How To Set Up WisBlock Kit 4 with RAK Built-in Network Server and Datacake

In this guide, you will learn how to register your WisBlock Kit/s 4 in the Built-in network server of any gateway from the WisGate Edge series and visualize the data in Datacake via MQTT integration. For this demonstration, RAK7268 WisGate Edge Lite 2 (with WisGateOS) is used, but the principle is the same for all WisGate Edge gateways.

Setting Up the Built-In Network Server

Some configurations of RAK7268 will be needed as well as the creation of an application and registration of the device.

Setting Up the Gateway

First, power on the gateway. To do so, you can refer to RAK7268 Quick Start Guide.

Then, you need to access the gateway.

Connect the gateway to the internet. You can refer to the Access the Internet section of the Quick Start Guide.

By default, the gateway is preconfigured to work in built-in network server mode.

Add an Application in the Built-In Network Server

To register the WisBlock Kit 4, first, you will need an application. Head to the LoRa Network > Application tab.

To add an application, type the name of the application in the Please input application name field and click the Add button. Then, you will see the page similar to Figure 3.

At the Application Configuration tab, configure the application key and/or EUI. Next to the Application Key field, you can generate a key via the Generate Key button.

Copy the Application Key somewhere, as it will be needed later when setting up the WisBlock Kit.

Optionally, you can enable the Auto Add LoRa Device feature via the switch. The feature enables the LoRa device to be automatically added to the application, after Application EUI and Key verification. When activated, an Application EUI field will pop up. Same as the Application Key field, you can generate a EUI via the Generate EUI button. Again, copy the Application EUI somewhere, as it will be used later when setting the WisBlock Kit.

Head to the Payload Formats tab.

From the Payload Format drop-down menu, choose the CayenneLPP format of the payload.

Enable the Only forward the parsed data object option. This feature will forward only the object data of the payload.

Finally, click Save & Apply to add the application to the built-in network server.

Register the WisBlock Kit 4 in the Application

Proceed with adding the WisBlock Kit 4 end device to the application.

To add the end device (the WisBlock Kit 4), click the Edit button of the application.

In the please input device EUI field, you need to type the EUI of the WisBlock Kit. You can find the EUI on the sticker on the RAK4631 module. Or you can scan the QR code on the module to get the device EUI. Type the EUI in the field and click the Add button.

Give the name of your device in the Device name field.

You can configure the other settings to fulfill your needs. In this example, you will leave everything with its default settings.

When everything is set, click Save & Apply to add the device to the application.

Setting Up the Global Integration

Now, that the device is added, you can set up the MQTT integration. Head to the LoRa Network > Global Integration tab.

Here, you must set the external MQTT Broker that will be used. In this example, you will use the public free HiveMQ MQTT Broker: broker.hivemq.com.

In the MQTT Broker Address, files set the address of the HiveMQ: broker.hivemq.com.

Setting Up the WisBlock Kit 4

Now you need to set up the end device to join the Built-in network server.

Install Tera Term

To set up the WisBlock, you will need Tera Term. Tera Term is an open-source terminal emulator program you will use for this task. Download, install, and open the program.

Set Up the WisBlock Kit

Now that the WisBlock is connected to the PC/laptop via the USB cable and Tera Term is launched, you can connect to the WisBlock.

Select Serial. From the Port drop-down menu, find the COM port of the WisBlock. It should be named: COMX: USB Serial Device (COMX), where ‘X’ is the number of the port. In this example, the port number is 27. Yours might be different.

Click OK to connect to the device.

After a connection is established, you will see a blank terminal.

Before you continue with setting up the WisBlock click Setup > Terminal.

Here, you will setup how Tera Term is to convert the carriage return (CR). In the Terminal Setup, find Receive in the New-line section.

From the drop-down menu, select AUTO and click OK to save the change.

You can use the following AT commands to set up the WisBlock device:

• Set the application key, where XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX is the application key.

AT+APPKEY=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

• Set the application EUI, where XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX is the application EUI.

AT+DEVEUI=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

• Set the application EUI, where XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX is the application EUI.

AT+APPEUI=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

• Set the join mode of the device, where X is 0 for ABP join mode and 1 for OTAA join mode.

AT+NJM=X

• Set the send interval between the packets, where X is the interval in seconds.

AT+SENDFREQ=X

• Set the class of the device, where X is A for Class A and C for Class C.

