Network-Coding-based Forwarding for LoRaWAN Gateways

TL;DR

This paper proposes a distributed network coding scheme for LoRaWAN gateways to eliminate duplicate packet forwarding, significantly saving bandwidth and improving network scalability without requiring gateway coordination.

Contribution

It introduces a novel inter-flow network coding-based forwarding scheme for LoRaWAN gateways that is distributed and coordination-free.

Findings

Substantial bandwidth savings achieved

Enhanced network scalability demonstrated

No additional outgoing traffic required

Abstract

LoRaWAN is a promising IoT access technology that is growing in popularity. This study addresses the issue of duplicate packets forwarding by LoRaWAN gateways and proposes a novel forwarding scheme to eliminate forwarding duplicate packets by utilizing inter-flow network coding. The proposed scheme is distributed and requires no coordination between gateways. The proposed scheme is evaluated under different network and traffic conditions. The results show that substantial savings can be achieved in bandwidth leading to enhanced scalability of the network without increasing outgoing traffic.