BLE mesh dfu

RE: BLE mesh dfu

Edvin — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 13:06:17 GMT

Do you have any sources/links (other than chatGPT)?

It really isn't a simple answer. I have seen that we report rates up to ~60kbps in thread:

https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ncs-latest/page/nrf/samples/wifi/thread_coex/README.html#results

But I don't have these numbers for Zigbee or Bluetooth Mesh.

According to the spec, Zigbee can be up to 250kbps, but realistically around 30kbps is what you will see.

In addition, Zigbee has a "listen before talk" policy, meaning no device will send a packet while it hears another packet being transmitted. Therefore, when packets go multiple hops, the throughput for this will go down a bit (down towards 30kbps).

Bluetooth Mesh doesn't have a listen before talk, but each hop will introduce a small delay. But the throughput is probably around 10-30, depending on the network.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell without testing the network you want in an environment like the one it will be.

Best regards,

Edvin

RE: BLE mesh dfu

Nagajans — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 10:26:14 GMT

I agree with your observation, but based on the data I have collected so far, the throughput hierarchy appears to be: BLE Mesh < Zigbee < Thread.
I also came across information online indicating that the approximate data rates are 10-30 kbps for BLE Mesh, 20-50 kbps for Zigbee, and 40-60 kbps for Thread.
Could you confirm if this understanding is correct?

RE: BLE mesh dfu

Edvin — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 09:41:36 GMT

It is a simple question, but unfortunately, it doesn't have a simple answer. The answer is that it depends on the network. In general, when a network increases in size, the throughput decreases. Additionally, if there is a lot of traffic in the network, then the speed of DFU will go down. If there is typically little/no traffic, the speed increases.

In general, we use to say that the throughput is roughly the same in all these types of networks, but Mesh can be a little faster (at least lower latency, as there is no routing).

The speed of DFU is quite slow in all of these networks. We are talking around one hour for a DFU transfer. The advantage is that you can update multiple nodes at once, and the nodes will be operational for most of the time (only when the transfer is complete, and the bootloader performs the swap at the end, the devices will be offline).

So it is not ideal for development, where you want to perform multiple DFUs to check different applications, but for updating devices out in field, it is working well, because e.g. the light bulb will be operational for 99% of the time.

Best regards,

Edvin

RE: BLE mesh dfu

Nagajans — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 13:11:06 GMT

I would like to know the data transmission speeds in kbps for DFU (firmware update) and regular message communication in BLE Mesh, Zigbee, and Thread. Do you have those figures?

RE: BLE mesh dfu

Nagajans — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 13:10:37 GMT

I would like to know the data transmission speeds in kbps for DFU (firmware update) and regular message communication in BLE Mesh, Zigbee, and Thread. Do you have those figures?

RE: BLE mesh dfu

Edvin — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 09:04:19 GMT

I would not say it is slower than Zigbee or Thread, but it is significantly slower than (standard) Bluetooth Low Energy, and so is Zigbee/Thread.

I don't know how long it takes. You will have to test. But it is roughly the same as with a smaller network consisting of only two nodes. It will take a bit longer in a larger network, because there are more nodes that can drop packets, so some more will have to be retransmitted, but I don't think this is significant.

Best regards,

Edvin

RE: BLE mesh dfu

Nagajans — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 13:42:41 GMT

I've read that firmware updates over BLE Mesh typically take longer compared to Zigbee or Thread, especially in networks with around 100 nodes. In practical scenarios, how much time does it usually take to update a 1 MB binary file across 100 nodes using BLE Mesh?

RE: BLE mesh dfu

Edvin — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 13:36:24 GMT

Hello,

Yes. There is no limitation on how many nodes you can update at the same time, as long as they are being updated with the same application. There will probably be some retransmissions, but that is fine, and it is handled in the Mesh stack, so nothing you need to implement manually.

Best regards,

Edvin