Advantages
- Low cost
- Low power consumption
- Highly reliable
- Secured
- Short time delay
- Large network capacity
Disadvantages
- Low bandwidth compared to other technologies
- Requires a lot of expertise to configure and manage the network
- Products require certification to ensure compatibility
- It takes a lot of time to develop and test a solution
Device Types
- ZigBee Coordinator – this device is the creator of the network and is responsible for its maintenance and can bridge to other networks
- ZigBee Router – this device can run an application and also act as a node in the network, forwarding data from other devices
- ZigBee End Device – this device only contains enough functionality to communicate to the parent node (either a coordinator or a router), it cannot act as a node. This means that it requires less memory and is, therefore, cheaper to manufacture. It also has a longer battery life.
Components
- ZDO (ZigBee Device Object)
- APS (Application support sublayer)
- KVP (Key-value pair service)
- NWK (Networking App Layer)
- DLC (Data Link Controller)
Development tools
- EM35X Development Kits
- EM35X NCP Add-on Kit
- Desktop Network Analyzer
- Ember App Builder
- Debug Adapter
- ETRX3 Development Kit
