Cluster-based Network for Improved Internet Resilience in Outland Agriculture

Abstract

Remote monitoring system in farmlands is well-founded as the future of agricultural industry. However, availability of internet access is limited to some sectional configuration areas distinctively on farm sites. The contribution of the work is twofold: 1) Design a decentralized cluster of local networks 2) provide resilient internet provision through cluster-based network architecture. Local network packets of the setup such as environmental sensor parameters and real time monitoring cameras, rather than being stopped at the gateway, are instead clustered into IP packets, and then locked and directed from the gateway to the best WAN online port available. The basic clustering and locking procedure form an application overlay of the local network over the Internet. Instead of varying WAN IP port, all networks will have unique and fixed access of it, that allows them to query and interact with the local network directly via a largely transparent gateway. The system is evaluated by measuring the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) received by the local networks from the network gateway up to the locked WAN IP port.