About NetID Filtering on KONA Gateways
NetID filtering is a feature available on TEKTELIC KONA gateways that allows the device to accept or reject LoRaWAN® packets based on their network identifiers.
It provides a simple and efficient way to ensure that only traffic from authorized LoRaWAN networks and devices is forwarded to the network server.
KONA gateways may receive LoRaWAN packets from any device operating within their radio range.
Without filtering, these packets are forwarded to the network server—even if they belong to another operator or network—resulting in:
- Unnecessary backhaul traffic
- Increased cellular data costs
- Possible interference or confusion in packet statistics
By enabling NetID filtering, the gateway processes only packets belonging to the configured network(s), discarding all others before they are sent over the backhaul.
KONA gateways support filtering based on the following LoRaWAN® identifiers:
| Identifier | Description | Applies To |
|---|---|---|
| NetID | 24-bit identifier assigned to a LoRaWAN network operator by the LoRa Alliance. | All packets |
| DevAddr | 32-bit device address derived from the NetID, used in uplink frames. | Uplink traffic |
| JoinEUI (AppEUI) | 64-bit Join Server identifier used in OTAA join requests. | Join requests |
| DevEUI | 64-bit unique device identifier for the end device. | Join requests |
Gateways can filter packets by DevAddr ranges or by specific DevEUI/JoinEUI combinations, depending on how the feature is configured.
NetID filtering can be applied using one of two management approaches:
| Method | Configuration Interface | Description |
|---|---|---|
| KONA Element / KONA Core | Bulk Configuration UI | Define DevAddr and JoinEUI/DevEUI filtering rules as JSON configuration objects for managed gateways. |
| LoRa Basics Station (3rd-party LNS) | Network Server Interface | Define NetID filters in the connected LoRaWAN Network Server, such as AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN. |
Screenshot placeholder (netid-filtering-diagram.png): Diagram illustrating gateway traffic flow with NetID filtering applied.
Note
NetID filtering is not available through the local KONA Link interface.
It must be configured through the management or network server interfaces listed above.
Implementing NetID filtering on KONA gateways provides several operational advantages:
- Reduced Cellular Data Usage – prevents forwarding of unrelated LoRaWAN traffic.
- Improved Network Security – limits gateway processing to trusted devices.
- Cleaner Device Metrics – removes extraneous packets from gateway statistics.
- Simplified Troubleshooting – isolates traffic belonging only to the intended network.