Table of Contents:

• 1.  Introduction
  • 1.1  What is the LPS8N
  • 1.2  Specifications
  • 1.3  Features
  • 1.4  Hardware System Structure
  • 1.5  LPS8N Applications
  • 1.6  LED Indicators
  • 1.7 Button Instruction
• 2.  Access and Configure LPS8N
  • 2.1  Find IP address of LPS8N
    • 2.1.1  Connect via WiFi
    • 2.1.2  Connect via Ethernet with DHCP IP from router
    • 2.1.3  Connect via WiFi with DHCP IP from router
    • 2.1.4  Connect via Ethernet with fall back ip
  • 2.2  Access Configure Web UI
• 3.  Typical Network Setup
  • 3.1  Overview
  • 3.2  Use WAN port to access Internet
  • 3.3  Access the Internet as a WiFi Client
  • 3.4  Use built-in 4G modem for internet access
  • 3.5  Check Internet connection
• 4.  Example: Configure as a LoRaWAN gateway
  • 4.1  Create a gateway in TTN V3 Server
  • 4.2  Configure LPS8N to connect to TTN v3
  • 4.3  Configure frequency
  • 4.4  Add a LoRaWAN End Device
• 5.  Web Configure Pages
  • 5.1  Home
  • 5.2  LoRa Settings
    • 5.2.1  LoRa --> LoRa
    • 5.2.2  LoRa --> ABP Decryption
  • 5.3  LoRaWAN Settings
    • 5.3.1  LoRaWAN --> LoRaWAN
    • 5.3.2  LoRaWAN --> LoRaWAN -- Basic Station
    • 5.3.3  LoRaWAN --> LORIOT
  • 5.4  MQTT Settings
  • 5.5  Network
    • 5.5.1  Network --> Network Status
    • 5.5.2  Network --> Network
    • 5.5.3  Network --> WiFi
    • 5.5.4  Network --> Cellular
  • 5.6  System
    • 5.6.1  System --> System Overview
    • 5.6.2  System --> General ( login settings)
    • 5.6.3  System --> Backup/Restore Config
    • 5.6.4  System --> Remote.it
    • 5.6.5  System --> Remote Mgnt & Auto Provision
    • 5.6.6  System --> Firmware Upgrade
    • 5.6.7  System --> Reboot/Reset
    • 5.6.8  System --> Package Maintain
  • 5.7  LogRead
    • 5.7.1 LogRead --> LoRa Log
    • 5.7.2 LogRead --> Gateway Traffic
    • 5.7.3 LogRead --> System Log
    • 5.7.4 LogRead --> Record Log
• 6.  More features
  • 6.1 NTP Service/Time Synchronization
    • 1). Modify the NTP server address:
  • 6.2  Packet Filtering
  • 6.3  Remote Access
  • 6.4  How to decode ABP LoRaWAN node
  • 6.5  How to set data to MQTT broker
  • 6.6  How the gateway connects to Chirpstack v3/v4 via gateway-bridge
  • 6.7  How does the gateway connect to Chirpstack via MQTT Forwarder
    • 6.7.1 Configure Packet Forwarder
    • 6.7.2 Install ChirpStack MQTT Forwarder
  • 6.8  How to extend the gateway size of memory with USB device (SD/TF card, USB flash drive).
  • 6.9  More instructions
  • 6.10  Auto-Provision
• 7.    Linux System
  • 7.1  SSH Access for Linux console
  • 7.2  Edit and Transfer files
  • 7.3  File System
  • 7.4  Package maintenance system
• 8.  Upgrade Linux Firmware
  • 8.1  Upgrade via Web UI
  • 8.2  Upgrade via Linux console
• 9.  OTA System Update
• 10.  FAQ
  • 10.1  How can I configure for a customized frequency band?
  • 10.2  Can I make my own firmware for the gateway, where can I find the source code?
  • 10.3  Can I use 868Mhz version for 915Mhz bands?
  • 10.4  DIN Rail Mounting Reference.
• 11.  Trouble Shooting
  • 11.1  I get kernel error when install new package, how to fix?
  • 11.2  How to recover the LPS8N if the firmware crashes
  • 11.3  I configured LPS8N for WiFi access and lost its IP. What to do now?
  • 11.4  I connect to the LPS8N's SSID but LPS8N didn't assign DHCP IP to my laptop?
  • 11.5 When i power on LPS8N , i can only see PWR LED is on. other LEDs are not blinking.
  • 11.6  Why does the gateway reboot every 15 minutes without Internet?
• 12.  Order Info
• 13.  Packing Info
• 14.  Support

