A Review of LoRaWAN Simulators: Design Requirements and Limitations

Several wireless technologies are enabling the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) industry. One of these, namely Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), is very popular in the research community whose focus is on optimising the LoRaWAN protocol for effective use. A key tool in a researcher's arsenal is the use of LoRaWAN simulators. This work describes the considerations that are important when considering choosing a LoRaWAN simulator and presents a comparison of the currently available simulators. Recommendations are made for which simulators would be best for certain IoT use cases as well as a discussion on the reviewed simulators. Recommendations are also made on the focus of future simulation development.