How to connect Zigbee and 6LoWPAN

[Md Mahbubul Hoque]

Dear Expert Team,

Is it possible, connect Zigbee nodes to 6LoWPAN nodes and they can talk each other!

Best regards, Mahbu

[Jørgen Holmefjord]

Hi Mahbu,

Zigbee nodes and 6LowPAN nodes cannot talk directly to each other, as they are different protocols. Both runs on the same physical layer, the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, but while 6LowPAN nodes are IP-addressable, Zigbee nodes are not. It should be possible to create a bridge between the two standards. There is also some effort being put into the Thread protocol (which runs on 6LowPAN) to allow you to run the Zigbee's Universal Language on the IPv6 based Thread network, for interoperable IoT networks.

Best regards,

Jørgen

[Md Mahbubul Hoque]

Dear Jorgen,

Many thanks you for your nice answer what I am actually looking.

Could you please provide any blog/document/tutorial where I can find how to run/install Thread protocol on 6LoWPAN since I have already developed 6LoWPAN based mesh network and want to connect Zigbee nodes. It will be really helpful for me.

Best regards, Mahbu

[Jørgen Holmefjord]

Unfortunately, I do not know aof any such resources. Our nRF52840 support the Thread protocol through OpenThread and the nRF5 SDK for Thread. "OpenThread implements all features defined in the Thread 1.1.1 specification, including all Thread networking layers (IPv6, 6LoWPAN, IEEE 802.15.4 with MAC security, Mesh Link Establishment, Mesh Routing) and device roles, as well as Border Router support." If you want to implement Thread protocol on existing 6LowPAN network, you need to look in the specification documents.