1.  Introduction

1.1  What is the LPS8N

1.2  Specifications

Hardware System:

• 400Mhz ar9331 processor
• 64MB RAM
• 16MB Flash

Interface:

• 10M/100M RJ45 Ports x 1
• WiFi : 802.11 b/g/n
• LoRaWAN Wireless
• Power Input: 5V DC, 2A, Type C
• USB 2.0 host connector x 1
• Mini-PCI E connector x 1
• SX1302 + 2 x SX1250

WiFi Spec:

• IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
• Frequency Band: 2.4 ~ 2.462GHz
• Tx power:
  • 11n tx power : mcs7/15: 11db     mcs0 : 17db
  • 11b tx power: 18db
  • 11g 54M tx power: 12db
  • 11g 6M tx power: 18db
• Wifi Sensitivity
  • 11g 54M : -71dbm
  • 11n 20M : -67dbm

LoRa Spec:

• Up to -140 dBm sensitivity
• 70 dB CW interferer rejection at 1 MHz offset
• Able to operate with negative SNR, CCR up to 9dB
• 8 x 8 channels LoRa  packet detectors,8 x SF5-SF12 LoRa demodulators,8 x SF5-SF10 LoRa demodulators,125/250/500 kHz LoRa demodulator and 1 x (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

Cellular 4G LTE (optional):

• Quectel EC25 LTE module 
• Micro SIM Slot
• External 4G Sticker Antenna.
• Up to 150Mbps downlink and 50Mbps uplink data rates
• Worldwide LTE,UMTS/HSPA+ and GSM/GPRS/EDGE coverage
• MIMO technology meets demands for data rate and link reliability in modem wireless communication systems

1.3  Features

• Open Source OpenWrt system
• Managed by Web GUI, SSH via WAN or WiFi
• Remote access with Reverse-SSH or remote.it
• Emulates 49x LoRa demodulators
• LoRaWAN Gateway
• 10 programmable parallel demodulation paths
• Pre-configure to support different LoRaWAN regional settings.
• Allow to customize LoRaWAN regional parameters.
• Support Local decode ABP end node info and transfer to MQTT server
• Support different level log in.
• Support Semtech Packet Forwarder
• Support LoRaWAN basic station.
• Optional 3G/4G cellular connection

1.4  Hardware System Structure

1.5  LPS8N Applications

1.6  LED Indicators

LPS8N has totally four LEDs, They are:

• Power LED  : This RED LED will be solid on if the device is properly powered.
• Wireless LED : No function yet.
• SYS LED      : This RGB LED will shows different colors on different state:
  • SOLID BLUE: Device is alive with LoRaWAN server connection.
  • BLINKING BLUE: a) Device has internet connection but no LoRaWAN Connection.  or   b) Device is in booting stage, in this stage, it will BLINKING BLUE for several seconds and then with SOLID RED and BLINKING BLUE together
  • SOLID RED: Device doesn't have Internet connection.

• ETH LED     :  This LED shows the ETH interface connection status.

1.7 Button Instruction

LPS8N has a black toggle button, which is:

➢ Long press 4-5s:                     the gateway will reload the Network and Initialize wifi configuration

                                                      LED status:  SYS LED will BLINKING BLUE Until the reload is finished.

