Is RAK7289V2 (16-channel) suitable for 500 Class C nodes with bidirectional communication and OTA?

Hello,

I am planning a private LoRaWAN network with the following setup:

  • Gateway: RAK7289V2 (dual concentrator, 16 channels)
  • End devices: RAK3172
  • Network Server: ChirpStack
  • Region: KR920
  • Device Class: Class C

The network will have approximately 500 nodes.

Our application requirements are:

  • Bidirectional communication
  • Remote control commands with a response time of within 10 seconds
  • Each node controls a motor after receiving a downlink command.
  • After executing the command successfully, the node sends an acknowledgment (ACK) back to the server.

I understand that Class C devices can receive downlink messages almost at any time, but I am concerned about the gateway’s downlink capacity when supporting around 500 devices.

My questions are:

  1. Is a single RAK7289V2 (16-channel) sufficient for approximately 500 Class C devices?
  2. Will downlink capacity become the main bottleneck in this scenario?
  3. Can this architecture reliably support command-and-response communication with a response time of less than 10 seconds?
  4. Is ChirpStack suitable for this type of deployment, or are there any recommended configurations or optimizations?
  5. Are there any limitations or best practices specific to the KR920 region that I should be aware of?

If anyone has experience deploying a similar system, I would greatly appreciate your advice.

Thank you!