→Still, the low price of this solution attracts developers, who have introduced
Weak hybrid architecture schemes with Bluetooth, which help to overcome the Bluetooth
points short-range restriction.
→These schemes use Bluetooth for connecting dozens of endpoint devices to
one master access device. In turn, the access device uses another, more
expensive technology (for example, cellular) for connecting to the back end.
14
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LECTURE OUTLINE
▪ Part 1: IoT concepts & archirectures

▪ Part 2: IoT device connectivity

– LPWAN architecture

– Short Range standards

▪ Bluetooth

▪ ZigBee

▪ WiFi

– Long Range standards

▪ Part 3: IoT-device power efficient design

▪ Part 4: IoT-device smart sensors

▪ Part 5: IoT-device digital processing

15
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 ZIGBEE CHARACTERISTICS
▪ Low power

▪ Low data rate 250 kbits/s

▪ Close proximity

▪ Range 10-100m line-of-sight

▪ Applications : wireless light switches, home energy monitors, traffic management

systems, and other consumer and industrial equipment that requires short-range low-rate

wireless data transfer.

16
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 ZIGBEE AND IOT

ZigBee RF4CE (Radio Frequency for Consumer Electronoics

▪ Richer communication

▪ Increased reliability,

▪ Enhanced features and flexibility,

▪ Interoperability,

▪ No line-of-sight barrier

▪ Lower cost devices : remote control of consumer electronics

▪ high security,

▪ robustness and high scalability with high node counts

17
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 ZIGBEE AND IOT
Perfect in-house applications and neighboring projects like smart
solution for lighting, security systems, HVAC systems and remote controls.

Mesh technologies such as ZigBee and Z-Wave use a system of

Why? interconnected nodes to carry small data packets over short to midrange
distances.

Weak → Mesh technology can be challenging in some implementations.

points → Interoperability between Zigbee gadgets needs to be preplanned.

18
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LECTURE OUTLINE
▪ Part 1: IoT concepts & archirectures

▪ Part 2: IoT device connectivity

– LPWAN architecture

– Short Range standards

▪ Bluetooth

▪ ZigBee

▪ WiFi

– Long Range standards

▪ Part 3: IoT-device power efficient design

▪ Part 4: IoT-device smart sensors

▪ Part 5: IoT-device digital processing

19
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 WIFI CHARCTERISTICS
▪ Alternative to wired technology
▪ Wireless connectivity
▪ IEEE 802.11 standard for WLAN

20
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 WIFI AND IOT
WiFi HaLow
▪ Long range (up to 1 km) connectivity (in-outdoor Wi-Fi)

▪ Robust connections with superior penetration through walls and other obstacles in home and industrial environments.

▪ Low power consumption for a multi-year battery operation

▪ Moderate data rates (up to several Mbps) with enough throughput to support TCP/IP, Internet discovery protocols
and diverse applications such as voice, low/medium resolution video

▪ Bi-directional monitoring and control of IoT clients enabling over the air software updates

▪ Large number of connected devices per access point, no need for repeaters and gateways

▪ Latest generation Wi-Fi® security - WPA3

→WiFi is longer range than Bluetooth and ZigBee
→More flexible
→Closer to networks
21
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 WIFI AND IOT
Perfect data-intensive uses and in-building or campus
solution for environments, like home automation and house energy
management.

→ Wi-Fi is 20 to 30 times quicker than Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), making it

Why?
a more suitable choice when the transmission of large files is needed.

→Transmitting large files comes at a cost of high power consumption.

→Wi-Fi was not designed expressly for IoT networks (though two recently
Weak developed IEEE standards, 802.11ah and 802.11ax, were).
points
→Sensors, key elements in IoT network development, are battery-based and
transmit small amounts of data over huge distances.
22
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LPWAN : NEW PROTOCOLS
▪ New connectivity solutions are being developed to tackle the challenges of more complex IoT projects like smart cities,
smart agricultural practices, smart metering and other entities, which demand a new level of connectivity standards.

