APPLICATION OF ZIGBEE TECHNOLOGY IN

TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Ranadip Gorai, Amritangshu Das

Domain: Electronics
Room no. 239,
M.G.Block, SIT Group of Hostels,
Siddaganga Institute of technology,
Tumkur

[email protected]
9036142493

Abstract
ZigBee is an IEEE 802.15.4 standard for data communications with business and consumer devices. It is
designed around low-power consumption allowing batteries to essentially last forever. The ZigBee standard
provides network, security, and application support services operating on top of the IEEE 802.15.4 Medium
Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) wireless standard. It employs a suite of technologies to
enable scalable, self-organizing, self-healing networks that can manage various data traffic patterns.
ZigBee is a low-cost, low-power, wireless mesh networking standard. The low cost allows the technology
to be widely deployed in wireless control and monitoring applications, the low power-usage allows longer
life with smaller batteries, and the mesh networking provides h igh reliability and larger range.ZigBee has
been developed to meet the growing demand for capable wireless networking between numerous low-
power devices. In industry ZigBee is being used for next generation automated manufacturing, with small
transmitters in every device on the floor, allowing for communication between devices to a central
computer. This new level of communication permits finely-tuned remote monitoring and manipulation.

Keywords: Medium Access Control (MAC), Physical Layer (PHY), Wireless Personal Area Networking
(WPAN), Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)

1. Introduction The relationship between IEEE 802.15.4 and

ZigBee is similar to that between IEEE 802.11 and
ZigBee is an established set of specifications for the Wi-Fi Allian ce. For non-commercial purposes,
wireless personal area networking (WPAN), i.e. the ZigBee specification is available free to the
digital radio connections between computers and general public. An entry level membership in the
related devices. WPAN Low Rate or ZigBee ZigBee Alliance, called Adopter, co sts US$ 3500
provides specifications for devices that have low annually and provid es access to the as-yet
data rates, consume very low power and are thus unpublished specifications and permission to create
characterized by long battery life. ZigBee makes products for market using the specifications.
possible completely networked homes where all ZigBee is one of the global standards of
devices are able to communicate and be controlled communication protocol formulated by the relevant
by a single unit. The ZigBee Alliance, the standards task force under the IEEE 802.15 wo rking group.
body which defines ZigBee, also publishes The fourth in the series, WPAN Low Rate/ZigBee
application profiles that allow multiple OEM is the newest and provides specifications for
vendors to create interoperable products. The devices that have low data rates, consume very low
current list of application profiles either published power and are thus characterized by long battery
or in the works are: life. Other standards like Bluetooth and IrDA
address high data rate applications such as voice,
Home Automation video and LAN communications.
ZigBee Smart Energy
Telecommunication Applications ZigBee devices are actively limited to a through-
Personal Home rate of 250Kbps, compared to Bluetooth's much
larger pipeline of 1Mbps, operating on the 2.4 GHz
ISM band, which is available throughout most of devices have been marketed as proprietary items for
the world.In the consumer market ZigBee is being want of a standard. With acceptance and
explored for everything from linking low-power implementation of Zig Bee, interoperability will be
household devices such as smoke alarms to a enabled in multi-purpose, self-organizing mesh
central housing control unit, to centralized light networks
controls.
2. Zigbee characteristics
The specified maximum range of operation for
ZigBee devices is 250 feet (76m), substantially The focus of network applications under the IEEE
further than that used by Bluetooth capable devices, 802.15.4 / ZigBee standard include the features of
although security concerns raised over "sniping" low power consumption, needed for only two major
Bluetooth devices remotely, may prove to hold true modes (Tx/Rx or Sleep), high density of nodes per
for ZigBee devices as well. Due to its low power network, low costs and simple implementation.
output, ZigBee devices can sustain themselves on a
small battery for many months, or even years,
These features are enabled by the following
making them ideal for install-and-forget purposes,
characteristics,
such as most small household systems. Predictions
of ZigBee installation for the future, most based on
the explosive use of ZigBee in automated 2.4GHz and 868/915 MHz dual PHY modes . This
household tasks in China, look to a near future represents three license-free bands: 2.4-2.4835
when upwards of sixty ZigBee devices may be GHz, 868-870 MHz and 902-928 MHz. The
found in an average American home, all number of channels allotted to each frequency band
communicating with one another freely and is fixed at sixteen (numbered 11-26), one
regulating common tasks seamlessly. (numbered 0) and ten (numbered 1-10)
respectively. The higher frequency band is
applicable worldwide, and the lower band in the
The ZigBee Alliance has been set up as an
areas of North America, Europe, Australia and New
association of companies working together to
Zealand .
enable reliable, cost-effective, low-power,
wirelessly networked, monitoring and control
products based on an open global standard. Once a Low power consumption, with battery life
manufacturer enrolls in this Alliance for a fee, he ranging from months to years. Considering the
can have access to the standard and implement it in number of devices with remotes in use at present, it
his products in the form of ZigBee chipsets that is easy to see that more numbers of batteries need
would be built into the end devices. Philips, to be provisioned every so often, entailing regular
Mo torola, Intel, HP are all members of the Allian ce (as well as timely), recurring expenditure. In the
. The goal is to provide the consumer with ZigBee standard, longer battery life is achievable
ultimate flexibility, mobility, and ease of use b y by either of two means: continuous network
building wireless intelligence and capabilities into connection and slow but sure battery drain, or
every day devices. ZigBee technology will be intermittent connection and even slower battery
embedded in a wide range of products and drain.
applications across consumer, commercial,
industrial and government markets worldwide. For Maximum data rates allowed for each of these
the first time, companies will have a standards- frequency bands are fixed as 250 kbps @2.4 GHz,
based wireless platform optimized for the unique 40 kbps @ 915 MHz, and 20 kbps @8 68 MHz.
needs of remote monitoring and control
applications, including simplicity, reliability, low- High throughput and low latency for low du ty-
cost and low-power. cycle applications (<0.1%)

