Question 1

What exactly does Managed ChirpStack Hosting at merkaio mean?

Accepted Answer

It means you get the full functionality of your own LoRaWAN Network Server without having to deal with IT administration. We handle architecture, installation, gateway connection, security updates, backups and 24/7 monitoring. You use ChirpStack as productive infrastructure while merkaio operates the engine room.

Question 2

Why should I use ChirpStack instead of The Things Network (TTN)?

Accepted Answer

TTN is great for communities but has limits (Fair Use Policy) and shared resources. Managed ChirpStack at merkaio offers you guaranteed resources, no artificial limits on uplinks/downlinks and complete data sovereignty. It's the enterprise alternative for business-critical applications where you need control over the network and SLA availability.

Question 3

Is there vendor lock-in if we run ChirpStack through merkaio?

Accepted Answer

No. This is a core promise of merkaio. Since we use 100% open-source software, the data and configurations belong to you. You can request a complete database dump (PostgreSQL & Redis) at any time and move your instance to another provider or your own servers. We retain customers through service quality, not proprietary code.

Question 4

Is the solution multi-tenant capable?

Accepted Answer

Yes. ChirpStack supports multi-tenancy out of the box. We can configure your instance to allow multiple organizations or application users. This is ideal if you're a service provider offering IoT solutions to different end customers and need to logically separate data streams.

Question 5

Which LoRaWAN gateways does merkaio support?

Accepted Answer

Our infrastructure is hardware-agnostic. We support any gateway that can use the Semtech Packet Forwarder or ChirpStack Gateway Bridge. We have particularly deep experience and automated provisioning templates for Milesight gateways. We also support hardware from Mikrotik, Kerlink, Dragino, MultiTech or RAK Wireless.

Question 6

How do you secure the connection between gateway and cloud?

Accepted Answer

We don't rely on open ports. We implement secured connections, typically via MQTTS (TLS/SSL) or dedicated VPN tunnels (e.g., WireGuard). This means the management interfaces of the gateways are not publicly visible on the internet, drastically reducing the attack surface.

Question 7

Do you support different frequency plans (EU868, US915)?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Since we have full control over the chirpstack-network-server configuration, we can support any frequency plan defined by the LoRa Alliance. We operate instances for customers in Europe (EU868), the USA (US915) or Asia (AS923) – including mixed environments within a single instance if you operate globally.

Question 8

How do I get data from ChirpStack into my application?

Accepted Answer

ChirpStack offers flexible integration options that we configure for you. The most common routes are MQTT (for real-time data), HTTP webhooks (for REST APIs) or direct integrations into InfluxDB or PostgreSQL. We ensure the data arrives securely where you want to process it.

Question 9

Can ChirpStack and Grafana be connected directly?

Accepted Answer

Yes, this is a standard scenario at merkaio. We configure ChirpStack so that decoded payloads are written to a time-series database (e.g., Prometheus or InfluxDB), which Grafana then accesses. This gives you real-time visualizations of your sensor data without detours.

Question 10

Where is my IoT data physically stored? (Data privacy)

Accepted Answer

By default, we host our managed instances in data centers in Germany or the EU (e.g., Frankfurt/Nuremberg) to ensure full GDPR compliance. On request (e.g., for international latency optimization), we can also deploy your instance in other regions. You decide on the data location.

Question 11

Who handles ChirpStack software updates?

Accepted Answer

merkaio handles this completely. Outdated IoT servers are a security risk. We test new versions in staging environments and roll out updates in a controlled manner, often without downtime, to your production environment. We also handle updates to the underlying databases (PostgreSQL/Redis) and the operating system.

Question 12

How scalable is the solution? (10 vs. 10,000 devices)

Accepted Answer

Very scalable. For small setups, we use efficient single-instance deployments. As your network grows, we seamlessly migrate to cluster architectures (e.g., Kubernetes), where network server, application server and databases run on separate nodes and handle load spikes via load balancers.

Question 13

What happens if the server fails? (Backup & Recovery)

Accepted Answer

We perform daily automated backups of your configurations and databases, which are encrypted and stored externally. In case of a critical failure, we can restore the entire environment within a very short time (defined in the SLA) – this is disaster recovery.

Question 14

Can we migrate from an existing TTN or self-hosted solution?

Accepted Answer

Yes. For migration from a self-hosted ChirpStack, we can often import the databases directly (lift & shift). For TTN migration, we support you in re-registering devices or (if you have the root keys) migrating via script. We advise you on the best migration path.

Question 15

How is pricing structured? (Per device or flat rate?)

Accepted Answer

Unlike many SaaS platforms that charge per message or per device and become expensive at scale, we use infrastructure pricing. You pay for the managed instance provided (size S/M/L) and the service level. This makes costs predictable and fair as your sensor network grows.

	Self-Hosted	LoRaWAN Platforms
Setup & Configuration	Complex, own team	Fast, but limited	Professional, customized
Ongoing Operations	Entirely yourself	Managed, but black box	Managed & transparent
Updates & Security	Manual, often forgotten	Automatic, no control	Automatic & controlled
Scaling	Complex	Limited	Seamless
Support & SLA	No SLA	Standard support	Dedicated support
Cost Model	Hidden costs	Pay-per-device	Transparent fixed pricing

ChirpStack HostingFully Managed

What is ChirpStack?

Why Self-Hosted ChirpStack Often Fails

MQTT Broker Management

Redis Cluster

PostgreSQL Database

Gateway Connection

Updates & Security

Managed ChirpStack by merkaio

Architecture & Data Flow

LoRaWAN Gateways

ChirpStack Network Server

Application Server

Integrations

Native Integrations

Grafana

ThingsBoard

Security & SLAs

SLA-Backed Operations

Who is Managed ChirpStack for?

Smart City

Industry 4.0

Utilities

Logistics

ChirpStack: Self-Hosted vs. Platforms vs. merkaio

FAQ – ChirpStack Managed Hosting & Operations

Ready for Managed ChirpStack?