Symphony Link vs LoRaWAN-Difference between Symphony Link and LoRaWAN
This page compares Symphony Link vs LoRaWAN and mentions difference between Symphony Link and LoRaWAN. Both are used as low power wide area networks.
| Specifications | Symphony Link | LoRaWAN |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | Symphony Link is wireless system developed by Link Labs to overcome limitations of LoRaWAN system. It is built on LoRa CSS physical layer technology. | LoRaWAN is communication protocol and system architecture for the wireless system. It is trademark of Semtech corporation. It is developed and managed by LoRa Alliance. |
| Acknowledgement | Yes, every message is being acknowledged both in the uplink and downlink. | Limited, it uses limited acknowledgements as it employs ALOHA protocol. |
| PER (Packet Error Rate) | Less due to use of Ack. | More (about 50% in common) |
| Firmware upgradation | Easy, can be done after deployment | Difficult as it need to be managed at application layer |
| Duty cycle | No duty cycle limit. This is due to the fact that it employs FH LBT (Frequency Hopping Listen Before Talk) plus adaptive frequency agility band. | 1% ( as per ETSI requirement) |
| Data transmission capability | More | Less |
| Protocol type | Synchronous | asynchronous (ALOHA) |
| Repeaters | It is easy to use due to synchronous protocol and no limit on duty cycle. | It is difficult to use due to duty cycle limitation. |
| Cost | Cheaper as repeaters cover large distances without spending much. | Costly |
| Power Efficiency | As repeaters are used here, system will become more power efficient as they are solar powered and also battery powered. | It is less power efficient as repeaters are impractical to use. |
| encryption | Easy, Multiple devices are developed with easy configuration and keys are exchanged over the air using advanced PKI based AES algorithm. | Complex, management of keys are carried out at the time of production for multiple devices. |
| dynamic range | In the symphony link, end device calculates reverse link to the Gateway. Accordingly it adjusts transmit power, modulation rate and spreading factor (SF). | Due to limited dynamic range, transmitter of LoRaWAN node near to the Base Station (or Gateway) prevents other nodes from being connected. |
| ADR (Adaptive Data Rate) | This feature is used as performance and reliability optimization. | This feature is used as capacity optimization. ADR changes are done using LoRaWAN servers. |
| Spectrum usage | 28 times more (in US) and 7 times more (in Europe) compare to LoRaWAN |
Less compare to Symphony Link |
| Capacity | 4 times more than LoRaWAN | Less compare to Symphony Link |
| MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) Size | Fixed to 256 bytes | Varies based on spreading factor |
Reference
Refer Advantages and disadvantages of Symphony Link >> which
describes pros and cons of symphony link system developed by Link Labs Annapolis, MD 21401.
Visit, Link Labs Website>> for more information.
LoRa and LoRaWAN Related Links
Following are links to LoRa and LoRaWAN.
Main page LoRa tutorial
LoRa Frequency Bands
LoRa protocol stack
LoRa MAC layer
LoRaWAN classes
LoRa features
LoRa Transceiver module
Difference between LoRa and LoRaWAN, Refer LoRa vs LoRaWAN
LoRa modulation
LoRa vs Zigbee
What is difference between
difference between LTE and LTE Advanced
difference between FDM and OFDM
Difference between SC-FDMA and OFDM
Difference between SISO and MIMO
Difference between TDD and FDD
Difference between 802.11 standards viz.11-a,11-b,11-g and 11-n
OFDM vs OFDMA
CDMA vs GSM