From Sensor to Dashboard: How Our Open-Source IoT Stack Works
Anyone working with sensor technology in the field quickly comes across three names: ChirpStack, ThingsBoard, and Grafana. All three are open source, each fulfills its own role — and together they form the chain that turns a single measurement into a basis for decision-making.
In this post, we briefly explain what each component does and how they work together.
At a Glance: The Path Data Takes Through the System
A sensor takes a measurement – for example soil temperature or leaf moisture in an orchard –, via a gateway ChirpStack receives this data and forwards it, ThingsBoard manages the devices and processes the values, Grafana turns them into charts that are easy to read at a glance.
Sensor Gateway ChirpStack ThingsBoard Grafana
ChirpStack: The Radio Receiver in the Background
Many of our sensors transmit via LoRaWAN – a radio technology with low power consumption and long range, ideal for battery-powered devices that need to operate in the field for years without maintenance. ChirpStack is the server that receives these radio signals from the gateways, assigns them to the correct sensors, and passes them on as structured data. Think of ChirpStack as the sorting office: it sorts incoming messages and makes sure they reach the right recipient.
ThingsBoard: Where Raw Data Becomes Structure
ThingsBoard takes over the data from ChirpStack, assigns it to the individual devices, and stores it permanently. Rules can also be defined here – for example, an automatic alert when soil moisture drops below a critical level. ThingsBoard is also the platform used to manage, monitor, and, if needed, remotely control devices.
Grafana: Where Numbers Become Insights
While ThingsBoard is more of an operations room, Grafana is the analysis tool. It accesses the stored data and presents it as time series, comparisons, or trends – for example: How has soil moisture developed over the past four weeks compared to the previous year? Questions like these are exactly what ultimately make an irrigation decision easier.
An Example from Fruit Growing
A moisture sensor in an apple orchard measures soil moisture every 15 minutes. ChirpStack receives the signal from the gateway at the edge of the field, ThingsBoard stores the value and raises an alert if it drops too far, Grafana shows the operation the trend over recent weeks – clear, easy to follow, without anyone having to sift through raw data.
Why We Rely on This Combination
All three components are open source. That means: no dependence on a single vendor, full transparency about what happens to the data, and the ability to operate the infrastructure yourself or have it operated for you, as needed. For us, this is the technical foundation of what we promise: reliable, transparent, comparable, and accurate data – from sensor to decision.
Questions about our open-source IoT stack? We're happy to explain in detail which solution fits your needs.