Network discovery request in Zigbee application

[anusha_14]

Hello Nordic support,

I would like to use the APIs in IEEE 802.15.4, especially mlme_scan_req in nRF5 SDK for Thread & Zigbee for a ZigBee application in order to scan for networks. 

Initially, I wanted to use network discovery request which is part of network management services in ZigBee specification but this particular request does not seem to be part of the ZigBee API in the nRF5 SDK for Thread & Zigbee 4.0. I see only these four functions as part of the network management commands (zb_zdo_mgmt_nwk_update_req, zb_zdo_mgmt_lqi_req, zdo_mgmt_leave_req, zb_zdo_mgmt_permit_joining_req). 

As a workaround, I was thinking of sending a scan request in the Zigbee application in the zboss-signal_handler when ZB_ZDO_SIGNAL-SKIP_STARTUP signal is received. For this, I'm planning to use the function mlme_scan_req() function. Is this possible or is there any other function in IEEE 802.15.4 radio layer that can be used for this purpose?

Please let me know if you need more details regarding this.

Regards,

Anusha 

[anusha_14]

Hi Marjeris,

Thanks for your response. 

The reason for using scan request is this: In my application, I am planning to define two modes: Normal Zigbee mode and Test mode. In test mode, I just want the device to scan for Zigbee device to check for Zigbee networks in its vicinity, without joining any network. This would help in testing that the hardware radio is working as expected. This is why I was looking for a way to send a request to help detect Zigbee beacon requests.

Let me know if you need any other details.

Regards,

Anusha

[Marjeris Romero]

Hi,

I have forwarded your inquiry to our Zigbee developers, but I am not sure why this "scanning mode" will help in testing that the radio is working as expected?

Usually you don't need to scan for networks because Zigbee handles joining of new devices differently that e.g WiFi. During commissioning procedure, a Zigbee device will look for any open Zigbee network and joins it. The device could potentially join a different Zigbee network than we expect but that's usually not a problem, as the Zigbee protocol requires the user to open the network just for a finite time (180 seconds) a then the network is closed again.

Best regards,

Marjeris

[Marjeris Romero]

Hi,

Follow up from the developers:

"Unfortunately ZBOSS doens't have API just for scanning, not followed by joining."

I don't see it being specified anywhere in the Zigbee protocol. So it's not possible to have a device with this "scanning mode".

Best regards,

Marjeris

[anusha_14]

Hi Marjeris,

Ok, it's clear now.

Regards,

Anusha