Performance Evaluation of LoRaWAN Communication Scalability in Large-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks

The LoRaWAN communication protocol can be used for the implementation of the IoT (Internet of Things) concept. Currently, most of the information regarding the scalability of the LoRa technology is commercial and deals with the best-case scenario. Thus, we need realistic models, enabling the proper assessment of the performance level. Most of the time, the IoT concept entails a large number of nodes distributed over a wide geographical area, therefore forming a high density, large-scale architecture. It is important to determine the number of collisions so that we can assess the network performance. The present paper aims at assessing the performance level of the LoRaWAN technology by analyzing the number of packet collisions that can occur. Thus, this paper determines the maximum number of LoRa nodes that can communicate with a Gateway considering the LoRaWAN protocol specifications. Furthermore, we have proposed a series of solutions for reducing the number of collisions and increasing the capacity of the communication channel.