Network Components

At a high level the sensor network consists of the following components:

Node – A node contains the sensors as well as the hardware to communicate the sensor data back to the gateway

Gateway – Provides communication to and from the nodes and controller

Controller – Software running on a computer or small device that can store sensor data, publish the data, and provide instructions to the nodes

If the greenhouse did not have access to the internet that would be the complete system. At Garinger we do have limited internet connectivity. That means we have the ability to send and receive small amounts of data via a cellular network. Certainly not enough to host a web application and provide remote users access to data but enough to publish the data to a Web Server hosted remotely.

Remote Web Server – Retrieves data from the controller and makes the data available to remote users via a web application. Can also send alerts if the sensor data matches defined rules, e.g. if fish tank water temperature is below 60F send text message.