▪ Low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) is designed for any network that allows communication over large distances
(at least 500 meters of signal range from the gateway device to the endpoint) using minimal power.

▪ These solutions have been designed for IoT; therefore, they’re designed to send small amounts of data at longer
intervals from a lot of endpoints, but within a long period (hence the need for low-power usage) and at longer distances.

LPWAN

LTE-M SigFox
Licensed Unlicensed
NB-IoT
Standards Standards LoRa
EC-GSM
23
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LECTURE OUTLINE
▪ Part 1: IoT concepts & archirectures

▪ Part 2: IoT device connectivity

– LPWAN architecture

– Short Range standards

– Long Range standards

▪ 3GPP Standards

▪ Non 3GPP Standards

▪ Part 3: IoT-device power efficient design

▪ Part 4: IoT-device smart sensors

▪ Part 5: IoT-device digital processing

24
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 3GPP
• The 3GPP (Generation Partnership Program) have developed a set of M2M deployment models and associated architectural
enhancements.
• The end-to-end communications, between the MTC (Machine Type Communication) Application in the User Equipment (UE)
and the MTC Application in the external network, uses services provided by the 3GPP system, and optionally the services
provided by a Services Capability Server (SCS).

eMTC : LTE
enhancements for MTC,
based on Release-12 (UE
Cat 0, new PSM, power
saving mode)
NB-IOT: New radio added to
the LTE platform optimized
for the low end of the market

EC-GSM-IoT : EGPRS
enhancements in combination
with PSM to make GSM/EDGE
markets prepared for IoT
25
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 MAIN EMTC, NB-IOT AND EC-GSM-IOT FEATURES

26
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LECTURE OUTLINE
▪ Part 1: IoT concepts & archirectures

▪ Part 2: IoT device connectivity

– LPWAN architecture

– Short Range standards

– Long Range standards

▪ 3GPP Standards
– LTE-M

– NB-IoT

– EC-GSM

▪ Non 3GPP Standards

▪ Part 3: IoT-device power efficient design
▪ Part 4: IoT-device smart sensors
▪ Part 5: IoT-device digital processing
27
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LTE-M CHARACTERISTICS
▪ LTE-M stands for Long Term Evolution for Machine-Type Communications.
▪ Evolution of LTE optimized for IoT
▪ It is used for IoT applications requiring small amount of data transfer using low bandwidth at low costs.
▪ It offers very good coverage
▪ It offers faster data rates
▪ LTE-M system is designed to be very power efficient and hence devices will offer longer battery life.
▪ It is easy to deploy and it is interoperable with LTE networks
▪ It supports capacity to accommodate large number of devices per cell
▪ Reduced bandwidth 1,4 MHz
▪ Excellent coverage: up to 11 Km
▪ Maximum throughput: 1 Mbps
28
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LTE-M
▪ Objectives
– Long battery life : ~10 years of operation depending on traffic and coverage needs
– Low device cost : comparable to that of GPRS/GSM devices
– Variable rates : ~10 kbps to 1 Mbps depending on coverage needs

▪ Deployment
– Can be in any LTE spectrum
– Coexist with other LTE services within the same bandwidth
– Support FDD, TDD and Half Duplex modes
– Reuse existing LTE base stations with software update

▪ Main feature enhancement

– Support for positioning
– Support for Multicast
– Higher data rates
– Support for VoLTE
29
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LECTURE OUTLINE
▪ Part 1: IoT concepts & archirectures

▪ Part 2: IoT device connectivity

– LPWAN architecture

– Short Range standards

– Long Range standards

▪ 3GPP Standards
– LTE-M

– NB-IoT

– EC-GSM

▪ Non 3GPP Standards

▪ Part 3: IoT-device power efficient design

▪ Part 4: IoT-device smart sensors

30 ▪ Part 5: IoT-device digital processing

Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 NB-IOT CHARACTERISTICS
▪ Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) is a 3GPP radio technology standard that adresses the requirements of the internet
of things (IoT). The technology provides improved indoor coverage, support of massive number of low
throughput devices, low delay sensitivity, ultra-low device cost, low device power consumption and optimized
network architecture.

