Long-Range ICN for the IoT: Exploring a LoRa System Design

TL;DR

This paper introduces LoRa-ICN, a novel IoT networking system combining LoRa communication with ICN principles, replacing the MAC layer with IEEE 802.15.4 DSME to enhance reliability and reduce central dependency.

Contribution

We designed and implemented LoRa-ICN with a new MAC layer and explored ICN message mappings to improve IoT network robustness and efficiency.

Findings

Different ICN message mappings affect robustness and efficiency.

LoRa-ICN prototype validates improved reliability and reduced central dependency.

Design trade-offs depend on specific mapping choices.

Abstract

This paper presents LoRa-ICN, a comprehensive IoT networking system based on a common long-range communication layer (LoRa) combined with Information-Centric Networking (ICN) principles. We have replaced the LoRaWAN MAC layer with an IEEE 802.15.4 Deterministic and Synchronous Multi-Channel Extension (DSME). This multifaceted MAC layer allows for different mappings of ICN message semantics, which we explore to enable new LoRa cenarios. We designed LoRa-ICN from the ground-up to improve reliability and to reduce dependency on centralized components in LoRa IoT scenarios. We have implemented a feature-complete prototype in a common network simulator to validate our approach. Our results show design trade-offs of different mapping alternatives in terms of robustness and efficiency.