Department of

ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

SEMINAR REPORT SUBMITTED

By
ANBARASI.K
REGISTER NO: 22TC0055
B. Tech – Seventh Semester

REPORT WORK FOR

EC P73 – SEMINAR

Submitted to
PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY
PUDUCHERRY
OCTOBER 2025
 DEPARTMENT OF
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this Seminar report is the Bonafide work ANBARASI.K
(22TC0055)who carried out the seminar entitled “NANOELECTRONICS IN
NANOSATELLITE” under my supervision from 2025-2026.

Co-Ordinator Head of the Department [Link], Dr.S.

ANANDALATCHOUMY., M.E., [Link]., Ph.d., M.I.S.T.E., Assistant Professor
Professor & Head of the Department

Submitted for the Seminar held on ……………………

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My deep sense of gratitude goes to our Chairman & Managing Director Dr. S.
R. S. Paul, who provided all facilities and necessary encouragement during the
course of study. I extended my gratitude and sincere thanks to our beloved
Principal Dr. A. Sivakumar., for his support.
With great pleasure, I would like to express my deep thanks to Professor Dr. S.
Anandalatchoumy., Head of the Department of Electronics and
Communication Engineering for her long-lasting encouragement and constructive
appreciation throughout this seminar work.
I would like to express my unbounded gratefulness to my co-ordinator Professor
S. Thangapriya, Assistant Professor of Electronics and Communication
Engineering for her valuable guidance and encouragement. Also, she has been a
constant source of inspiration and has provided consistent succor and precious
suggestions throughout this seminar work.
I thank all Faculty members and supporting staff for the help they extended, in
completing this seminar work. I also express my sincere thanks to my family
members and all my friends for their continuous support.

ANUSRI.M
TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES i

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 EVOLUTION OF LOW-RATE WIRELESS PERSONAL AREA NETWORK

STANDARDIZATION 1 1.2 ZIGBEE AND IEEE 802.15.4 2 1.2.1 ZigBee Alliance 3 1.2.2 Why is it
called Zigbee? 4

2 IEEE 802.15.4 WPAN. 5

2.1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION 5 2.2 ZIGBEE CHARACTERISTICS 6 2.3 DEVICE TYPES 7 2.4
NETWORK TOPOLOGIES 8
2.4.1 Star Topology 8 2.4.2 Peer-to-peer Topology 9 2.4.3 Cluster-tree Topology 10
2.5 ARCHITECTURE 12 2.5.1 Network and Application Support layer : 13 2.5.2 Physical
(PHY) layer: 13 2.5.3 Media access control (MAC) layer: 14

3 IEEE 802.15.4 PHY 15

3.1 RECEIVER ENERGY DETECTION (ED) 17 3.2 LINK QUALITY INDICATION (LQI) 17 3.3
CLEAR CHANNEL ASSESSMENT (CCA) 18 3.4 PPDU FORMAT 18
 4 IEEE 802.15.4 MAC 20
4.1 SUPERFRAME STRUCTURE 21 4.2 CSMA-CA ALGORITHM 22 4.3 TRAFFIC TYPES 23 4.4
DATA TRANSFER MODEL 23

5 ZIGBEE ROUTING LAYER 28 5.1 AODV: AD HOC ON DEMAND DISTANCE VECTOR 28 6

SUMMARY 30

6.1 TECHNOLOGY COMPARISONS 30 6.2 ZIGBEE APPLICATIONS 31 6.3 USES 32 6.4 FUTURE
OF ZIGBEE 33 7 CONCLUSION 34

8 REFERENCE 35
LIST OF FIGURES

2.1 Star topology Network 9 2.2 Cluster Network 10 2.3 Mesh Network 11 2.4 ZigBee

Architecture 12 3.1 Physical layer Reference model 15 3.2 Operating Frequency Bands

18 4.1 Mac layer Reference model 21 4.2 Super frame structure 23 4.3 communication to

a coordinator in a beacon Enabled network. 25 4.4 communication to a coordinator in a

non-beacon Enabled network. 26 4.5 communication from a coordinator in a non-beacon

Enabled network. 27 4.6 communication from a coordinator in a beacon Enabled

network. 28 5.1 Reverse and forward path formation in AODV Protocol 31

i
ABSTRACT

My seminar topic is “ZigBee”. ZigBee is a new wireless technology developed by the

ZigBee Alliance to overcome the limitations of BLUETOOTH and Wi-Fi. ZigBee is

developed on the top of IEEE 802.15.4 standard. It is designed for low-power consumption

allowing batteries to essentially last [Link] we have couple of methods for

multimedia applications, till now nothing has been developed for sensor networking and

control machines which require longer battery life and continuous working without human

intervention. ZigBee devices allow batteries to last up to years using primary cells (low

cost) without any chargers (low cost and easy installation).