31
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 NB-IOT
▪ Objectives
– Long battery life : ~10 years of operation depending on traffic and coverage needs
– Even lower cost than LTE-M
– Support for massive number of devices : at least 50.000 per cell
– Reduced data rate/bandwidth

▪ Deployment
– Support 3 modes of operation : Stand-alone, Guard Band, In-band
– Reuse existing base stations with software update

▪ Main feature enhancements

– Support for Multicast
– Power consumption and latency reduction
– Mobility and service continuity enhancements without increasing of power consumption

32
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 NB-IOT AND LTE-M COMPARISON
NB-IoT LTE-M

Bandwidth 180 kHz 1,4MHz

Peak data rate <100 384 kbps

UP/DL speed 62.5/27.2 kbps Up to 1 Mbps

Latency 1.5 – 10s 50 – 100 ms

Battery life +10 years 10 years

Power consumption Best at low data rates Best at medium rates

Frequency deployment flexible In LTE band

Penetration in indoors Excellent Good

33
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LECTURE OUTLINE
▪ Part 1: IoT concepts & archirectures

▪ Part 2: IoT device connectivity

– LPWAN architecture

– Short Range standards

– Long Range standards

▪ 3GPP Standards
– LTE-M

– NB-IoT

– EC-GSM

▪ Non 3GPP Standards

▪ Part 3: IoT-device power efficient design

▪ Part 4: IoT-device smart sensors

34 ▪ Part 5: IoT-device digital processing

Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 EC-GSM CHARACTERISTICS
EC-GSM-IoT Objectives: Adapt and leverage existing 2G infrastructure to provide efficient and reliable IoT
connectivity over an extended GSM Coverage

▪ Long battery life: ~10 years of operation with 5 Wh battery (depending on traffic pattern and coverage extension)

▪ Low device cost compared to GPRS/GSM device

▪ Variable data rates:

– GMSK: ~350bps to 70kbps depending on coverage extension

– 8PSK: up to 240 kbps

▪ Support for massive number of devices: ~50.000 devices per cell

▪ Improved security adapted to IoT constraint.

▪ Leverage on the GSM/GPRS maturity to allow fast time to market and low cost

▪ Excellent coverage : 15 km
35
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LECTURE OUTLINE
▪ Part 1: IoT concepts & archirectures

▪ Part 2: IoT device connectivity

– LPWAN architecture

– Short Range standards

– Long Range standards

▪ 3GPP Standards

▪ Non 3GPP Standards

– Sigfox

– LoRa

▪ Part 3: IoT-device power efficient design

▪ Part 4: IoT-device smart sensors

▪ Part 5: IoT-device digital processing

36
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 SIGFOX TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
• SIGFOX uses a UNB (Ultra Narrow Band) based radio technology to connect devices to its global network. UNB
provides scalable, high-capacity network, with very low energy consumption, while maintaining a simple and
easy to rollout star-based cell infrastructure.

• The network operates in the globally available ISM license-free bands (868MHz in Europe and 902MHz in the
USA) and co-exists with other radio technologies, but without any risk of collisions or capacity problems.

• Communication on SIGFOX is secured in many ways, including anti-replay, message scrambling, sequencing,
etc. SIGFOX only acts as a transport channel, pushing the secure data towards the customer's IT system.

• UNB allows the use of small and simple antennas, but more importantly, it allows devices to use inexpensive
and easily customizable antennas.

• The SIGFOX protocol is compatible with existing transceivers and is actively being ported to a growing number
of technical platforms.

