Handling Failed Coordinator Hardware (Cloning Coordinator)

Michael Roberts

It is vital to be able to replicate the coordinator, if it should fail.

It is my understanding that to replicate or clone the coordinator, the stack / platform NV items need to be read from the non-volatile memory periodically. and stored.

If the coordinator fails, this data would then be written back to the new coordinator.

From ID's listed below, which specifically need to be backed up?

How often or under what circumstances should the backups occur?

Any idea if 0x0200 is reserved or typo?

I'd also be interested with other developer's experiences on this subject. Thanks!

Non-Volatile ID Table (from OSAL API):

0x0000 - 0x0000 Reserved

0x0001 - 0x0020 OSAL

0x0021 - 0x0040 NWK

0x0041 - 0x0060 APS

0x0061 - 0x0080 Security

0x0081 - 0x00B0 ZDO

0x00B1 - 0x00E0 Commissioning SAS

0x00E1 - 0x0100 Reserved

0x0101 - 0x01FF Trust Center Link Keys

0x0200 - 0x0200 ???????????????

0x0201 - 0x0300 Zigbee Pro APS Link Keys

0x0301 - 0x0400 Zigbee Pro Master Keys

0x0401 - 0x0FFF Application

0x1000 - 0xFFFF Reserved

over 12 years ago

0 Michael Roberts over 12 years ago

Intellectual 745 points

0 Michael Roberts over 12 years ago in reply to Michael Roberts

Intellectual 745 points

0 Michael Roberts over 12 years ago in reply to Michael Roberts

Intellectual 745 points

0 Suyash Jain over 12 years ago

TI__Genius 10650 points

Hi Micheal,

For your information: For definition of all NV ID's and their description within each group for example OSAL, the list of NV Items can be seen from the file ZComDef.h. This will provide the exact NV ID details that are being backed up.

For the question on what NV ID's need to be backed up to restore the coordinator, OSAL, NWK, APS, Security, ZDO, And keys should be backed up. I would recommend backing up all the NV items especially the ones listed in the zgItemTable[] defined in the file ZGlobal.c. For the keys only the keys that are being used should be backed up: So if the network uses:

1. Trust Center Link keys then 0x0101 - 0x01FF Trust Center Link Keys should be backed up

2. APS LInk Keys then 0x0201 - 0x0300 Zigbee Pro APS Link Keys should be backed up

3. Master Keys then 0x0301 - 0x0400 Zigbee Pro Master Keys should be backed up

0x0200 - 0x0200 ??????????????? -- There is no NV ID 0x0200.

The decision on whether or not to back up the application layer NV Items will be on the implementer. If the coordinator application uses the NV to store the information that is used by the application and needs to backed up, Then we will need to back these up as well. Also, to have the most current state of the coordinator. We can implement a back up timing that will coincide with important updates on the application layer. Also, for ex a backup trigger can be generated on cases for ex - where a new device joins the network and a device announce message is received by the coordinator.

Can you please tell me what type of network is this – SE, Home Automation, etc or if you are using a manufacturer specific application profile?

Please let me know if you have any question on this.

Regards,