Interworking LPWAN end nodes in mobile operator network
It is recognized herein that current cellular radio access technologies lack capabilities for both long range and low power usage devices. Public LPWAN networks are described herein that may use multiple network servers. Further, the network may distribute IoT devices (e.g., LoRa end nodes) across network servers. This may allow the public IoT networks to balance loads across network servers, to allow for redundancy of network servers, to provide differentiated services across network servers, and to permit roaming of end nodes across different public IoT networks, among other things.
1. An apparatus comprising a processor, a memory, and communication circuitry, the apparatus being connected to a low power wide area network (LPWAN) via its communication circuitry, the apparatus further comprising computer-executable instructions stored in the memory of the apparatus which, when executed by the processor of the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
receiving a join request, via a gateway, from an end node, wherein the join request comprises an indication of a class of the end node; and
determining, based on the join request and the class of the end node, a network server to manage the end node.
2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein the join request includes an indication of the network server that is preferred by the end node.
3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein the apparatus further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the processor of the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform further operations comprising:
receiving the join request, via a plurality of gateways, from the end node;
receiving a received signal strength (RSS) indication from each of the plurality of gateways such that each gateway is associated with a respective RSS;
based on the RSS indications, selecting a gateway from the plurality of gateways to serve the end node; and
sending a join accept message, via the selected gateway, to the end node during a receive window of the end node.
4. The apparatus as recited in claim 3 , wherein the apparatus further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the processor of the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform further operations comprising:
based on the join request, sending an uplink report to a location management network function, wherein location information associated with the end node can be determined from the uplink report, and one or more network functions can subscribe to the location information.
5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein the network server is determined to manage the end node based on a load that is balanced across a plurality of network servers.
6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is a default network server, and the determined network server is a managing network server that is different from the default network server.
7. The apparatus as recited in claim 6 , the operations further comprising:
receiving a transmission from a second end node;
after the network server is determined, determining whether the second end node has joined the LPWAN;
if the second end node has already joined the LPWAN, forwarding the transmission from the end node to the managing network server; and
if the second end node has not joined the LPWAN, processing the transmission.
8. An apparatus comprising a processor, a memory, and communication circuitry, the apparatus being connected to a low power wide area network (LPWAN) via its communication circuitry, the apparatus further comprising computer-executable instructions stored in the memory of the apparatus which, when executed by the processor of the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
receiving a join request, via a gateway, from an end node, wherein the join request comprises an indication of a class of the end node;
receiving, from a network management function, load target information associated with each network server in the LPWAN; and
assigning, based on the join request, the class of the end node, and the load target information, a network server to manage the end node.
9. The apparatus as recited in claim 8 , wherein the load target information is qualitative or associated with a numerical index.
10. An apparatus comprising a processor, a memory, and communication circuitry, the apparatus being connected to a network via its communication circuitry, the apparatus further comprising computer-executable instructions stored in the memory of the apparatus which, when executed by the processor of the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
receiving a configuration request from a third party application, wherein the configuration request indicates a targeted network server of a low power wide area network (LPWAN), a request type, and a parameter associated with the request type;
verifying that the third party application is allowed to configure the targeted network server of the LPWAN; and
implementing the configuration request.
11. The apparatus as recited in claim 10 , wherein the request type comprises a request to set the maximum aggregated transmit duty cycle of end nodes that have joined the network server, a request to set a frequency and a data rate for a receive window following each uplink transmission, a request to set a frequency used for beacon transmission, or a request to set a receive slot configuration.
12. An apparatus comprising a processor, a memory, and communication circuitry, the apparatus being connected to a network via its communication circuitry, the apparatus further comprising computer-executable instructions stored in the memory of the apparatus which, when executed by the processor of the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
receiving a status request from a third party application, wherein the status request indicates a targeted network server of a low power wide area network (LPWAN), an identity of one or more targeted end nodes in the LPWAN, and a request type;
verifying that the third party application is allowed to access information indicated in the status request; and
if the third party is successfully verified, forwarding the status request to the targeted network server.
13. The apparatus as recited in claim 12 , wherein the request type comprises a request for a number of end nodes that the targeted network server is serving, a request for a number of outstanding uplink and downlink packets stored in the targeted network server, a request for statistics associated with uplink and downlink transmissions from the targeted network server, a request for a link quality associated with the one or more targeted end nodes, a request for a data rate configured for the one or more targeted end nodes, a transmit power associated with the one or more targeted end nodes, or a request for a repetition rate associated with the one or more targeted end nodes.