37
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 SIGFOX FEATURES
− Low cost and thus allowing for any sort of object to be connected in high volumes

− Low energy consumption to increase battery life expectancy, lower maintenance (TCO), minimize climate
impact

− Ease of use, both in regards to integration in objects but also in regards to object management and
integration with IT systems

− Long range, to avoid having to deploy complex local infrastructures and to reach all objects

− Operated, to facilitate service level monitoring and object management

− Frequency-independent, for world-wide coverage and adaptability

− Penetration should be deep and allowing for underground or or otherwise stringent structural environment
connectivity

38
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 SIGFOX STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS

39
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 SIGFOX COMMUNICATION SPECIFICATIONS
Uplink Downlink
− Channel mask: 100 Hz (600 Hz in USA) − Channel mask: 1.5 kHz

− Data rate: 100 baud (600 baud in USA) − Throughput: 600 baud

− Modulation: DBPSK − Modulation: GFSK

− Uplink transmission power: Complies with local regulations − Transmission power Downlink: 500 mW (4W in USA)

− Link budget: 155 dB (or better) − Link budget: 153 dB (or better)

− Central frequency accuracy: Not relevant, provided that there − Central frequency accuracy: The downlink central transmission
is no significant frequency drift in an uplink packet rate defined by the network as a function of the

− UNB in Europe: limited frequency band from 868.00 to 868.60 corresponding uplink transmission

MHz, with a maximum output power of 25 mW and a − UNB in Europe: limited frequency band of 869.40 to 869.65
maximum average transmission time of 1% MHz, with a maximum output power of 500 mW and a
maximum average transmission time of 10%

40
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 SIGFOX MESSAGE SPECIFICATIONS
− Operated in the ISM bands (868/915 MHz): Sub-GHz + Ultra Narrow Band

− Two-way communication: 12 bytes max per message, 140 messages per day max

− ISM bands regulation requires for every device to respect a 1% duty cycle use which means 36 secs per hour

− A SIGFOX message takes up to 6 sec to emit => 6 messages per hour max

− When sending a message, the device will stay ~20 secs in Rx mode to receive the downlink response. The
downlink message can be set as auto message (~ack) or be sent an instant response from the application IS

− Once a message is sent & processed by the SIGFOX cloud, it can be retrieved by using a REST API or an HTTP
callback. Few seconds are assumed between transmission start and callback to the application server

− The data pushed by callback is composed of the transmitted raw payload (up to 12 Bytes) and various
metadata: device ID, timestamp, the station which received the message, signal/noise & RSSI values.
41
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 SIGFOX PROTOCOL STACK
− RF layer: This layer supports frequency assignment and transmission / reception power
requirements at SigFox endpoints and base stations.

− PHY layer: This layer takes care of inserting the preamble (at the transmission end) and its
Application
removal (at the end of reception). It uses BPSK modulation in the uplink and GFSK Layer
modulation in the downlink. MAC
Layer
− MAC layer: manages the management of MAC messages. It prepares frames in uplink and
PHY
downlink formats. Mainly the Sigfox system is used for uplink transmissions. It can also be
Layer
used for downlink transmissions using a piggy backing concept.
RF
− Application layer: different applications are supported in this technology. There are various Layer

interfaces / protocols between WAN (Cloud) and servers to support the same protocol, eg
SNMP, HTTP, MQTT, IPv6 etc.
42
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 SIGFOX NETWORK TOPOLOGY

SIGFOX’s network is designed around a hierarchical structure:

▪ UNB modems (LEP) communicate with base stations, or cells, covering large areas of several hundred
square kilometers,
▪ Base stations (LAP) route messages to servers,
▪ Servers check data integrity and route the messages to your information system
43
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 SIGFOX MAC LAYER

▪ Manages the assembly of the MAC frame (during transmission) and disassembly of the MAC frame
(during reception) according to the uplink and downlink structure.
▪ Implementation of the UNB is done for the transmission of messages of the uplink. The
transmission of downstream messages can be implemented using piggy backing or broadcasting.
▪ Handles End Device Authentication.
▪ Supports error detection using FCS.

