**The Rank of your gateway is an indicator of its usefulness to the Crankk network and serves as a weighing coefficient for reward distribution.** The Ranking mechanism incentivises gateway owners to deploy their gateways in the best possible location and with the best possible equipment to achieve a high Rank, enhancing gateway usefulness for the network and ultimately leading to higher rewards for the gateway owner.

ℹ️ The Crankk reward protocol distributes gateway rewards after applying the Rank as a weighing factor.

✅ Gateways are eligible for the full reward if their Rank score is equal to or above the total network average Rank.

✅ Gateway rewards are resised (decreased) relative to the percentage the gateway's Rank score is below the network average Rank.

Two examples:

*If the average network rank is 50% and your gateway has a 25% rank, then your gateway is performing at 50% of the average and thus will only be rewarded 50% of the full reward.*

*If the average network rank is 50% and your gateway has a 10% rank, then your gateway is performing at 20% of the average and thus will only be rewarded 20% of the full reward.*

Tip!

✅ Gateways can be deployed anywhere. \
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If you put them far apart, they will have more use to the network then when you put them close together because gateways far apart will each cover a greater, unique area without too much overlap. **This increases Rank score**.

✅ It is allowed to put gateways close together.

If you put gateways close together, they will be providing coverage for the same area. This overlapping coverage is called redundancy and is desirable as a backup in case one of the gateways in this area fails; the others will still provide coverage for a portion of the 'lost' area. **This splits Rank score between gateways.**

⚠️ However, when too many gateways provide coverage for the same area, the overlap (redundancy) would become too great at the cost of unique coverage. **This decreases Rank score for redundant gateways.**

ℹ️ Coverage is not only the result of gateway positioning. Antenna and cable quality, antenna placement with clear line of sight, hardware quality, stable internet connection and device uptime also play a vital role in providing quality coverage.

Gateway Rank is calculated by analising all LoRa traffic the gateway witnesses, also taking its seniority into account.

> *Two gateways deployed far apart might both be assigned with a rank of 100% and 100% because they each cover a unique area without overlap."*\
> \
> "Two gateways deployed close to each other at the same time might be assigned a rank of 50% and 50%."\
> \
> "*Two gateways deployed close to each other at different times might be assigned a Rank of 60% and 40%, rewarding the first deployed gateway's seniority over the second.*

**When distributing rewards to gateways based on their network participation and usefulness, a scale indicating this usefulness must be in place.**

✔️ To ensure a fair distribution of rewards;\
✔️ to incentivise optimal positioning of gateways;\
✔️ to give participants an equal chance to make the best of their investment;\
✔️ to give participants an equal chance to have access to good locations;\
✔️to reward earlier joiners more, based on a 'higher risk, higher reward' principle;\
✔️to provide subsequent joiners with a fair chance to still get a good ROI.

The Ranking algorithm is designed:

✔️ to score the percentage of unique traffic each gateway witnesses, accurately determining its true position and true effectiveness relative to other gateways;\
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✔️ to determine the seniority of each gateway, benefiting earlier deployed gateways over consequentially deployed gateways. \
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The result of the algorithm calculation is the gateway's Rank.

*The Ranking algorithm is programmed as follows:*

1. *register when gateways have joined and register when they relocate (seniority);*
2. *process all traffic received by all gateways in the network;*
3. *find unique traffic and see how many and which gateways received it;*
4. *look at each packet of unique communication and:*
   1. *assign 1 point to the gateway that established coverage in the area first;*
   2. *assign 1/2 point to the secondly established gateway;*
   3. *assign 1/3 point to the thirdly established gateway;*
   4. *assign 0 points to any consecutive receivers. Maximum redundancy is met.*
5. *Calculate a percentage of total points assigned over total packets received. This gives a percentage of how much the gateway is contributing to actual coverage;*
6. *derive the Ranking scale based on this percentage.*

ℹ️ For an accurate analysis of gateway effectiveness you need as much data as possible. This is why the Ranking algorithm determines unique traffic among **all LoRa traffic** received by the gateway rather then only taking Crankk activity into account.

