Problem in selecting Hardware for a nodes in mesh network

[Aditya94]

Hi.
I want to use nRF52840 as a gateway(connected to cloud via Ethernet). I have to transmit a vast number of nodes' data to the cloud via the gateway. To begin with I can start with 3 or 4 nodes. I have a problem in determining the hardware required for the nodes. The nodes are kept in a large warehouse. Some custom information should be transmitted from the nodes to the gateway.
What is the best hardware for the nodes?

[tesc]

Hi,

For the backbone of a mesh network you would typically need mains powered nodes (or very large batteries). For Bluetooth mesh we recommend the nRF52840 high-end SoC or the nRF52832 mainstream SoC. The reason why you would need a set of mains powered devices in a mesh network, is that the mesh network needs to be always accessible, which means a lot of time spent in RX for relaying nodes. Typically we envision relay nodes to be lighting, as lighting needs to be mains powered, but dedicated relay nodes may also be an option.

For the nodes sending data, you have two options. Either they can take proper part in the mesh network, or you can simply use BLE beacons whose data transmissions are picked up by proper mesh nodes and relayed through the network to the gateway. For beacons you can even use the nRF52810 baseline SoC. See e.g. the EnOcean switch translator client example from the nRF5 SDK for Mesh, for an example of integrating beacon sensors into a Bluetooth mesh network. Other options are to use GATT bearer or Low Power Nodes, for increasing levels of throughput and mesh network integration at the expense of higher power consumption.

In addition to Bluetooth mesh, we support standard BLE, Thread, Zigbee, and 2.4 GHz proprietary RF.

Regards,
Terje