44
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 SIGFOX MODULE DESIGN

ADI Sigfox RF Module

TCXO

SPI
Microprocessor
Interface Rx Combined
ADuCM3029
Header Radio Tx/Rx Tx/Rx
Chip Antenna
Pins ADF7030-1 Tx matching
network
Sigfox Radio
DBPSK
stack drivers

ADF7030-1 RF Transceiver
ADuCM3029 Low Power Micro • Fully compliant Sigfox RF performance
• ARM Cortex M3 • -128dBm sensitivity in downlink ensures
• 256kB Flash, 64kB SRAM maximum range
• <38uA/MHz in active mode and <750nA • 5nA sleep current for long battery life
in standby • Industry leading phase noise and blocking
• EEMBC ULPBench score > 250 ensures highly robust network
45
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 SIGFOX MODULE : SI868_25MW

Si868
module

Maximum Downlink
payload size of message size:
uplink messages: 8 bytes
46 12 data bytes.
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LIBELIUM SIGFOX TECHNOLOGY

− Frequency: ISM 868 MHz

− TX Power: 14 dBm SigFox Module
− Chipset consumption:
− TX: 49 mA @ +14 dBm
− RX: 13 mA
− Receive sensitivity: -126 dBm
− ETSI limitation: 140 packets of
12 bytes, per module per day
− Range: Typically, each base
station covers some km. Check SigFox Node
the Sigfox Network.
− Sigfox certificated: Class 0u
(the highest level)

SigFox Gateway
47
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LECTURE OUTLINE
▪ Part 1: IoT concepts & archirectures

▪ Part 2: IoT device connectivity

– LPWAN architecture

– Short Range standards

– Long Range standards

▪ 3GPP Standards

▪ Non 3GPP Standards

– Sigfox

– LoRa

▪ Part 3: IoT-device power efficient design

▪ Part 4: IoT-device smart sensors

▪ Part 5: IoT-device digital processing

48
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORA TECHNOLOGY
•LoRa (Long Range) low power wireless standard intended for providing a cellular style low data
rate communications network.
•LoRa provides intermittent low data rate connectivity over significant distances. The radio
interface has been designed to enable extremely low signal levels to be received, and as a result
even low power transmissions can be received at significant ranges.
•LoRa devices offer compelling features for IoT applications including long range, low power
consumption and secure data transmission.
•LoRa Technology can easily plug into existing infrastructure and enables low-cost battery-
operated IoT applications.

49
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 KEY FEATURES OF LORA TECHNOLOGY
Supports millions of messages per base station :
Connects devices up to 15Km in rural High capacity
areas and penetrates dense urban or
deep indoor environments :
Long range
Reduces infrastructure investment,
Requires minimum energy battery investment expense :
Low Power Low cost

Features end-to-end AES218 encryption,

Enables GPS- free tracking applications : mutual authentification, integrity
Geolocalisation protection and confidentiality :
Secure

Maintains communication with devices in Offers device interoperability and global availability
motion without strain power consumpltion : of LoRaWAN networks for speed deployment of IoT
Mobile applications :
50
Standardized
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 ROADMAP

▪ 2010 : Cycleo developed LoRa technology

▪ 2013 : Semtech develop LoRaWAN network

▪ 2015 : Creation of LoRa alliance

▪ Jun 2015 : Amsterdam become the first city covered by the LoRaWAN network

▪ End of 2016 : All France territory covered by LoRaWAN network:Bouygues Telecom

51
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORA NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
End Device Gateway Application Server

CLOUD
Storage
Intelligence
Analytics

52
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORAWAN : THE DNA OF IOT

Devices : LoRa modulation is

a wireless modulation used Network server : Gateways
to create the long range Gateways : sensors send information via Wi-Fi, Application server :
communication capture and transmit Ethernet or Cellular to the Applications interpret the
data to gateways over network server, which is data collected by LoRa
End-Nodes : Tranceivers distances near and far, responsible of network enabled devices,
configured with LoRa indoor and outdoor, with management functions applying techniques like
Technology are embedded minimal power (dynamic frame routing, machine learning and
into end-nodes (sensor requirement adaptive rate control, traffic artificial intelligence
devices) management, and
administration)
53
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORA PARAMETERS