The ZigBee standard provides network, security, and application support services operating

on top of the IEEE [Link] 802.15.4 standard has two basic layers medium Access

Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) wireless standard. The network layer supports

various topologies such star, clustered tree topology and self healing mesh topology. Apart

from easy installation and easy implementation ZigBee

has a wide application area such as home networking, industrial networking, many more

having different profiles specified for each field. The upcoming of ZigBee will

revolutionize the home networking and rest of the wireless world.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1Evolution of Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Network (LR WPAN)

Standardization

The cellular network was a natural extension of the wired telephony network that became
persistent during the mid-20th century. As the need for mobility and the cost of laying new
wires increased, the motivation for a personal connection independent of location to that
network also increased. Coverage of large area is provided through (1-2km) cells that co-
operate with their neighbors to create a seamless network. Cellular standards basically
aimed at facilitating voice communications throughout a metropolitan area. During the
mid-1980s, it turned out that an even smaller coverage area is needed for higher user
densities and the emergent data traffic.

The IEEE 802.11 working group for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is formed, to
create a wireless local area network standard. Whereas IEEE 802.11 was concerned with
features such as Ethernet matching speed, long range(100m), complexity to handle
seamless roaming, message forwarding, and data throughput of 2-11Mbps.
Wireless personal area networks (WPANs) are used to convey information over relatively
short distances. WPANs are focused on a space around a person or object that typically
extends up to 10m in all directions. The focus of WPANs is low-cost, low power, short
range and very small size.

The IEEE 802.15 working group is formed to create WPAN standard. This group has
currently defined three classes of WPANs that are differentiated by data rate, battery drain
and quality of service (QoS).

• The high data rate WPAN (IEEE 802.15.3) is suitable for multi-media applications that
require very high quality of services.

• Medium rate WPANs (IEEE 802.15.1/Bluetooth) will handle a variety of tasks ranging

from cell phones to PDA communications and have QoS suitable for voice
communications.

• The low rate WPANs (IEEE 802.15.4/LR-WPAN) is intended to serve a set of

industrial, residential and medical applications with very low power consumption, with
relaxed needs for data rate and QoS. The low data rate enables the LR-WPAN to consume
very little power. This feature allows small, power-efficient, inexpensive solutions to be
implemented for a wide range of devices.

1.2 Zigbee and IEEE 802.15.4

The IEEE 802.15.4 standard is a simple packet data protocol for lightweight wireless
networks and specifies the Physical (PHY) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers for
Multiple Radio Frequency (RF) bands, including 868 MHz, 915 MHz, and 2.4 GHz.

The IEEE 802.15.4 standard is designed to provide reliable data transmission of modest
amounts of data up to 100 meters or more while consuming very little power. IEEE
802.15.4 is typically less than 32 kb in size, featuring a 64-bit address space, source and
destination addressing, error detection, and advanced power management.

ZigBee technology takes full advantage of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and extends the
capabilities of this new radio standard by defining a flexible and secure network layer that
supports a variety of architectures to provide highly reliable wireless communication.

ZigBee technology also offers simplicity and a cost-effective approach to building,

construction and remodeling with wireless technology. ZigBee is all set to provide the
consumers with ultimate flexibility, mobility, and ease of use by building wireless
intelligence and capabilities into every day devices.
ZigBee is expected to provide low cost and low power connectivity for equipment that
needs battery life as long as several months to several years but does not require data
transfer rates as high as those enabled by Bluetooth. This kind of network eliminates use of
physical data buses like USB and Ethernet cables. The devices could include
telephones, hand-held digital assistants, sensors and controls located within a few meters of
each other.

Thus, ZigBee technology is a low data rate, low power consumption, low cost; wireless
networking protocol targeted towards automation and remote control applications.

1.3 ZigBee Alliance

The ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies working together to enable reliable,

cost-effective, low-power, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on
an open global standard.

The goal of the ZigBee Alliance is to provide the consumer with ultimate flexibility,
mobility, and ease of use by building wireless intelligence and capabilities into every day
devices. ZigBee technology will be embedded in a wide range of products and applications
across consumer, commercial, industrial and government markets worldwide. For the first
time, companies will have a standards-based wireless platform optimized for the unique
needs of remote monitoring and control applications, including simplicity, reliability, low-
cost and low-power.