The target networks encompass a wide range of Channel access using Carrier Sense Multiple
devices with low data rates in the Industrial, Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA - CA)
Scientific and Medical (ISM) radio bands, with
building-automation controls like intruder/fire Addressing space of up to 64 bit IEEE address
alarms, thermostats and remote (wireless) switches, devices, 65,535 networks
video/audio remote controls likely to be the most
popular applications. So far sensor and control
 50m typical range periodically, locks on and looks for messages
addressed to it. If message transmission is
Fully reliab le hand-shaked data transfer complete, the coordinator dictates a schedule for
protocol. the next beacon so that the device goes to sleep'; in
fact, the coordinator itself switches to sleep mode.
Different topolo gies as illustrated below: star,
peer-to-peer, mesh While using the beacon mode, all the devices in a
mesh network know when to communicate with
each other. In this mode, necessarily, the timing
circuits have to be quite accurate, or wake up
sooner to be sure not to miss the beacon. This in
turn means an increase in power consumption by
the coordinator's receiver, entailing an optimal
increase in costs.

Fig.1. ZigBee Topologies

3. Traffic types

ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4 addresses three typical

traffic types. IEEE 802.15.4 MAC can
accommodate all the types.

1. Data is Periodic. The application dictates the

rate, and the sensor activates, checks for data and Fig.2. Beacon Network Communication
deactivates.

2. Data is intermittent. The application, or other

The non-beacon mode will be included in a system
stimulus, determines the rate, as in th e case of say
smoke detectors. The device needs to connect to the where devices are asleep' nearly always, as in
smoke detectors and burglar alarms. The devices
network only when communication is necessitated.
wake up and confirm their continued presence in
This type enables optimu m saving on energy.
the network at random intervals.
3. Data is repetitive , and the rate is fixed a priori.
On detection of activity, the sensors spring to
Depending on allotted time slots, called GTS
attention', as it were, and transmit to the ever-
(guaranteed time slot), devices operate for fixed
waiting coordinator's receiver (since it is mains-
durations.
powered). However, there is the remotest of
chances that a sensor finds the channel busy, in
ZigBee employs either of two modes, beacon or which case the receiver unfortunately would miss a
non-beacon to enable the to -and-fro data traffic. call'.
Beacon mode is used when the coordinator runs on
batteries and thus offers maximum power savings,
whereas the non-beacon mode finds favour when
the coordinator is mains-powered.

In the beacon mode, a device watches out for the

Coordinators beacon that gets transmitted at
 It may be helpful to think of IEEE 802.15.4 as the
physical radio and ZigBee as the logical network
and application software. Following the standard
Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference
model, ZigBee's protocol stack is structured in
layers. The first two layers, physical (PHY) and
media access (MAC), are defined by the IEEE
802.15.4 standard. The layers above them are
defined by the ZigBee Alliance. The IEEE working
group passed the first draft of PHY and MAC in
2003.
Fig.3. Non-Beacon Network Communication
ZigBee-compliant products operate in unlicensed
bands worldwide, including 2.4GHz (global), 902
to 928MHz (Americas), and 868MHz (Europe).
4. Architecture Raw data throughput rates of 250Kbps can be
achieved at 2.4GHz (16 channels), 40Kbps at
ZigBee is a home-area network designed 915MHz (10 channels), and 20Kbps at 868MHz (1
specifically to replace the proliferation of channel). The transmission distance is expected to
individual remote controls. ZigBee was created to range from 10 to 75m, depending on power output
satisfy the market's need for a cost-effective, and environmental characteristics. Like Wi-Fi,
standards-based wireless network that supports low Zigbee uses direct-sequence spread spectrum in the
data rates, low power consumption, security, and 2.4GHz band, with offset-quadrature phase-shift
reliability. To address this need, the ZigBee keying modulation. Channel width is 2MHz with
Alliance, an industry working group 5MHz channel spacing. The 868 and 900MHz
(www.zigbee.org), is developing standardized bands also use direct-sequence spread spectrum but
application software on top of the IEEE 802.15.4 with binary-phase-shift keying modulation.
wireless standard. The alliance is working closely
with the IEEE to ensure an integrated, complete, 5. Frame structure
and interoperable network for the market. For
example, the working group will provide
Figure 5 illustrates the four basic frame types
interoperability certification testing of 802.15.4
defined in 802.15.4: data, ACK, MAC command,
systems that include the ZigBee software layer.
and beacon.