Bit Rate

Symbol Rate

54
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 INFLUENCE OF SF ON CONNECTIVITY PERFORMANCE

SF Rb Rb range

55
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 INFLUENCE OF SF ON CONNECTIVITY PERFORMANCE
range
→ Increase of SF(Spreading
factor), decrease of BitRate but
the connexion is maintained

→ Decrease of SF(Spreading
factor), increase of BitRate and
decrease of energy consumption

SF
56
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 RSSI VARIATION OF SF AND BW

The gap between specified and

observed RSSI increases with SF

57
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORA MODULATION TECHNOLOGY
▪ LoRa communication is SS (spread-spectrum)
technique that uses wideband linear frequency
modulated pulses to encode information

▪ SS technique is robust to channel noise and

resistant to long term relative frequency error,
multi-path fading and Doppler effects

▪ Demodulate below noise floor – 30 dB better than

FSK

▪ Better sensitivity than FSK (better Eb/No)

▪ More robust to interference, noise and jamming

58
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 SPREAD SPECTRUM PRINCIPLES
▪ SS modulation process is achieved by multiplying the
wanted data signal with a spreading code (chip
sequence) that occurs at a much faster rate than the
data signal and thus spreads the signal bandwidth
beyond the original signal bandwidth.

▪ By increasing the bandwidth of the signal we can

compensate for the degradation of the signal-to-noise
ratio of a radio channel

▪ At the receiver, the wanted data signal is

recovered by re-multiplying with a locally
generated replica of the spreading sequence.

▪ This multiplication process in the receiver

effectively compresses the spread signal back
to its original un-spread bandwidth
59
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 KEY PROPERTIES OF LORA MODULATION
▪ Bandwidth Scalable: can be used for both narrowband frequency hopping and wideband direct sequence applications.
▪ Constant Envelope / Low-Power: constant envelope modulation scheme allowing the use of low-cost and low-power high-
efficiency PA stages.
▪ High Robustness: Due to the high BT product (BT > 1) and their asynchronous nature, a LoRa signal is very resistant to
both in-band and out-of-band interference mechanisms.
▪ Multipath / fading Resistant: The chirp pulse is relatively broadband and thus LoRa offers immunity to multipath and fading,
making it ideal for use in urban and suburban environments
▪ Doppler Resistant: Doppler shift causes a small frequency shift in the LoRa pulse which introduces a relatively negligible
shift in the time axis of the baseband signal.
▪ Long Range Capability: with the proven robustness to interference and fading mechanisms, the improvement in link budget
can readily translate to x4 and beyond enhancement in range.
▪ Enhanced Network Capacity: Orthogonal spreading factors enables multiple spread signals to be transmitted at the same
time and on the same channel without RX sensitivity degradation.
▪ Ranging / Localization: Ability to linearly discriminate between frequency and time errors and thus ideally suited for ranging
and localization applications such as real-time location services.
60
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORAWAN SPECIFICATION

▪ The LoRaWAN specification defines three device types. All LoRaWAN devices must implement Class A, whereas
Class B and Class C are extensions to the specification of Class A devices.