➢ Long press more than 30s:    the gateway will restart and restore factory settings.

                                                     LED status:  When the user releases the button, the LED will TURN OFF.

2.  Access and Configure LPS8N

2.1  Find IP address of LPS8N

2.1.1  Connect via WiFi

At the first boot of LPS8N, it will auto generate a WiFi network called dragino-xxxxxx with password: dragino+dragino

2.1.2  Connect via Ethernet with DHCP IP from router

2.1.3  Connect via WiFi with DHCP IP from router

If the LPS8N already connect to the router via WiFi, use can use the WiFi IP to connect to LPS8N.

2.1.4  Connect via Ethernet with fall back ip

The WAN port also has a fall back ip address for access if user doesn't connect to uplink router. Click here to see how to configure.

2.2  Access Configure Web UI

Web Interface

Open a browser on the PC and type the LPS8N ip address (depends on your connect method)

http://10.130.1.1/  (Access via WiFi AP network)

or

http://IP_ADDRESS or http:// IP_ADDRESS:8000 

You will see the login interface of LPS8N as shown below.

The account details for Web Login are:

User Name: root

Password:   dragino

3.  Typical Network Setup

3.1  Overview

The LPS8N supports flexible network set up for different environments. This section describes the typical network topology. The network set up includes:

• WAN Port Internet Mode
• WiFi Client Mode
• WiFi AP Mode

3.2  Use WAN port to access Internet

By default, the LPS8N is set to use the WAN port to connect to an upstream network. When you connect the LPS8N's WAN port to an upstream router, LPS8N will get an IP address from the router and have Internet access via the upstream router. The network status can be checked in the home page:

3.3  Access the Internet as a WiFi Client

In the WiFi Client Mode, LPS8N acts as a WiFi client and gets DHCP from an upstream router via WiFi.

3.4  Use built-in 4G modem for internet access

3.5  Check Internet connection

In the home page, we can check the Internet connection.

• GREEN Tick ​​​​   : This interface has Internet connection.
• Yellow  Tick    : This interface has IP address but don't use it for internet connection.
• RED Cross      : This interface doesn't connected.

4.  Example: Configure as a LoRaWAN gateway

LPS8N is fully compatible with LoRaWAN protocol. It uses the legacy Semtech Packet forwarder to forward the LoRaWAN packets to server. The structure is as below.

4.1  Create a gateway in TTN V3 Server

Step 1: Get a Unique gateway ID.

The example gateway id is: a840411e96744154

Step 2: Sign up a user account in TTN server

https://account.thethingsnetwork.org/register

Step 3: Choose the TTNv3 Cluster Picker

Note: Choose the cluster corresponds to a specific Gateway server address

• Europe 1 corresponding Gateway server address: eu1.cloud.thethings.network
• North America 1 corresponding Gateway server address: nam1.cloud.thethings.network
• Australia 1 corresponding Gateway server address: au1.cloud.thethings.network
• Legacy V2 Console : TTN v2 shuts down in December 2021

Step 4: Create a Gateway

Click the Gateway icon and then click Add gateway.

Open the following page:

After creating the gateway, you can see the gateway info, as below.

4.2  Configure LPS8N to connect to TTN v3

Note: The server address must match the Gateway server address you choose in TTN V3.

In the home page, we can see the LoRaWAN connection is ready now.

In TTN v3 portal, we can also see the gateway is connected.

4.3  Configure frequency

We also need to set the frequency plan in LPS8N to match the end node we use, so to receive the LoRaWAN packets from the LoRaWAN sensor.

In logread page, user can check the frequency actually used.

4.4  Add a LoRaWAN End Device

• DEV EUI - Unique ID code for a particular device.
• APP EUI - ID code for an Application defined in TTN v3.
• APP Key - Unique key to secure communications with a particular device.

Open the Application select Add end device

Start Register the end device

First, input the End device ID, AppEUI and DevEUI.

