ZIGBEE
Zigbee:
ZigBee is a low-power Wireless Personal Area Networks, which is a wireless network with a short range, 10-100 meters. ZigBee is used for wireless control and monitoring the applications.
Features of Zigbee:
It Support for multiple network topologies such as point-to-point,point-to-multipoint and mesh networks.It’s low duty cycle provides longer life and it is encrypted for secure data connections.
Security:
Zigbee provides enhanced network security. There are two methods of security that gives rise to two types of network,
● Centralized security: It has a coordinator/trust center that forms the network and manages the allocation of network.
● Distributed security: In this method,there is no coordinator/trust center and it is formed by a router.
Zigbee Operation:
ZigBee is built on top of the 802.15.4 specification which defines the Physical (PHY) and Media Access Control (MAC) layers for low-rate WPANs (LR-WPANs). It allows a set of devices to communicate wirelessly through one of several possible topologies.
Zigbee stack:
A simplified zigbee stack looks like this,
Star Network:
Star topology is the simplest and limited topology available to ZigBee. Here, the devices connect to a single Coordinator node and all communication goes via this Coordinator.
Tree Network:
Here,the end Devices are leaf nodes (although a Router could also be a leaf if no children have joined it yet) and intermediate nodes are Routers.Communication can directly occur between a child node and its parent, but all nodes can communicate together by messages and then down to the target node.
Mesh Networks:
Zigbee supports mesh networking where multiple nodes are interconnected and the communication is far better than others.
Zigbee 3.0 Protocol:
Zigbee protocol provides an easy-to-use wireless data solution and it has the advantage of reliable mesh networking capability.If the application is simple, it might be possible to implement only IEEE 802.15.4 layers. Home automation is one of the major application areas for ZigBee wireless networking.
Advantages of Zigbee:
The Zigbee protocol communicates data through RF environments which are noisy that are common in commercial and industrial applications.Connecting zigBee networks to the IP domain opens up monitoring and control from devices such as smartphones, tablets on a LAN or WAN, including the Internet, and brings the true Internet of Things to fruition.
Zigbee Applications:
● Smart energy/smart grid
● AMR (Automatic Meter Reading)
● Lighting controls
● Tank monitoring
● HVAC control
● Medical devices
● Fleet applications
Conclusion:
ZigBee networks are highly flexible with devices connecting and disconnecting, altering the layout of the mesh network and so on.Zigbee enables broad-based deployment of wireless networks with low-cost, low-power solutions. It provides the ability to run for years on inexpensive batteries for a host of monitoring and control applications.
