LoRaWAN devices are a popular solution for IoT, with many benefits, but they cannot connect directly to Azure IoT.
LoRaWAN devices communicate using LoRa to a local LoRaWAN gateway, which then communicates using standard protocols to a LoRaWAN network server. Only then can it be converted to a suitable IP-based protocol to connect to Azure IoT.
Even if they did share a common network, LoRaWAN IoT devices are often small, low-power, battery operated devices that operate in short bursts of minimal communication, and not the verbose communication expected by Azure IoT, so you would want to use a gateway anyway.
To test out connecting field-ready LoRaWAN devices to Azure IoT, I ordered a Dragino LDDS75 LoRaWAN Distance Detection Sensor, used to measure the distance between the sensor and a flat object. It can be used for both horizontal and vertical distance measuring, such as liquid level measurement or object detection (e.g. parking space).
![Unboxing the Dragino LDDS75 Distance Detection Sensor](/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ldds75-box-1080p.jpg)
The Dragino platform uses open source hardware, with Dragino schematics and details fully available on github, although you are probably better off purchasing one than trying to build it yourself.
I set up the device up using The Things Network, a community network suitable for small scale testing, connected to Azure IoT.
![Dragino, The Things Nework (LoRaWAN Gateway and LoRaWAN Network Server), and Azure IoT architecture overview](/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/dragino-deploy-diagram-2.png)
Continue reading LoRaWAN to Azure IoT — Unboxing the Dragino LDDS75(17 min read)