Secondly, choose the corresponding frequency and LoRaWAN class capabilities.

5.  Web Configure Pages

5.1  Home

Shows the system running status.

5.2  LoRa Settings

5.2.1  LoRa --> LoRa

• 868: valid frequency: 863Mhz ~ 870Mhz. for bands EU868, RU864, IN865 or KZ865.
• 915: valid frequency: 902Mhz ~ 928Mhz. for bands US915, AU915, AS923 or KR920

Note *: See this instruction for how to customize frequency band

5.2.2  LoRa --> ABP Decryption

The LPS8N can communicate with LoRaWAN ABP End Node without the need of LoRaWAN server. It can be used in some cases such as:

• No internet connection.
• User wants to get data forward in gateway and forward to their server based on MQTT/HTTP, etc. (Combine ABP communication method and MQTT forward together).

5.3  LoRaWAN Settings

5.3.1  LoRaWAN --> LoRaWAN

This page is for the connection set up to a general LoRaWAN Network server such as: TTN, ChirpStack etc.

Note:

*: User can ignore the latitude and longitude settings here, LPS8N will use the actually value from GPS module.

**: Packet filter is to drop the unwanted LoRaWAN packet, instruction see here:

See: Filter unwanted LoRaWAN packets

5.3.2  LoRaWAN --> LoRaWAN -- Basic Station

5.3.3  LoRaWAN --> LORIOT

5.4  MQTT Settings

5.5  Network

5.5.1  Network --> Network Status

5.5.2  Network --> Network

5.5.3  Network --> WiFi

LPS8N WiFi Settings.

5.5.4  Network --> Cellular

While use the cellular as Backup WAN, device will use Cellular for internet connection while WAN port or WiFi is not valid and switch back to WAN port or WiFi after they recover.

Note *: For LPS8N which doesn't have the cellular module, this page will shows Cellular not detected.

5.6  System

5.6.1  System --> System Overview

Shows the system info:

5.6.2  System --> General ( login settings)

5.6.5  System --> Remote Mgnt & Auto Provision

Auto Provision is the feature for batch configure and remote management. It can be used in below two cases:

5.6.6  System --> Firmware Upgrade

We keep improving the LPS8N Linux side firmware for new features and bug fixes. Below are the links for reference.

• Latest firmware:  LoRa Gateway Firmware,

( http://www.dragino.com/downloads/index.php?dir=LoRa_Gateway/LPS8N/Firmware)

• Change Log: Firmware Change Log.

( http://www.dragino.com/downloads/downloads/LoRa_Gateway/LPS8N/Firmware/ChangeLog )

NOTE*: User can also upgrade firmware via Linux console

SCP the firmware to the system/var directory and then run

root@OpenWrt:~# /sbin/sysupgrade –n /var/Your_Image

NOTE : it is important to transfer the image in the /var directory, otherwise it may exceed the available flash size.

5.6.7  System --> Reboot/Reset

5.6.8  System --> Package Maintain

Place to show what package has installed and possible to upgrade packages.

5.7  LogRead

5.7.1 LogRead --> LoRa Log

Show the frequency for LoRa Radio and traffics.

5.7.2 LogRead --> Gateway Traffic

Show the gateway traffic:

5.7.3 LogRead --> System Log

Show the system log

5.7.4 LogRead --> Record Log

This interface can record gateway logs:

6.  More features

6.1 NTP Service/Time Synchronization

The gateway time sync service is provided by ntpd

1). Modify the NTP server address:

Note: If the NTP server is a Windows host, it may cause the time synchronization to fail, 

6.2  Packet Filtering

6.3  Remote Access

6.4  How to decode ABP LoRaWAN node

6.5  How to set data to MQTT broker

Note: Different chirpstack versions use different gateway-bridge configurations.