*This includes Crankk beacons, Helium beacons, TTN beacons, ThingsIX beacons and any other (miscellaneous) LoRa signals your antenna witnesses in your region..*

✔️ No hexagons, no location-only based Ranking scale.

A gateway in a certain area covered by other gateways but receiving traffic from a direction that is blocked for the other gateways in that area should still be a very useful participant!

ℹ️ Relocating your gateway resets its seniority. Once setup, it is wise to leave the gateway in its place to retain the seniority advantage over consequently deployed gateways in your area.

**How can I improve my gateway's coverage and increase Rank percentage?**

✅ Best results are achieved if your gateway (antenna) has a 'clear line of sight' to other gateways and potential sensors. Higher is usually better; outside is better than inside; behind a window is better than behind a wall.

✅ A high-quality setup returns higher rewards: use a quality LoRaWAN antenna that suits your location, use a short (low-loss) coax cable to connect your antenna to your gateway and use as little connectors in between as possible. Place your antenna as high up as possible.

✅ Place your gateway at an optimal distance from other gateways to maximize unique network coverage and increase your Rank. Ensure they are not too close to each other to avoid too much redundant coverage overlap.

✅ A stable internet connection beats an inconsistent connection; make sure your gateway is connected to a stable electricity grid; prevent your gateway from overheating: keep it well ventilated.

The[User Dashboard](https://dashboard.crankk.io/gateways)Rank shows two percentage scores:

✔️ **Current Rank** shows the Rank score from the previous week.\
✔️ **Upcoming Rank** shows Rank score being updated in real-time (it is next week's Rank in the making.)

The 'Upcoming Rank' feature aims to offer you immediate feedback, allowing for continuous improvement of your gateway’s performance week over week.

✅ Congratulations Crankkster, you're one step ahead in the game. Now that you understand how Rank works, try to determine the best possible strategy for your gateway and maximise your rewards.

ℹ️ We appreciate your feedback to further enhance the functionality and fairness of our network and Ranking algorithm. Share your thoughts and engage in discussions in our[Discord](https://discord.com/invite/crankk)server.

🧡 *Your active participation is what makes the Crankk Community robust and thriving!*

Also read:

- [Initial design](https://crankk.io/crankk-initial-design-for-the-crankk-rank/)for the Crankk Rank: a score for gateway effectiveness.
- Crankk Rank[version 2](https://crankk.io/crankk-rank-v2-goes-live-your-feedback-shapes-the-future/) goes live, further refining the Ranking algorithm.
- Crankk Rank version 2.1 aims to reflect gateway adjustments in[real-time](https://alviso.medium.com/crankk-rank-v2-1-and-location-set-32e82a28bd4f).

⚠️ **Troubleshooting**

**Why is my rank showing 0%?**

**Answer 1:** Newly onboarded gateways show 0% Rank during the first week. Your Rank is still being determined. It should become visible after a week.

**Answer 2:** At the start of each week, the current Rank is reset and the upcoming Rank is calculated. This sometimes results in a displayed rank of 0%. This issue is being worked on. Rest assured, your rank should restore itself within 24 h.

Next up:

Set your gateway location in your User Dashboard. Learn how [here](https://crankk.wiki/docs/set-gateway-location/)

- *Setting your location is mandatory and adds to calculating your rewards accurately.*
- *Gateways without a set location will see a significant decrease in earnings, receiving only 0.00003 CRKK per transaction instead of the full reward.*
- *Accurate location data significantly enhances our network's coverage map;*
- *Accurate location assists in strategic gateway placement by new users;*
- *Accurate location setting allows the reward distribution protocol to more accurately distribute rewards based on the real contribution of each gateway to the network.*

Crankk

The Rank of your gateway is an indicator of its usefulness to the Crankk network. Optimizing the placement of gateways in the Crankk network enhances their effectiveness and directly impacts earned rewards. Understanding the Ranking system can help you strategically position your gateway to minimise redundant overlap and maximise unique coverage, ultimately leading to higher rewards. Improve your coverage, increase your rank and earn more from the network.

Crankk Rank explained

What is Rank?

Why is a Ranking system important?

How is Rank determined?

How is Rank improved?