IoT - Tektelic Server Setup (Tektelic Gateway + Sensor)
As you can see below there is a pattern to how the IoT network works. The sensors talk to the gateway, the gateway further communicates with the network server and the applications at the end picks data from the server to display it to you, in a nice and presentable manner.
Divisions of IoT Network
So here in this tutorial we are using Tektelic & Netvox Sensors, namely Tektelic Smart Room PIR sensor and a Netvox R711 sensor. The Tektelic PIR sensor has motion sensor, reed switch, temperature, humidity, accelerometer. Netvox sensor on the other hand has only temperature and humidity telemetry available.
For our gateway we have the Tektelic Kona Gateway. This gateway was chosen as it can be used to connect to different servers, has battery back up of 4 hours and also allows for cellular configuration. We do not need a Tektelic Gateway in particular to talk to Tektelic sensors and vice versa.
Step 1.
Installing the Gateway is an easy task, just has to plugged in to power and connected to a router, directly or indirectly.
Step 2.
Next is to register an account on the Tektelic Server and add the gateway on there. Tektelic server where we can register depending on your location:
Tektelic North American Network Server - URL: https://lorawan-ns-na.tektelic.com/
Tektelic European Network Server – URL: https://lorawan-ns-eu.tektelic.com/
Step 3.
Adding the gateway or a sensor in Tektelic Server first we need to add the Group for said items. For instance to add a gateway, a gateway group needs to be added first. Similarly for adding sensors we need to add an application first.
Note: Tektelic Gateways come pre programmed to talk to the Tektelic Servers, which can be changed to talk to different servers.
So lets add a gateway group first, we can name it anything.
Click on the newly created gateway.
Click on Manage Gateways
Next Click on Add Gateway
Add the relevant details. (GW-ID is the 16 digit device ID we find under the actual Gateway itself.)
If everything is working as it should, it will show “Online” status.
Step 4.
Create a new Application next, in which all the devices sit. Next we will add devices to the application.
Click on Add Application. Name it something relevant, like the location.
Once done, click on the application that was created.
Click on Manage Devices.
Add new device.
Add the name, model, Device EUI, Application EUI, Application Key(should be provided by the seller.)
Step 5.
Activating the sensors is going to be different vendor to vendor, for instance on the Netvox r711 here, its just as easy as putting some AAA batteries in. On the Tektelic sensors, since they come preloaded with high capacity batteries, they need to be brought out of deep sleep by using a magnet or by pulling the plastic tab out. The specifics of which are explained in the image below, taken out from the online manual.
Step 6.
Now that everything is connected, lets make sure the sensor is sending data to the server. Click on the device in the server and then click on Real-Time Packets. If data packets are seen, it means that everything is working as it should.
Step 7.
To add the Netvox Sensor follow the steps from “Step 4.” and add a new device with the Dev EUI and Application EUI. Note we do not need to create a new application to do so.
To check out a full suite of solutions available in New Zealand, check out the
In our next post we will learn how to connect the server data to an application to view and use the data. There are various applications that can be integrated with the Tektelic server. We will look at TagoIO integration first.
