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About Zigbee protocol
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Note
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This is an experimental release of Zigbee support for the nRF54L Series.
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The Zigbee add-on for the nRF Connect SDK uses the ZBOSS library, a third-party precompiled Zigbee stack.
+It includes all mandatory features of the Zigbee 3.0 specification and provides an Application Programming Interface (API) to access different services.
+The stack comes with the following features:
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+Complete implementation of the Zigbee core specification and Zigbee Pro feature set, revision 21, 22, and 23.
Support for all device roles: Coordinator, Router, and End Device.
Zigbee Cluster Library.
Base Device Behavior version 3.0.1.
Zigbee Cluster Library, revision 8.
Zigbee Green Power Proxy Basic.
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See Software maturity levels in the nRF Connect SDK documentation for what experimental support means.
+Experimental support also means that the feature is either not certified or no sample is provided for the given feature (or both).
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See the ZBOSS Zigbee stack page and the external ZBOSS development guide and API documentation for more information about the ZBOSS library.
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For more information about Zigbee, download the Zigbee Specification from Connectivity Standards Alliance.
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Zigbee topologies
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Depending on the available device types and their number, Zigbee supports the following network topologies:
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+- Star topology
The coordinator communicates directly with the end devices and no routers are actively present, meaning they are either not present or not routing packets within the network.
+- Tree topology
The routers are located beyond their mutual radio range and are not able to communicate with each other.
+However, unlike in the star topology, the routers continue to move packets through the network.
+- Mesh topology
This topology allows full peer-to-peer communication.
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In each topology, the nodes have the following responsibilities:
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+Zigbee Coordinator - Initiates and maintains the devices on the network.
+It also chooses the key network parameters.
+The coordinator’s radio is continuously listening for frames.
Zigbee Router - Extends the range of the network.
+For this reason, the router has the radio enabled at all times.
+However, in the star topology it is not moving packets through the network.
Zigbee End Device - Receives messages from the parent device.
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In every Zigbee topology, each router and end device that joins the Zigbee network after its creation by the coordinator needs a parent device.
+When a device wants to join the network, it sends a beacon request to scan for available devices.
+The devices that can route the packets respond with beacons.
+Based on different factors of responses, such as signal strength, the new device selects the parent.
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For end devices, the parent device (a coordinator or a router) can store information meant for them.
+This is required because the end devices do not receive packets directly from other devices.
+Each packet meant for an end device needs to go through its parent, and the end devices need to regularly request and respond to packets from the parents.
+For example, in the Zigbee add-on for the nRF Connect SDK, the Zigbee light switch device requests packets from the parent every three seconds.
+The end device does not route packets.
+It can also disable its radio to reduce the power consumption between the regular packet requests if the Sleepy End Device behavior is enabled.
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