After updating the Chirpstack gateway-bridge firmware, there is no need to re-download and install the Chirpstack gateway-bridge package

6.7  How does the gateway connect to Chirpstack via MQTT Forwarder

ChirpStack MQTT Forwarder is a MQTT packet forwarder for LoRa gateways. By default it forwards packets in Protobuf binary format, optionally it can be configured to use JSON encoding for debugging. In contrast to the ChirpStack Gateway Bridge, this component must always be installed on the gateway.

6.7.1 Configure Packet Forwarder

In the Dragino web-interface, you must configure the Packet Forwarder such that it forwards to localhost on port 1700.

By default, the web-interface can be accessed by entering the following URL in your browser: https://GATEWAY-IP-ADDRESS:8000 (replace GATEWAY-IP-ADDRESS by the actual IP address of your gateway). The default credentials are root / dragino.

• In the LoRaWAN menu, click LoRaWAN -- Semtech UDP
• Configure the following settings:
  • Service Provider: Custom / Private LoRaWAN
  • Server Address: localhost
  • Uplink Port: 1700
  • Downlink Port: 1700
• Click Save&Apply

6.7.2 Install ChirpStack MQTT Forwarder

SSH login

First user must login into the gateway using SSH,user can refer to the link to access the Linux console via SSH to the gateway: SSH Access for Linux console

Download IPK

Use the following commands to download the latest version of the chirpstack-mqtt-forwarder package:

Install IPK

Use the opkg package-manager to install the downloaded package. Example:

Configuration

To connect the ChirpStack MQTT Forwarder to your MQTT broker, you must update the ChirpStack MQTT Forwarder configuration file.

This file is located at: /etc/chirpstack-mqtt-forwarder/chirpstack-mqtt-forwarder.toml

ChirpStack MQTT Forwarder Setting:

username,password,ca_cert,tls_cert,tls_key parameters should be set as required.

Use commands to modify configuration files:

(Re)start and stop commands

Use the following commands to (re)start and stop the ChirpStack MQTT Forwarder service:

Check result

Use " ​​​​​logread -f " to check the operation of ChirpStack MQTT Forwarder.

Go back to the Chirpstack server to check whether the gateway is "online" and whether the packets are displayed normally.

6.8  How to extend the gateway size of memory with USB device (SD/TF card, USB flash drive).

USB card reader plugged into the USB port of the gateway

Access the gateway Linux Command Line

Check the USB device

Mount the USB device

Set up the automatic mount on boot

6.9  More instructions

LoRaWAN Gateway Instruction(LoRaWAN Gateway)

6.10  Auto-Provision

Auto Provision is the feature for batch configure and remote management. It can be used in below two cases:

7.    Linux System

The LPS8N is based on the OpenWrt Linux system. It is open source, and users are free to configure and modify the Linux settings.

7.1  SSH Access for Linux console

User can access the Linux console via the SSH protocol. Make sure your PC and the LPS8N are connected to the same network, then use a SSH tool (such as putty in Windows) to access it.

IP address:  IP address of LPS8N

Port:         22 (via WiFi AP mode) or 2222 (via WAN Interface)

User Name:      root

Password:         dragino (default)

After logging in, you will be in the Linux console and can enter commands as shown below.

The “ logread -f” command can be used to debug how system runs.

7.2  Edit and Transfer files

7.3  File System

7.4  Package maintenance system

LPS8N uses the OpenWrt OPKG package maintenance system. There are more than 3000+ packages available in our package server for users to install for their applications. For example, if you want to add the iperf  tool, you can install the related packages and configure LPS8N to use iperf .

The system will automatically install the required packages as shown below.

8.  Upgrade Linux Firmware

We keep improving the LPS8N Linux side firmware for new features and bug fixes. Below are the links for reference.

• Latest firmware:  LoRa Gateway Firmware,

( http://www.dragino.com/downloads/index.php?dir=LoRa_Gateway/LPS8N/Firmware)

• Change Log: Firmware Change Log.

