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ZigBee does not support beacon mode?

Ryan11780
Prodigy 90 points

Other Parts Discussed in Thread: TIMAC

Recently,I am puzzled ,because I still do not know why it is said in the zigbee datasheet that the mesh network is a non-beaconed network.I want the routers in a mesh network to sleep without affecting the work of the whole network ,but I do not know how to realize the synchronization if it is needed.Can you give me some advice.

  • 0
    Expert 1075 points

    Hi Ryan

    When looking at the notification e-mails that I receive from the community (being subcribed to the different forums) it looks like you posted the same question in 3 different threads??? Fortunately somebody moved it to this single thread, because now I know which one to answer :-)

    My tip: Avoid posting new questions in an existing thread as it makes the forum messy and difficult to follow/search.

    Having said that let me aim at your question:

    Aren't beacon based networks always based on a tree topology; hence, they do not support mesh? In a mesh network all nodes can talk to each other, while in a beacon based network you can only talk to those to whom's beacon you listen; hence, messages travel up and down the tree. Or are you thinking of implementing a creative way to do a beacon mode network that does not rely on the tree structure? Wonder how you do the slot allocation for that.

    As far as I know there are very good reasons why large beacon based networks won't work.

    Deployment time: Devices cannot simply send out a beacon request to see whether there is a network to join (as they do in ZigBee; i.e. non-beacon based mode). Instead they have to listen and wait for beacons to sniff in order to find out whether there is a network out there. This obviously takes time and power.

    Synchronization loss: Devices that sleep and miss for some reason the connection to their "parent" device will after a while loose the synchronization. As a result there is a broken link that will effect other nodes as well.

    ZigBee does not support beacon based operation and I guess the people that defined the stack profiles have good reasons for it.

    -LL-

  • 0 in reply to LuckyLuke
    Prodigy 90 points

    I will not post the same question in an existing thread,thank you for reminding me.

    your viewpoints do enlighten me .However,are there any methods to make the routers sleep properly in the mesh network?

    Could I make the coordinator maintain a RTC for the whole network ,and the routers use the very RTC to realize the synchronization.Does the zigbee provide some timestamps to support this?I do need your advice.

  • 0 in reply to Ryan11780
    Prodigy 60 points

    Hi,

    The ZigBee specification defines a beacon mode that can be used by ZigBee-based tree and cluster tree networks. What I have seen is that manufacturers do not have APIs supporting those topologies. Am I wrong?

    Best regards,

    HLopez

     

  • 0 in reply to Helena Lopez
    TI__Expert 3140 points

    You are correct. Several of the TIMAC implementations offer beaconing support though.

  • 0 in reply to LuckyLuke
    Prodigy 50 points

    Thank you for the above intel. As a newbie enthusiast in short range wireless networking, such know-how will prove to be very valuable. Keep it up.

    PS: It is only today that I have learned of Beacon - mode.  :O)