1.4 Why is it called Zigbee?

It has been suggested that the name evokes the haphazard paths that bees follow as they
harvest pollen, similar to the way packets would move through a mesh network.

Using communication system, whereby the bee dances in a zig-zag pattern, worker bee is
able to share information such as the location, distance, And direction of a newly
discovered food source to her fellow colony members. Instinctively implementing the
ZigBee Principle, bees around the world actively sustain productive itchiness and promote
future generations of Colony members.
2. IEEE 802.15.4 WPAN

2.1 General description

A LR-WPAN is a simple, low-cost communication network that allows wireless
connectivity in applications with limited power and relaxed throughput requirements. The
main objectives of an LR-WPAN are ease of installation, reliable data transfer, short range
operation, extremely low cost, and a reasonable battery life, while maintaining a simple
and flexible protocol.

The three license-free frequencies of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard include sixteen channels
at 2.4 GHz, ten channels at 915 MHz, and one channel at 868 MHz, to support global or
regional deployment. The maximum data rates for each band are 250 kbps, 40 kbps and 20
kbps, respectively. The air interface is direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) using
binary phase shift keying (BPSK) for 868 MHz and 915 MHz and offset-quadrature phase
shift keying (OQPSK) for 2.4 GHz.

Other features of the IEEE 802.15.4 PHY include receiver energy detection, link quality
indication and clear channel assessment. Both contention-based and contention-free
channel access methods are supported. Maximum packet size is 128 bytes, including a
variable payload of up to 104 bytes. IEEE 802.15.4 employs 64-bit IEEE and 16-bit short
addresses, which supports over 65,000 nodes per network.

The IEEE 802.15.4 MAC also enables network association and disassociation, has an
optional super frame structure with beacons for time synchronization, and a guaranteed
time slot (GTS) mechanism for high priority communications. The access method is carrier
sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA-CA). Network routing schemes are
designed to ensure power conservation, and low latency through guaranteed time slots. A
unique feature of ZigBee network layer is communication redundancy eliminating “single
point of failure” in mesh networks.
IEEE and ZigBee Alliance have been working closely to specify the entire protocol stack.
IEEE 802.15.4 focuses on the specification of the lower two layers of the protocol (physical
and data link layer). On the other hand, ZigBee Alliance aims to provide the upper layers
of the protocol stack (from network to the application layer) for interoperable data
networking, security services and a range of wireless home and building control solutions.

2.2 Zigbee characteristics

The focus of network applications under the IEEE 802.15.4 / ZigBee standard include the
features of low power consumption, needed for only two major modes (Tx/Rx or Sleep),
high density of nodes per network, low costs and simple implementation.

These features are enabled by the following characteristics

• 2.4GHz and 868/915 MHz dual PHY modes.

• This represents three license-free bands: 2.4-2.4835 GHz, 868-870 MHz and 902- 928
MHz. The number of channels allotted to each frequency band is fixed at 16 channels in
the 2.45 GHz band, 10 channels in the 915 MHz band, and 1 channel in the 868 MHz
band
 • Maximum data rates allowed for each of these frequency bands are fixed as 250
kbps @2.4 GHz, 40 kbps @ 915 MHz, and 20 kbps @868 MHz.

• Allocated 16 bit short or 64 bit extended addresses.

• Allocation of guaranteed time slots (GTSs)

• Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA-CA) channel access

Yields high throughput and low latency for low duty cycle devices like sensors
and controls.

• Fully “hand-shake” acknowledged protocol for transfer reliability. • Low

power consumption with battery life ranging from months to years. • Energy
detection (ED).

• Link quality indication (LQI).

• Multiple topologies : star, peer-to-peer, mesh topologies

2.3 Device Types

ZigBee devices are required to conform to the IEEE 802.15.4-2003 Low-Rate Wireless
Personal Area Network (WPAN) standard. ZigBee wireless devices are expected to
transmit 10-75 meters, depending on the RF environment and the power output
consumption required for a given application, and will operate in the unlicensed RF
worldwide (2.4GHz global, 915MHz Americas or 868 MHz Europe). The data rate is
250kbps at 2.4GHz, 40kbps at 915MHz and 20kbps at 868MHz.

There are three different ZigBee device types that operate on these layers in any self
organizing application network. These devices have 64-bit IEEE addresses, with option to
enable shorter addresses to reduce packet size, and work in either of two addressing modes
– star and peer-to-peer.