▪ Class A devices “ALL” :

– support bi-directional communication between a device and a gateway

– The module listens only after end device transmission

– The device opens two receive windows at specified times (1sec and 2 sec) after uplink transmission (from device to server)

61
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORAWAN SPECIFICATION
▪ Classe B devices “BEACON”
– Class B devices extend Class A by adding scheduled receive windows for downlink messages from the server.
– Using time-synchronized beacons transmitted by the gateway, the devices periodically open receive windows.
– The module listens at a regularly adjustable frequency

▪ Classe C devices “Continuous”

– Class C devices extend Class A by keeping the receive windows open unless they are transmitting
– The module listens permanently except when sending data

62
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 CLASS A
Device Gateway

Listening period : varies

according to SF
•SF7 : 5,1 ms
•SF8 : 10,2ms
•…
→Class A provides the lowest
power options for end-point : The
After sending
1 packet, the most energy efficient
device opens
2 windows →Communication initiated by the
device
→Class A must be supported by all
the devices

63
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 CLASS B
Device Gateway

Listening period : varies

Beacon’s begin according to SF

RX1

Listening period
The Device RX2
opens N →Class B provides optimized
Listening period
reception RX3
energy consumption
windows at
regular →Communication initiated by
intervals Listening period
the gateway
RXN

Beacon’s end

64
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 CLASSE C
Device Gateway
→The device is permanently listening
→The device closes the reception window
during transmissions
Reception
window
always open

Reception
TX →Class C provides more
window is
close energy consumption

Reception
window is
open

65
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORA FRAME STRUCTURE

66
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORA FRAME STRUCTURE
▪ Physical Layer Frame: At PHY layer, a LoRa frame starts with a preamble. Apart from the synchronization
function, the preamble defines the packet modulation scheme, being modulated with the same spreading factor as the
rest of the packet. Typically, the preamble duration is 12.25 Ts and is followed by a PHY Header and a Header CRC
that together are 20-bits long and are encoded with the most reliable code rate of , while the rest of the frame is
encoded with the code rate specified in the PHY Header. The PHY header also contains such information as payload
length and whether the Payload 16-bit CRC is present in the frame. Specifically, in a LoRa network, only uplink frames
contain payload CRC. PHY payload contains MAC Frame

▪ MAC Layer Frame: The packet processed in the MAC layer consists of a MAC Header, a MAC Payload, and a
Message Integrity Code (MIC). MAC header defines protocol version and message type, i.e., whether it is a data or a
management frame, whether it is transmitted in uplink or downlink, whether it shall be acknowledged. MAC Header can
also notify that this is a vendor specific message. In a join procedure for end node activation, the MAC Payload can be
replaced by join request or join accept messages. The entire MAC Header and MAC Payload portion is used to
compute the MIC value with a network session key (Nwk_SKey). The MIC value is used to prevent the forgery of
messages and authenticate the end node.

67
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORA FRAME STRUCTURE
▪ Application Layer Packet: The MAC Payload handled by the Application layer consists of a Frame Header, a
Frame Port, and a Frame Payload. The Frame Port value is determined depending on the application type.
The Frame Payload value is encrypted with an application session key (App_SKey). This encryption is based
on the AES 128 algorithm.

▪ Frame Header contains the following informations.

– Device address which contains two parts. The first 7 bits identify the network, other bits are assigned
dynamically during joining the network and identify the device in a network.
Network Identifier Network Adress of the End Device

7 bits 25 bits
– Frame Control 1 byte for network control information, such as whether to use the data rate specified by the gateway
for uplink transmission, whether this message acknowledges the reception of the previous message, whether the
gateway has more data for the mote.
– Frame counter for sequence numbering
– Frame options for commands used to change data rate, transmission power and connection validation etc.
68
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 UPLINK/DOWNLINK MESSAGES FORMAT
▪ Uplink messages are sent by end-devices to the network server relayed by one or many gateways.
▪ Uplink messages use the LoRa radio packet explicit mode in which the LoRa physical header (PHDR) plus a header
CRC (PHDR_CRC) are included. The integrity of the payload is protected by a CRC.
▪ The PHDR, PHDR_CRC and payload CRC fields are inserted by the radio transceiver

▪ Each downlink message is sent by the network server to only one end-device and is relayed by a single gateway.
▪ Downlink messages use the radio packet explicit mode in which the LoRa physical header (PHDR) and a header CRC
(PHDR_CRC) are included.