AT+CLASS=X

• Set up the regional frequency band of the device, where X is 1-12 depending on the option. See the table below for reference.

Example of WisBlock, set to EU868, class A, with send interval of 60 seconds in OTAA join mode.

To make the device join the Built-in network server, use the following command:

AT+JOIN=X:Y:Z:W

Where:

• X is 0 for stop joining, and 1 for join.
• Y is 0 for stop auto join and 1 for enable auto join.
• Z is the interval between reattempting to join (7-255) in seconds.
• W is the number of attempts before the device quits retrying (between 0-255. Default is 0).

Now, you can see that the device is active in the web UI of the gateway.

Create MQTT Integration and Visualize the Data in Datacake

Now, that you have a WisBlock sending data in the built-in network server, you can visualize the object payload in Datacake in a more user-friendly way. To do so, you will need to create an MQTT integration to Datacake.

Add the WisBlock to Datacake

Datacake is a multi-purpose IoT platform that visualizes the data from nodes in a more user-friendly way. You can create an account and log in from their website. After logging in, you will see the following page.

To add your WisBlock, click the + Add Device button.

Select API and click Next.

As this is a new device and does not have a ready-to-use template, on the Step 2 tab, click New Product and give it a name in the Product Name field. Then click Next.

On the Step 3 tab, leave the Serial Number field blank. Datacake will generate a random one for the device. Give a name for your WisBlock in the Name field. Click Next to continue.

In the last step, choose the payment plan of your device fleet. For this example, we will use the Free plan. After the payment plan is selected, click Add 1 device.

Now you can see your device registered in the Devices tab.

MQTT Configuration

From the Devices page, click on the name of your device and head to the Configuration menu.

Scroll down until you find the API Configuration. Copy the Serial Number somewhere, as it will be needed later for the decoder.

Keep scrolling until you find the MQTT Configuration section. Here, you will set the external MQTT Broker.

Then click +Add new MQTT server.

In the Hostname field, place the broker address. As mentioned above, for this example, use broker.hivemq.com.

Click the Test Connection to check if Datacake can make a successful connection with the MQTT Broker. If the connection is successful, you will see a Connection successful message.

Finally, click Add MQTT Server to add the Broker. After that, you will see the broker in the MQTT Server field.

You need to set a decoder for the data and add fields for the different data in Datacake.

Add Decoder and Fields for the Payload

The specific thing here is that you will need the same number of decoders as the number of measurements you will visualize. For example, if you want to visualize temperature and barometer, you will need two decoders (one for each measurement). Click +Add Uplink Decoder to add your first decoder.

In the Subscribe to topics field, place the Uplink topic copied above:

application/{{application_ID}}/device/{{device_EUI}}/rx

Where:

• application_ID is the ID of your application;
• device_EUI is the EUI of your WisBlock.

In the Decoder function field, place the following decoder for the temperature:

function Decoder(topic, payload) {
    payload = JSON.parse(payload);

    var temperature = payload.temperature;

    return [
        {
            device: "serial_number",
            field: "Temperature",
            value: temperature
        }
    ];
}

Click on Add uplink decoder.

Now that you have a decoder for the temperature, head to the Fields section and click +Add Field.

Here, you will set the field settings.

• As this field is for the temperature, add a suitable name in the Name field.

• Leave everything else as default and click Add Field to add the field.

When an uplink is received, the field will get the Current value.

When an uplink is received, refresh the page and the Current Value of the fields will update. Then the only thing left is the dashboard.

Create a Dashboard to Visualize the Data

The Dashboard can be unique for each user. You can use your imagination to create a dashboard to correspond with your project’s needs.

To create a dashboard, head to the Dashboard tab of the device in Datacake and click on the Edit mode switch.

To add widgets that will help you visualize the data, click + Add Widget.

You can choose different types of widgets to make your dashboard more useful. For the demonstration, choose Chart to visualize a temperature/time graph.

In the Title field from the Basic tab, give a name to the widget. As this is an example with temperature, name it Temperature.

Now, you need to set the value of the temperature field to this widget. Click the Data tab and then +Add Field.

From the Field drop-down menu, choose Temperature then click Save.

The chart will appear in the Dashboard page.

To add another widget, click again the +Add Widget button while the Edit mode switch is enabled.

When you are done with adding widgets, don’t forget to switch off the edit mode, to save the edits.

You can see an idea of a complete dashboard for the WisBlock Kit 4.

Updated October 25, 2024 02:59