• The ZigBee (PAN) coordinator node: The most capable device, the coordinator forms

the root of the network tree and might bridge to other networks. It is able to store
information about the [Link] is one, and only one, ZigBee coordinator in each
network to act as the router to other network. It also acts as the repository for security keys.
 • The Full Function Device (FFD): The FFD is an intermediary router transmitting data

from other devices. It needs lesser memory than the ZigBee coordinator node, and entails
lesser manufacturing costs. It can operate in all topologies and can act as a coordinator.

• The Reduced Function Device (RFD) : This device is just capable of talking in the

network; it cannot relay data from other devices. Requiring even less memory, (no flash,
very little ROM and RAM), an RFD will thus be cheaper than an FFD. This device talks
only to a network coordinator and can be implemented very simply in star topology.

2.4 Network Topologies

Figure 2.1 shows 3 types of topologies that ZigBee supports: star topology, peer-to-peer
topology and cluster tree.

2.4.1 Star Topology

In the star topology, the communication is established between devices and a single central
controller, called the PAN coordinator. The PAN coordinator may be mains powered while
the devices will most likely be battery powered. Applications that benefit from this
topology include home automation, personal computer (PC) peripherals, toys and games.
After an FFD is activated for the first time, it may establish its own network and become
the PAN coordinator. Each start network chooses a PAN identifier, which is not currently
used by any other network within the radio sphere of influence. This allows each star
network to operate independently.

Figure 2.1
2.4.2 Peer-to-peer Topology

In peer-to-peer topology, there is also one PAN coordinator. In contrast to star topology,
any device can communicate with any other device as long as they are in range of one
another. A peer-to-peer network can be ad hoc, self-organizing and self-healing.
 Applications such as industrial control and monitoring, wireless sensor networks, asset and
inventory tracking would benefit from such a topology. It also allows multiple hops to
route messages from any device to any other device in the network. It can provide
reliability by multipath routing.

Figure 2.2
2.4.3 Cluster-tree Topology

Cluster-tree network is a special case of a peer-to-peer network in which most devices are
FFDs and an RFD may connect to a cluster-tree network as a leave node at the end of a branch.
Any of the FFD can act as a coordinator and provide synchronization services to other devices
and coordinators.

Only one of these coordinators however is the PAN coordinator. The PAN coordinator forms
the first cluster by establishing itself as the cluster head (CLH) with a cluster identifier (CID) of
zero, choosing an unused PAN identifier, and broadcasting beacon frames to neighboring
devices. A candidate device receiving a beacon frame may request to join the network at the
CLH. If the PAN coordinator permits the device to join, it will add this
new device as a child device in its neighbor list. The advantage of this clustered structure is the
increased coverage area at the cost of increased message latency.
Figure 2.3

2.5 Architecture

The LR-WPAN architecture is defined in terms of a number of blocks in order to simplify

the standard. These blocks are called layers. Each layer is responsible for one part of the
standard and offers services to the higher layers. The layout of the blocks is based on the
open systems interconnection (OSI) seven-layer model. The interfaces between the layers
serve to define the logical links between layers. The LR-WPAN architecture can be
implemented either as embedded devices or as devices requiring the support of an external
device such as a PC.

An LR-WPAN device comprises a PHY, which contains the radio frequency (RF)
transceiver along with its low-level control mechanism, and a MAC sub layer that provides
access to the physical channel for all types of transfer.
 Figure 2.4 802.15.4 / ZIGBEE ARCHITECTURE
2.5.1 Network and Application Support layer:

The network layer permits growth of network sans high power transmitters. This layer can
handle huge numbers of nodes.

This level in the ZigBee architecture includes

• The ZigBee Device Object (ZDO)

• User-Defined Application Profile(s)

• The Application Support (APS) Sub-layer.

The APS sub-layer's responsibilities include maintenance of tables that enable matching
between two devices and communication among them, and also discovery, the aspect that
identifies other devices that operate in the operating space of any device.

The responsibility of determining the nature of the device (Coordinator / FFD or RFD) in
the network, commencing and replying to binding requests and ensuring a secure
relationship between devices rests with the ZDO (Zigbee Define Object). The user defined
application refers to the end device that conforms to the ZigBee Standard.

2.5.2 Physical (PHY) layer:

The PHY service enables the transmission and reception of PHY protocol data units
(PPDU) across the physical radio channel.

The features of the IEEE 802.15.4 PHY physical layer are Activation and deactivation of
the radio transceiver, energy detection (ED), Link quality indication (LQI), channel
selection, clear channel assessment (CCA) and transmitting as well as receiving packets
across the physical medium.