( http://www.dragino.com/downloads/downloads/LoRa_Gateway/LPS8N/Firmware/ChangeLog )

8.1  Upgrade via Web UI

8.2  Upgrade via Linux console

9.  OTA System Update

LPS8N supports system auto update via OTA, please see this URL for the detail of this feature.

10.  FAQ

10.1  How can I configure for a customized frequency band?

10.2  Can I make my own firmware for the gateway, where can I find the source code?

10.3  Can I use 868Mhz version for 915Mhz bands?

It is possible but the distance will be very short, you can select US915 frequency band in 868Mhz version hardware. It will work but you will see the performance is greatly decreased because the 868Mhz version has an RF filter for band 863~870Mhz, all other frequencies will have high attenuation.

10.4  DIN Rail Mounting Reference.

11.  Trouble Shooting

11.1  I get kernel error when install new package, how to fix?

In some cases, when installing a package with opkg, it will generate a kernel error such as below due to a mismatch I the kernel ID:

root@dragino-16c538:~# opkg install kmod-dragino2-si3217x_3.10.49+0.2-1_ar71xx.ipk

Installing kmod-dragino2-si3217x (3.10.49+0.2-1) to root…

Collected errors:

* satisfy_dependencies_for: Cannot satisfy the following dependencies for kmod-dragino2-si3217x:

*      kernel (= 3.10.49-1-4917516478a753314254643facdf360a) *

 * opkg_install_cmd: Cannot install package kmod-dragino2-si3217x.

Opkg install kmod-dragino2-si3217x_3.10.49+0.2-1_ar71xx.ipk –force-depends

11.2  How to recover the LPS8N if the firmware crashes

11.3  I configured LPS8N for WiFi access and lost its IP. What to do now?

Note: fallback IP can be disabled in the WAN and DHCP page.

Steps to connect via fall back IP:

1. Connect PC's Ethernet port to LPS8N's WAN port

2. Configure PC's Ethernet port has
    IP: 172.31.255.253 and
    Netmask: 255.255.255.252

As below photo:

3. In the PC, use IP address 172.31.255.254 to access the LPS8N via Web or Console.

Please note the latest firmware uses port 8000 for http and 2222 for ssh access.

11.4  I connect to the LPS8N's SSID but LPS8N didn't assign DHCP IP to my laptop?

11.6  Why does the gateway reboot every 15 minutes without Internet?

Check whether Internet Detect is enabled on the System-->General interface. 

Internet Detect is enabled by default. When there is no gateway network, it will reboot after 15 minutes.

12.  Order Info

PART: LPS8N-XXX-YYY: 

 XXX: Frequency Band

•  868 : valid frequency: 863Mhz ~ 870Mhz. for bands EU868, RU864, IN865 or KZ865.
•  915: valid frequency: 902Mhz ~ 928Mhz. for bands US915, AU915, AS923 or KR920

 YYY: 4G Cellular Option

• EC25-E:      EMEA, Korea, Thailand, India.
• EC25-AFX: America:Verizon, AT&T(FirstNet), U.S.Cellular; Canada:Telus
• EC25-AUX: Latin America, New Zeland, Taiwan
• EC25-J:       Japan, DOCOMO, SoftBank, KDDI

More info about valid bands, please see EC25-E product page.

13.  Packing Info

• LPS8N LoRaWAN Gateway x 1
• Stick Antenna for LoRa RF part. Frequency is one of 470 or 868 or 915Mhz depends the model ordered
• Packaging with environmental protection paper box

• Device Size: 12 x 12 x 3 cm
• Weight: 187g
• Package Size: 14.5 x 13.5 x 6 cm
• Weight: 300g

14.  Support

• Try to see if your questions already answered in the wiki.
• Support is provided Monday to Friday, from 09:00 to 18:00 GMT+8.
  Due to different timezones we cannot offer live support. However, your questions will be answered as soon as possible in the before mentioned schedule.
• Provide as much information as possible regarding your enquiry (product models, accurately describe your problem and steps to replicate it etc) and send a mail to:support@dragino.com