What is the Function of Packet Forwarder in LoRaWAN ?

This page mentions functions of packet forwarder in LoRaWAN. It mentions popular packet forwarders (Semtech, TTN, Dragino, Raspberry Pi) for various platforms from other vendors or developers.

LoRaWAN Packet Forwarder

It is a software running on LoRaWAN gateway. It lies between LoRa end device and Network server (NS). Following are the functions of packet forwarder.
➨It allows transmission of LoRa packets for uplink from end nodes and network servers. In general, it forwards packets received by concentrator (i.e. LoRa module) to NS through UDP/IP link.
➨It allows reception of LoRa packets for downlink from network servers to end nodes. This means, it emits packets which are sent by NS.

There are two types of packet forwarder viz. single channel and multichannel. Multichannel packet forwarders are compliant to LoRaWAN specifications.

The figure depicts position of LoRaWAN packet forwarder device. As shown it lies between end device (such as LoRa sensor) and Network Server (NS).

List of LoRaWAN packet forwarder vendors or developers

Following table mentions list of popular vendors of packet forwarders.

Company	Description
Semtech UDP packet forwarder	It works with Semtech SX1301 chipset.
TTN packet forwarder	It works with Multitech Conduit Kerlink IoT station, Raspberry Pi and iC880a setups.
Dragino single channel packet forwarder	It works with Semtech SX1272, SX1276 and SX1278 chips. The software is written for Dragino LoRa Gateways.
Raspberry Pi single channel packet forwarder	It works with Semtech SX1272 transceiver (HopeRF RFM92W) and SX1276 (HopeRF RFM95W).

Above packet forwarders can be downloaded from github.com.

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