2.5.3 Media access control (MAC) layer:

The MAC service enables the transmission and reception of MAC protocol data units
(MPDU) across the PHY data service. The features of MAC sub layer are beacon
management, channel access, GTS management, frame validation, acknowledged frame
delivery, association and disassociation.
3. IEEE 802.15.4 PHY

The PHY provides an interface between the MAC sub layer and the physical radio channel,
via the RF firmware and RF hardware. The PHY conceptually includes a management
entity called the PLME. This entity provides the layer management service interfaces
through which layer management functions may be invoked. The PLME is also responsible
for maintaining a database of managed objects pertaining to the PHY. This database is
referred to as the PHY PAN Information base (PIB).

PD_SAP PLME_SAP

PHY LAYERPLME

PHY

RF_SAP

Figure 3.1 PHY LAYER REFERENCE MODEL

The PHY provides two services, accessed through two SAPs:

The PHY data service accessed through the PHY Data SAP (PD-SAP). The PHY data
service enables the transmission and reception of PHY protocol data units (PPDUs) across
 the physical radio channel
The PHY management service accessed through the PLME’s SAP (PLMESAP). The
features of the PHY are activation and deactivation of the radio transceiver, energy
detection(ED), link quality indication (LQI), channel selection, clear channel assessment
(CCA) and transmitting as well as receiving packets across the physical medium.

The standard offers two PHY options based on the frequency band. Both are based on
direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS). The data rate is 250kbps at 2.4GHz, 40kbps at
915MHz and 20kbps at 868MHz. The higher data rate at 2.4GHz is attributed to a higher
order modulation scheme. Lower frequency provides longer range due to lower propagation
losses. Low rate can be translated into better sensitivity and larger coverage area. Higher
rate means higher throughput, lower latency or lower duty cycle. This information is
summarized in Figure 3.2.

Table 3.1 Frequency Bands and Data Rates

PHY Frequency Spreading Parameters Data Parameters

(MHz) Band(MHz) Chiprate Modulation Bit rate Symbol Symbols

(kchip/s) (kb/s) rate

(ksymbol

/s)

868/915 868-868.6 300 BPSK 20 20 Binary

902-928 600 BPSK 40 40 Binary

2450 2400-2483.5 2000 O-QPSK 250 62.5 16-ary

Orthogonal

There is a single channel between 868 and 868.6MHz, 10 channels between 902.0 and
928.0MHz, and 16 channels between 2.4 and 2.4835GHz as shown in Figure 3.3. Several
channels in different frequency bands enable the ability to relocate within spectrum. The
standard also allows dynamic channel selection, a scan function that steps through a list
of supported channels in search of beacon, receiver energy detection, link quality
indication, channel switching.
 Figure 3.2 Operating Frequency Bands

3.1 Receiver Energy Detection (ED)

The receiver energy detection (ED) measurement is intended for use by a network layer as
part of channel selection algorithm. It is an estimate of the received signal power within the
bandwidth of an IEEE 802.15.4 channel. No attempt is made to identify or decode signals
on the channel. The ED time should be equal to 8 symbol periods.

The ED result shall be reported as an 8-bit integer ranging from 0x00 to

0xff. The minimum ED value (0) shall indicate received power less than
10dB above the specified receiver sensitivity. The range of received
power spanned by the ED values shall be at least 40dB. Within this
range, the mapping from the received power in decibels to ED values
shall be linear with an accuracy of + or − 6dB.
3.2 Link Quality Indication (LQI)

Upon reception of a packet, the PHY sends the PSDU length, PSDU itself and link quality
(LQ) in the PD-DATA Indication primitive. The LQI measurement is a characterization of
the strength and/or quality of a received packet. The measurement may be implemented
using receiver ED, a signal-to-noise estimation or a combination of these methods. The use
of LQI result is up to the network or application layers.

The LQI result should be reported as an integer ranging from 0x00 to 0xff. The minimum
and maximum LQI values should be associated with the lowest and highest quality IEEE
802.15.4 signals detectable by the receiver and LQ values should be uniformly distributed
between these two limits.

3.3 Clear Channel Assessment (CCA)

The clear channel assessment (CCA) is performed according to at least one of the
following three methods:
 • Energy above threshold. CCA shall report a busy medium upon detecting any
energy above the ED threshold.

• Carrier sense only. CCA shall report a busy medium only upon the detection of a
signal with the modulation and spreading characteristics of IEEE 802.15.4. This signal
may be above or below the ED threshold.