The Zig Bee Alliance will also serve as the official

test and certification group for ZigBee devices.
ZigBee is the only standards-based technology that
addresses the needs of most remote monitoring and
control and sensory network applications.

Fig.4. ZigBee stack architecture

Figure5: The four basic frame types defined in Device addresses employ 64-bit IEEE and optional
802.15.4: Data, ACK, MAC command, and beacon 16-bit short addressing. The address field within the
MAC can contain both source and destination
The data frame provides a payload of up to 104 address information (needed for peer-to-peer
bytes. The frame is numbered to ensure that all operation). This dual address information is used in
packets are tracked. A frame-check sequence mesh networks to prevent a single point of failure
ensures that packets are received without error. within the network.
This frame structure improves reliability in difficult
conditions. 7. Device types

Another important structure for 802.15.4 is the These devices have 64-bit IEEE addresses, with
acknowledgment (ACK) frame . It provides feedback option to enable shorter addresses to reduce packet
from the receiver to the sender confirming that the size, and work in either of two addressing modes
packet was received without error. The device takes star and peer-to-peer.
advantage of specified "quiet time" between frames
to send a short packet immediately after the data- ZigBee networks use three device types:
packet transmission.
The network coordinator maintains overall
A MAC command frame provides the mechanism network knowledge. It's the most
for remote control and configuration of client sophisticated of the three types and
nodes. A centralized network manager uses MAC requires the most memo ry and computin g
to configure individual clients' command frames no power.
matter how large the network.
The full function device (FFD) supports all
802.15.4 functions and features specified
Finally, the beacon frame wakes up client devices, by th e standard. It can function as a
which listen for their address and go back to sleep network coordinator. Additional memory
if they don't receive it. Beacons are important for and computing power make it ideal for
mesh and cluster-tree networks to keep all the network router functions or it could be
nodes synchronized without requiring those nodes used in network-edge devices (where the
to consume precious battery energy by listening for network touches the real world).
long periods of time. The reduced function device (RFD) carries
limited (as specified by the standard)
6. Channel access, addressing functionality to lower cost and complexity.
It's generally found in network-edge
Two channel-access mechanisms are implemented devices.
in 802.15.4. For a non"beacon network, a standard
ALOHA CSMA-CA (carrier-sense medium-access 8. Security
with collision avoidance) communicates with
positive acknowledgement for successfully Security and data integrity are key b enefits of the
received packets. In a beacon-enabled network, a ZigBee technology. ZigBee leverages the security
superframe structure is used to control channel model of the IEEE 802.15.4 MAC sublayer which
access. The superframe is set up by the network specifies four security services:
coordinator to transmit beacons at predetermined
intervals (multiples of 15.38ms, up to 252s) and
access controlthe device maintains a list
provides 16 equal-width time slots between
of trusted devices within the network
beacons for contention-free channel access in each
data encryption, which uses symmetric key
time slot. The structure guarantees dedicated
128-bit advanced encryption standard
bandwidth and low latency. Channel access in each
frame integrity to protect data from being
time slo t is contention-based. However, the
modified by parties without cryptographic
network coordinator can dedicate up to seven
keys
guaranteed time slots per beacon interval for quality
of service. sequential freshness to reject data frames
that have been replayedthe network
controller compares the freshness value
with the last known value from the d evice
 and rejects it if the freshness value has not The actual security implementation is specified by
been updated to a new value the implementer using a standardized toolbox of
ZigBee security software.

The following table-1 shows the Wireless technology comparison chart,

Standard Bandwidth Power Protocol Stronghold Applications

Consumption Stack Size

Wi-Fi Up to 400+mA TX, 100+KB High data rate Internet browsing,

54Mbps standby 20mA PC networking, file
transfers

Bluetooth 1Mbps 40mA TX, ~100+KB Interoperability, Wireless USB,

standby 0.2mA cable replacement handset, headset

ZigBee 250kbps 30mA TX, 4"32KB Long battery life, Remote control,
standby low cost battery-operated
3#&956;A products, sensors

Table 1 Wireless technology comparison chart

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