ZigBeeReliabilityandSecurity.docVIP

ZigBee Reliability and Security What Will I Learn in this Module? On completing this module, you will be able to describe: ? reliability measures employed to ensure that ZigBee messages are communicated without corruption or loss of data ? security measures employed to prevent hostile access to ZigBee communications Reliability In a wireless network, it is important to ensure reliable communications - that is, to make sure communications reach their destinations uncorrupted. Corruption or loss of messages could result, for example, from radio interference or from poor transmission/reception conditions. The reliability measures employed by ZigBee allow a wireless network to operate in a protected environment, even when there are other ZigBee networks nearby operating in the same frequency band. Adjacent ZigBee networks will not interfere with each other. In addition, ZigBee networks can operate in the neighbourhood of networks based on other standards, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The techniques employed by ZigBee to ensure reliable communications are described on the next page. Reliability Measures ZigBee offers a range of techniques to ensure reliable communications. These are described below. Listen Before Send The transmission scheme used in ZigBee avoids transmitting data when there is activity on the chosen channel – this is known as Carrier Sense, Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA-CA). Put simply, this means that before beginning a transmission, a node listens on the channel to check whether it is clear. If activity is detected on the channel, the node delays the transmission for a random amount of time and listens again. If the channel is now clear, the transmission can begin, otherwise the delay-and-listen cycle is repeated. Acknowledgements An acknowledgement mechanism is built into ZigBee to ensure that messages reach their destinations. When a message arrives at its destination, the receiving device sends an acknowledgement to say the