• Carrier sense with energy above threshold. CCA shall report a busy medium only
upon the detection of a signal with the modulation and spreading characteristics of IEEE
802.15.4 with energy above the ED threshold.
3.4 PPDU Format

The PPDU packet structure is illustrated in Figure 3.4. Each PPDU packet consists of the
following basic components:

• SHR, which allows a receiving device to synchronize and lock into the bit stream •
PHR, which contains frame length information

• A variable length payload, which carries the MAC sublayer frame.

Figure 3.4 Format of the PPDU

4. IEEE 802.15.4 MAC

MCPS_SAP MAC LAYER MLME_SAP MLME

MAC

PD_SAP PLME_SAP
 Figure 4.1 MAC SUBLAYER REFERENCE MODEL

Figure 4.1 depicts the components and interfaces of the MAC sub layer.

The MAC sub layer provides an interface between the SSCS and the PHY. The MAC sub
layer conceptually includes a management entity called the MLME. This entity provides
the service interfaces through which layer management functions may be invoked. The

MLME is also responsible for maintaining a database of managed objects pertaining to the
MAC sub layer. This database is referred to as the MAC sub layer PIB.

The MAC sub layer provides two services:

The MAC data service and The MAC management service interfacing to the MAC sub
layer management entity (MLME) service access point (SAP) (MLMESAP).

The MAC data service enables the transmission and reception of MAC protocol data units
(MPDU) across the PHY data service.
4.1 Super frame Structure

LR-WPAN allows the optional use of a super frame structure. The format of the super
frame is defined by the coordinator. The super frame is bounded by network beacons and is
divided into 16 equally sized slots. The beacon frame is sent in the first slot of each super
frame. If a coordinator does not want to use the super frame structure, it may turn off the
beacon transmissions. The beacons are used to synchronize the attached devices, to
identify the PAN and to describe the structure of super frames.

The super frame can have an active and an inactive portion. During the inactive portion, the
coordinator shall not interact with its PAN and may enter a low-power mode. The active
portion consists of contention access period (CAP) and contention free period (CFP). Any
device wishing to communicate during the CAP shall compete with other devices using a
slotted CSMACA mechanism. On the other hand, the CFP contains guaranteed time slots
(GTSs). The GTSs always appear at the end of the active super frame starting at a slot
boundary immediately following the CAP. The PAN coordinator
may allocate up to seven of these GTSs and a GTS can occupy more than one slot period.
 Figure 4.2 SUPER

FRAME STRUCTURE
4.2 CSMA-CA Algorithm

If superframe structure is used in the PAN, then slotted CSMA-CA shall be used. If
beacons are not being used in the PAN or a beacon cannot be located in a beacon-enabled
network, unslotted CSMA-CA algorithm is used. In both cases, the algorithm is
implemented using units of time called backoff periods, which is equal to
aUnitBackoffPeriod symbols.

In slotted CSMA-CA channel access mechanism, the backoff period boundaries of every
device in the PAN are aligned with the superframe slot boundaries of the PAN coordinator.
In slotted CSMA-CA, each time a device wishes to transmit data frames during the CAP, it
shall locate the boundary of the next backoff period. In unslotted CSMA-CA, the backoff
periods of one device do not need to be synchronized to the backoff periods of another
device.

4.3 Traffic Types

ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4 addresses three typical traffic types.

IEEE 802.15.4 MAC can accommodate all the types.

• Data is periodic. The application dictates the rate, and the sensor activates checks
for data and deactivates.

• Data is intermittent. The application, or other stimulus, determines the rate, as in the

case of say smoke detectors. The device needs to connect to the network only when

communication is necessitated. This type enables optimum saving on energy. • Data is

repetitive, and the rate is fixed a priori. Depending on allotted time slots, called GTS
(guaranteed time slot), devices operate for fixed durations.
ZigBee employs either of two modes, beacon or non-beacon to enable the to-and-fro data
traffic. 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.
4.4 Data Transfer model

Three types of data transfer transactions exist: from a coordinator to a device, from a device
to a coordinator and between two peer devices. The mechanism for each of these transfers
depends on whether the network supports the transmission of beacons.

The non-beacon mode will be included in a system where devices are ‘asleep' nearly
always, as in smoke detectors and burglar alarms. The devices wake up and confirm their
continued presence in the network at random intervals.

