Network Environment
The systems operate in industrial and commercial facilities that also include typical WiFi networks. The building structures are usually metal frames and metal roofing but there are few interior walls. The Zigbee radios are installed as part of the light fixture. The design life of a light fixture is 15-20 years.
Network Reliability
In the test network of 800+ lighting control modules, lighting commands are sent approximately 30 times per day. Within the network, 35 unique groups are defined, and each group contains from 5-20 lights. This network is controlled using a combination of scheduled (time of day triggered), reactive (sensor triggered), and manual (operator triggered) events. Each event typically is controlling several groups. After each lighting command, the gateway verifies each light has properly changed state. Any failure in the process generates alerts that are logged and investigated. On average the network processes approximately 3000 lighting commands per day. The network has been running since December of 2007. At the time of this writing, we are not aware of a single communications failure attributed to the PHY/Zigbee layer of the system, with well over 1,000,000 messages logged.
Conclusions and Summary
This data shows the expected reliability of a distributed Zigbee network in a commercial environment. The particular environment is typical for many Zigbee commercial uses and provides a good indicator of expected operation. These networks experience little to no message loss over time indicating a robust and reliable system.
Zigbee wireless devices have been implemented in a variety of different networks for field deployment. These networks utilize different topologies, different numbers and densities of devices, and different traffic patterns. However, each can be analyzed and provide some valuable data on network reliability and robustness. Silicon Labs will continue to publish these case studies documenting such customer networks as an information base for other customers. This case study is intended for Silicon Labs' customers who are designing a Zigbee system and are interested in field experiences and reliability. The specific target audience is system architects and software engineers developing new applications for their Zigbee-enabled products.
Additional Site Installations
These images show additional sites using this wireless system.
