Silvanet Border Gateway

The Silvanet Border Gateway provides connectivity between the Silvanet Mesh Network and the Silvanet Cloud via the Internet.

Connectivity between sensors and Silvanet Cloud

The Silvanet Border Gateway relays messages to and from sensors via the Silvanet Mesh Network. It provides connectivity between the Silvanet Mesh Network and the Silvanet Cloud via the Internet.

It is typically placed at the edge of a forest and, ideally, near a power supply. However, these gateways are LoRaWAN compliant which means they can also communicate directly with Silvanet sensors if any sensors are within range of the Border Gateway.

Delivered components

A single Border Gateway is delivered with the following components:

• 1 Border Gateway

• 1 Solar Panel

• 4 tree nails

• 2 U-Clamps including 4 M10 nuts and washers

• 1 LoRa antenna (915 - USA, 868 - EU)) (pre-connected to Border Gateway)

• 1 LTE-M antenna (pre-connected to Border Gateway)

• 1 satellite antenna

• Crop wire (5 meters)

• PoE Adapter and power cable

• Ethernet cable

Key features

• Connects to Mesh Gateways and sensors via a LoRaWAN mesh network.

• Connects to the Internet using Mobile networks, Ethernet or satellite. Wireless connectivity is provided by its built-in LTE-M radio (using 4G/LTE-M with 2G/GPRS fallback). Wired connectivity is provided by its built-in Ethernet adapter. For remote deployments without mobile network coverage and no access to mains power, it has built-in support for connecting to a satellite network.

• Dryad recommends using a power supply through a PoE Injector (Power over Ethernet) connected to a mains power supply, If PoE is unavailable, the solar panel provided with the device can also provide for its daily energy requirements.

• Supports FUOTA (Firmware Update Over-the-Air) to allow its firmware to be updated remotely as required.

• Each Border Gateway can support the deployment of up to 20 Mesh Gateways.

• Using LoRaWAN, the Border Gateway communicates with Mesh Gateways and directly with Silvanet sensors, if they are within range. The Border Gateway receives messages from sensors via one or more Mesh Gateways and forwards them to the Silvanet Cloud via the Internet.

Dimensions

The dimensions of the Silvanet Border Gateway are (LxWxH) 27.5 cm (63 cm with antennas) x 46 cm (with the satellite antenna) x 4.5 cm and weighs 1.3 kg.

Internet via Ethernet, LTE-M or Satellite

We recommend using the Border Gateway’s built in Ethernet connectivity which requires access to a router. The Gateway supports Power over Ethernet (PoE). The Border Gateway also provides built-in support for LTE-M which requires access to a 4G network with 2G fallback (GPRS). LTE-M (Cat-M1) is suitable for IoT. An LTE-M antenna is provided to connect to a 4G network.

Satellite (backup) connectivity is provided should Ethernet and LTE become unavailable or if the Border Gateway is deployed in a remote location. An antenna is provided for Satellite uplink using a satellite network. With satellite connectivity, the Border Gateway sends only Fire Alerts.

Firmware updates (FUOTA)

The Border Gateway supports FUOTA (Firmware Update Over The Air) with high flexibility. Large file transfers are successfully made securely and reliably even with eventual interruptions of the power supply and, consequently, sensor operation.

Firmware is updated using a chunked image transfer (no compression). All Silvanet sensors in a Site are updated at the same time using Multicast. To do this the LoRaWAN Network Protocol is temporarily switched to Class B which allows two-way communication.

To cope with low power and the various regional regulatory requirements, both the downlink fragment size as well as the periodicity are highly configurable allowing for stretching a FUOTA process even to a week.

Constant power supply - PoE and solar panel

All components of the Silvanet Border Gateway are assumed to be always on as it needs to listen to any messages sent by Mesh Gateways and/or sensors. Consequently, the Border Gateway requires an increased power supply compared to the Silvanet Mesh Gateway. Continuous (24 hour) operation of the Border Gateway requires a power supply of 5415Ws. It uses supercapacitors to provide the 5415Ws power supply (5415Ws). This type of capacitor provides a large amount of power for a short duration and is continuously recharged using an external power supply.

An external power supply can be either a mains power supply or the Gateway's external solar panel. Dryad recommend providing a mains power supply using PoE (Power over Ethernet). If PoE is unavailable, the solar panel included with the device can also provide for its daily energy requirements and ensures charging capabilities to the device's supercapacitors.

If the solar panel is the main source of power, the supercapacitors allow the device to continue receiving power for several hours when the solar panel loses generating capacity (no sunlight) or when a power outage occurs in the case of mains power supply. The external solar panel is 45cm by 45cm and is permanently connected to the Border Gateway. This ensures a continuous power supply to charge the supercapacitors. It also guarantees a power supply to the Border Gateway should a power outage occur for an extended period, such as ten hours or even two days.

Planning guidelines

When planning Border Gateway deployments, consider how you plan to provide the device with a reliable power supply and continuous access to the Internet. This section provides recommendations and types of deployment scenarios to assist you.

The LTE-M radio in the Border Gateway uses a reasonable amount of power so the power supply needs to be addressed when locating a site to mount the device. Ideally, it should be installed in a location with mains power.

Use the following guidelines when planning the deployment of Border Gateways in your Site.