When a device wishes to transfer data in a no beacon-enabled network, it simply transmits

its data frame, using the unslotted CSMA-CA, to the coordinator. On detection of activity,
the sensors ‘spring to attention', as it were, and transmit to the ever-waiting coordinator's
receiver (since it is mains-powered). There is also an optional acknowledgement at the end
as shown in Figure 4.3

In the beacon mode, a device watches out for the coordinator's beacon that gets transmitted
at periodically, locks on and looks for messages addressed to it. 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.

When a device wishes to transfer data to a coordinator in a beacon-enabled network, it first

listens for the network beacon. When the beacon is found, it synchronizes to the
 superframe structure. At the right time, it transmits its data frame, using slotted CSMA CA,
to the coordinator. There is an optional acknowledgement at the end as shown in Figure
4.4.

The applications

transfers are completely controlled by the devices on a PAN rather than by the coordinator.
This provides the energy-conservation feature of the ZigBee network.

When a coordinator wishes to transfer data to a device in a beacon-enabled network, it indicates

in the network beacon that the data message is pending. The device periodically listens to the
network beacon, and if a message is pending, transmits a MAC command requesting this data,
using slotted CSMA-CA . The coordinator optionally acknowledges the successful
transmission of this packet. The pending data frame is then sent using slotted CSMA-CA. The
device acknowledged the successful reception of the data bytransmitting an acknowledgement
frame. Upon receiving the acknowledgement, the message is removed from the list of pending
messages in the beacon as shown in Figure 4.5.

When a coordinator wishes to transfer data to a device in a nonbeacon-enabled network, it

stores the data for the appropriate device to make contact and request data. A device may make
contact by transmitting a MAC command requesting the data, using unslotted CSMA CA, to its
coordinator at an application-defined rate. The coordinator acknowledges this packet. If data
are pending, the coordinator transmits the data frame using unslotted CSMA CA. If data are not
pending, the coordinator transmits a data frame with a zero-length payload to indicate that no
data were pending.
The device acknowledges this packet as shown in Figure 4.6.

5. ZIGBEE ROUTING LAYER

5.1 AODV: Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector

AODV is a pure on-demand route acquisition algorithm: nodes that do not lie on active
paths neither maintain any routing information nor participate in any periodic routing table
exchanges. Further, a node does not have to discover and maintain a route to another node
until the two needs to communicate, unless the former node is offering services as an
intermediate forwarding station to maintain connectivity between two other nodes.

The primary objectives of the algorithm are to broadcast discovery packets only when
necessary, to distinguish between local connectivity management and general topology
maintenance and to disseminate information about changes in local connectivity to those
neighboring mobile nodes that are likely to need the information.

When a source node needs to communicate with another node for which it has no routing
information in its table, the Path Discovery process is initiated. Every node maintains two
separate counters: sequence number and broadcast id. The source node initiates path
discovery by broadcasting a route request (RREQ) packet to its neighbors, which includes
source addr, source sequence number, broadcast id, dest addr, dest sequence number, hop
cnt. (Source sequence number is for maintaining freshness information about the reverse
route whereas the destination sequence number is for maintaining freshness of the route to
the destination before it can be accepted by the source.).

The pair source addr, broadcast id uniquely identifies a RREQ, where broadcast id is
incremented whenever the source issues a new [Link] an intermediate node receives
a RREQ, if it has already received a RREQ with the same broadcast id and source address,
it drops the redundant RREQ and does not rebroadcast it. Otherwise, it rebroadcasts it to its
own neighbors after increasing hop cnt. Each node keeps the
following information: destination IP address, source IP address, broadcast id, expiration
time for reverse path route entry and source node’s sequence number.

As the RREQ travels from a source to destinations, it automatically sets up the reverse path
from all nodes back to the source. To set up a reverse path, a node records the address of
the neighbor from which it received the first copy of RREQ. These reverse path route
entries are maintained for at least enough time for the RREQ to traverse the network and
produce a reply to the sender.

When the RREQ arrives at a node, possibly the destination itself, that possesses a current
route to the destination, the receiving node first checks that the RREQ was received over a
bi-directional link. If this node is not destination but has route to the destination, it
determines whether the route is current by comparing the destination sequence number in
its own route entry to the destination sequence number in the RREQ.

If the route has a destination sequence number that is greater than that contained in the
RREQ or equal to that contained in the RREQ but a smaller hop count, it can uncast a route
reply packet (RREP) back to its neighbor from which it received the RREQ.

Nodes that are along the path determined by the RREP will timeout after route request
expiration timer and will delete the reverse pointers since they are not on the path from
source to destination as shown in Figure 5.1. The value of this timeout time depends on the
size of the ad hoc network.

