How to turn on/off mesh

[sphudson]

I am using the RBC mesh in a networking product using the nRF51422. We would like to turn the mesh on and off at selected times, say once per hour for a minute or two. I know how to turn on (init) the mesh. But, what is the best way to turn it off such that the radio is at minimal power?

Thanks in advance --s

[Trond Einar Snekvik]

The framework now supports start/stop actions for the radio activity, see release v0.6.9. Note that this only stops radio activity, while the memory remains allocated and local functionality is kept.

It works by aborting the running timeslot, and stops all ordering of new ones from the Softdevice.

[Trond Einar Snekvik]

Unfortunately, no. When turned off, the mesh doesn't use the radio at all, and will not be able to send or receive anything. The mode you're requesting requires a surprising amount of extra functionality, as the battery powered node cannot be in RX mode constantly (it's extremely power consuming). Therefore, the "router" node has to buffer all incoming messages while waiting for the end-node to attach in some low-power fashion, like a regular BLE connection. This is the approach I would recommend for the mesh; let router devices scan for end node's advertisements, and connect. Transfer all data since the last connection, and disconnect again. Alternatively, keep a connection running, but keep the connection interval high, as to conserve power in the end node. If you want several end-nodes at each router, you should make the router the master in the connections (requires SD120 or SD130).