The Things Stack

This guide shows how to connect the HARDWARIO EMBER LoRaWAN gateway (MikroTik RouterOS) to The Things Stack (TTS).

Useful docs

• TTS gateway registration: https://docs.hardwario.com/apps/the-things-stack/tts-configuration/tts-gateways/
• MikroTik RouterOS + TTS (UDP / LNS / CUPS): https://help.mikrotik.com/docs/spaces/ROS/pages/67633276/The%2BThings%2BStack
• EMBER hotspot configuration (RouterOS basics): https://docs.hardwario.com/ember/hotspot-configuration/
• EMBER MikroTik LoRa interface basics: https://docs.hardwario.com/ember/mikrotik/gateway-configuration/

Prerequisites

• Access to the EMBER management interface (WebFig or WinBox)
• A TTS account with permissions to create gateways
• If you are not using the EMBER Cloud service, point the LoRaWAN server address to your own LoRaWAN server (no VPN tunnels needed).

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1) Get the Gateway EUI (EUI-64)

On MikroTik RouterOS, the gateway EUI is shown as Gateway ID:

• IoT → LoRa → Devices → Gateway ID

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2) Register the gateway in The Things Stack

1. In TTS Console, click Register gateway.
2. Enter the Gateway EUI (use RouterOS Gateway ID).
3. Fill the gateway details:
   • Gateway ID
   • Gateway Name
   • Frequency plan (choose the one matching your region/hardware; e.g., Europe 868.1 MHz)
4. Enable Require authenticated connection.
5. Enable both:
   • Generate API key for CUPS
   • Generate API key for LNS
6. Click Register gateway and download both API keys (CUPS + LNS).

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3) Configure EMBER (MikroTik RouterOS) to connect to TTS (recommended: LNS + CUPS)

RouterOS typically requires the LoRa card to be Disabled while you change LoRa settings.

You’ll use the downloaded keys in RouterOS.

LNS (LoRa Basics Station)

• Protocol: LNS
• Port: 8887
• Set the LoRa Basics Station LNS authentication Key to the LNS key
• Enable SSL/TLS

CUPS (Configuration & Update Server)

• Protocol: CUPS
• Port: 443
• Set the CUPS key (from the downloaded cups.key file)
• Enable SSL/TLS

Root certificates (required for SSL/TLS)

To establish a secure TLS connection to The Things Stack (LNS / CUPS), import the official The Things Stack Root CA certificates into RouterOS and mark them as trusted.

• Download the certificates from:
  https://www.thethingsindustries.com/docs/reference/root-certificates/
• Import them in RouterOS (Files → Import Certificate) and set them as trusted.

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4) Enable and verify

1. In RouterOS: IoT → LoRa → Devices → Enable
2. In TTS Console, open the gateway and confirm Live data updates.

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Payload decoder links (for end devices)

Decoders are configured per end device/application in TTS (Payload Formatter).

Example decoder (CHESTER Clime):

• Codec folder: https://github.com/hardwario/chester-sdk/tree/main/applications/clime/codec
• JS decoder reference: https://github.com/hardwario/chester-sdk/blob/main/applications/clime/codec/cs-decoder.js