I am very new to ZigBee networks and was just asked to help a customer build one that consists of two Xbee Pro modules that move around the facility, one coordinator on the upper floor and one router/repeater on the floor just below it.
I’m not so worried about signal/coverage but I am worried about the routers that are moving around being reliably able to quickly reconnect to the network.
Assuming that no new nodes will be added to the network in the future, what settings would impact stability when the existing radios are moving around or powering on/off often?
Also I have been having trouble understanding how to enable the minimum for encrypted payloads and was not sure if I must also configure “Trust Center” (KY) on top of “Network Encryption Key” (NK)? It just seems redundant to have two keys???
Is it as simple as adding the same “Network Encryption Key” (NK) to all routers and coordinators (and just ignore KY command)?
It is best to not be powering nodes off and on as this causes routs to change and can cause routs to break.
If you are going to have roaming nodes, then it is best to make sure you have more than one path a node can take to reach the intended recipient. This way as nodes roam around, you always have a known good path for data to take thus potentially decreasing the path loss.
You only need to set the KY value and enable encryption for it to work.
As you suggested “It is best to not be powering nodes off” however this is unavoidable because the roaming nodes are solar powered and the battery only allows them to power on a couple times a day. Will that behavior cause major connection issues each time they power up? Is it possible to setup the network to allow nodes to power cycle??
Then it is more imperative that you provide multiple routs for data packets to take. That is never leave only one path for data to flow otherwise you lave a signal point of failure.