6. SUMMARY

6.1 Technology Comparisons

 Table
6.1
6.2 ZigBee Applications

The Zigbee Alliance targets applications "across consumer, commercial, industrial and
government markets worldwide". Unwired applications are highly sought after in many
networks that are characterized by numerous nodes consuming minimum power and
enjoying long battery lives.

ZigBee technology is designed to best suit these applications, for the reason that it
enables reduced costs of development, very fast market adoption, and rapid ROI.

ZigBee designed to enable two-way communications, not only will the consumer be able to
monitor and keep track of domestic utilities usage, but also feed it to a computer system for
data analysis.

A recent analyst report issued by West Technology Research Solutions estimates that by
the year 2008, "annual shipments for ZigBee chipsets into the home automation segment
alone will exceed 339 million units," and will show up in "light switches, fire and smoke
detectors, thermostats, appliances in the kitchen, video and audio remote controls,
landscaping, and security systems."

Futurists are sure to hold ZigBee up and say, "See, I told you so". The ZigBee Alliance is
nearly 200 strong and growing, with more OEM's signing up. This means that more and
more products and even later, all devices and their controls will be based on this standard.
Since Wireless personal Area Networking applies not only to household devices, but also
to individualized office automation applications, ZigBee is here to stay. It is more than
likely the basis of future home-networking solutions.
 The technology is designed to be simpler and cheaper than other WPANs such as
Bluetooth. The most capable ZigBee node type is said to require only about 10% of the
software of a typical Bluetooth or Wireless Internet node, while the simplest nodes are
about 2%. ZigBee is aimed at applications with low data rates and low power consumption.
6.3 USES

In all of its uses, zigbee offers four inherent, beneficial characteristics:

1. Low cost:

The typical zigbee radio is cost effective. chipset prices can be as low as $12 each in quantities as few
as 100 pieces while the 802.15.4and the zigbee stacks are typically included in this cost, crystals
and other discrete components are not. This pricing provides an economic justification for
extending wireless networking to even the simplest of devices.

2. Range and obstruction issue avoidance:

Zigbee routers double as input devices and repeaters to create a form of mesh networking. If two
network points are unable to communicate as intended, transmission is dynamically routed from
the block node to a router with a clear path to the data destination.

3. Multisource products:

As an open standard, zigbee provides costumers with the ability to choose vendors as needed. Zigbee
alliance work in groups defines interoperability profiles to which zigbee certified devices must
ad hire.

4. Low power consumption:

Low power consumption, with battery life ranging from months to years. Considering the number of
devices with remotes in use at present, it is easy to see that more numbers of batteries need to be
provisioned every so often, entailing regular (as well as timely), recurring expenditure.
Future of ZigBee:

• A recent analyst report issued by West Technology Research Solutions estimates that by the
year 2008, "annual shipments for ZigBee chipsets into the home automation segment alone
will exceed 339 million units," and will show up in "light switches, fire and smoke detectors,
thermostats, appliances in the kitchen, video and audio remote controls, landscaping, and
security systems.

• " Futurists are sure to hold ZigBee up and say, "See, I told you so".

• The ZigBee Alliance is nearly 200 strong and growing, with more OEM's signing up. This
means that more and more products and even later, all devices and their controls will be
based on this standard.
• Since Wireless personal Area Networking applies not only to household devices, but also to
individualized office automation applications, ZigBee is here to stay. It is more than likely
the basis of future home-networking solutions.
7. CONCLUSION

The ZigBee Standard enables the broad-based deployment of reliable wireless networks
with low complexity, low cost solutions and provides the ability for a product to run for
years on inexpensive primary batteries (for a typical monitoring application). It is also, of
course, capable of inexpensively supporting robust mesh networking technologies ZigBee
is all set to provide the consumers with ultimate flexibility, mobility, and ease of use by
building wireless intelligence and capabilities into every day devices.

The mission of the ZigBee Working Group is to bring about the existence of a broad range
of interoperable consumer devices by establishing open industry specifications for
unlicensed, untethered peripheral, control and entertainment devices requiring the lowest
cost and lowest power consumption communications between compliant devices
anywhere in and around the home.
8. REFERENCE

1. William stalling ,”wirless communication and netwoks”,Fourth edition pearson

publication limited,2004

2. Andrew S. Tenenbaum, “Computer Networks”, Fourth Edition Pearson Publication,

Limited, 2003

3. Behrouz A. Frouzan, “Data Communication”, Third Edition, Tata McGraw-Hill

Publishing , company Limitted, 2004

4. [Link]