69
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORAWAN NETWORK SECURITY
LoRaWAN knows three distinct security keys AES-128 bits:

▪ The AppKey application key is only known by the device and by the application.
▪ An AppSKey application session key is generated when a device joins the network and ensures the security and privacy of data
transmitted across the network.
▪ A NwkSKey network session key is also generated when a device joins the network and ensures the authenticity of the devices on
the network. It is used to validate the integrity of each message by its message integrity code (MIC).
▪ The NwkSKey key is shared with the network, while the AppSKey is kept private. These session keys will be used for the duration of the
session.
▪ Frame counters: Prevent repeat attacks when an attacker re-emits a previously recorded message. The network and the device must
reject messages containing a frame counter that is less than the expected frame counter.
70
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 IDENTIFICATION OF AN END DEVICE IN LORA
acronym description

DevAdrr End-device Adress (32bits)

DevEUI End-device identifier (64bits)

AppEUI A global application identifier in IEEE EUI6 adress space that identifies the
owner of the end-device

NwkSKey Network session key, A key used by the network server and the end-device
to calculate and verify the message integrity code of all data messages to
ensure data integrity.

AppSKey Application Key, A key used by the network server and end-device to
encrypt and decrypt the payload field of data messages.

71
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 END DEVICE ACTIVATION BY OTAA METHOD
Activation d'un équipement par OTAA

▪ At each new session, the session keys are renewed. All these mechanisms are managed by the
management and registration servers.
▪ The concentrators relay all the data transmitted by the devices present in their area of coverage,
whether activated or not.
72
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORA PROVIDERS ECO-SYSTEM

LoRaWAN LoRaWAN End

Chipsets Modules Devices Base Station Network server Application server

73
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORA TRANSCEIVER: SEMTECH SX1272
Long Range, Low Power RF Transceiver 860-1000MHz with LoRa® Technology
▪ LoRa Modem
▪ 157 dB maximum link budget
▪ +20 dBm at 100 mW constant RF output vs. V supply
▪ +14 dBm high efficiency PA
▪ Programmable bit rate up to 300 kbps
▪ High sensitivity: down to -137 dBm
▪ Bullet-proof front end: IIP3 = -12.5 dBm
▪ 89 dB blocking immunity
▪ Low RX current of 10 mA, 100 nA register retention
▪ Fully integrated synthesizer with a resolution of 61 Hz
▪ FSK, GFSK, MSK, GMSK, LoRa and OOK modulation
▪ Built-in bit synchronizer for clock recovery
▪ Preamble detection
▪ 127 dB Dynamic Range RSSI
▪ Automatic RF Sense and CAD with ultra-fast AFC
▪ Packet engine up to 256 bytes with CRC
▪ Built-in temperature sensor and low battery indicator
74
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORA RADIO MODULE EXAMPLE: IM880A

Key Features

75
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORA CONCENTRATOR: SEMTECH SX1301
Base Band Processor for Data Concentrator for Long Range Communication Network

▪ Up to -142.5 dBm sensitivity with SX1257 Tx/Rx front-end

▪ 70 dB CW interferer rejection at 1 MHz offset
▪ Able to operate with negative SNR, CCR up to 9 dB
▪ Emulates 49x LORA demodulators and 1x (G)FSK demodulator
▪ Dual digital TX&RX radio front-end interfaces
▪ 10 programmable parallel demodulation paths
▪ Dynamic data-rate (DDR) adaptation
▪ True antenna diversity or simultaneous dual-band operation
76
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 LORA : LINK BUDGET

77
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT © 2025
 INDP2: IOT & CLOUD

ARCHITECTING IOT DEVICE

PART 2: IOT DEVICE CONNECTIVITY

O. BEN RHOUMA, M. BEN ROMDHANE, F. TLILI

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

78
Architecting IoT device, January 2025 COPYRIGHT
© SUPCOM, © 2025
January 2025