ZigBee specification

ZigBee is the specification of a low-cost, low-power wireless communications solution, meant to be integrated as the main building block of ubiquitous networks. It is maintained by the ZigBee Alliance, which develops the specification and certifies its proper implementation. As of 2007, the latest publicly available revision is the 2006 version.

Overview

. The specification goes on to complete the standard by adding four main components: network layer, application layer, "ZigBee device objects" (ZDO's) and manufacturer-defined application objects which allow for customization and favor total integration.

Besides adding two high-level network layers to the underlying structure, the most significant improvement is the introduction of ZDO's. These are responsible for a number of tasks, which include keeping of device roles, management of requests to join a network, device discovery and security.

At its core, ZigBee is a mesh network architecture. Its network layer natively supports three types of topologies: both star and tree typical networks and generic mesh networks. Every network must have one coordinator device, tasked with its creation, the control of its parameters and basic maintenance. Within star networks, the coordinator must be the central node. Both trees and meshes allow the use of ZigBee routers to extend communication at the network level (they are not ZigBee coordinators, but may act as 802.15.4 coordinators within their personal operating space), but they differ in a few important details: communication within trees is hierarchical and optionally utilizes frame beacons, whereas meshes allow generic communication structures but no router beaconing.

Network layer

The main functions of the network layer are to enable the correct use of the MAC sublayer and provide a suitable interface for use by the next upper layer, namely the application layer. Its capabilities and structure are those typically associated to such network layers, including routing.

On the one hand, the "data entity" creates and manages network layer data units from the payload of the application layer and performs routing according to the current topology. On the other hand, there is the layer "control", which is used to handle configuration of new devices and establish new networks: it can determine whether a neighboring device belongs to the network and discovers new neighbors and routers. The control can also detect the presence of a receiver, which allows direct communication and MAC synchronization.

The routing protocol used by the Network layer is an AODV distance vector based routing algorithm. In order to find the destination device, it broadcasts out a route request to all of its neighbors. The neighbors then broadcast the request to its neighbors, etc until the destination is reached. Once the destination is reached, it sends its route reply via unicast transmission following the lowest cost path back to the source. Once the source receives the reply, it will update its routing table for the destination address with the next hop in the path and the path cost.

Application layer

The application layer is the highest-level layer defined by the specification, and is the effective interface of the ZigBee system to its end users. It comprises the majority of components added by the ZigBee specification: both ZDO and its management procedures, together with application objects defined by the manufacturer, are considered part of this layer.

Main components

The "ZDO" is responsible for defining the role of a device as either coordinator or end device, as mentioned above, but also for the discovery of new (one-hop) devices on the network and the identification of their offered services. It may then go on to establish secure links with external devices and reply to binding requests accordingly.

The "application support sublayer" (APS) is the other main standard component of the layer, and as such it offers a well-defined interface and control services. It works as a bridge between the network layer and the other components of the application layer: it keeps up-to-date binding tables in the form of a database, which can be used to find appropriate devices depending on the services that are needed and those the different devices offer. As the union between both specified layers, it also routes messages across the layers of the protocol stack.

Communication models

An application may consist of communicating objects which cooperate to carry out the desired tasks. The focus of ZigBee is to distribute work among many different devices which reside within individual ZigBee nodes which in turn form a network (said work will typically be largely local to each device, for instance the control of each individual household appliance).

The collection of objects that form the network communicate using the facilities provided by APS, supervised by ZDO interfaces. The application layer data service follows a typical request-confirm/indication-response structure. Within a single device, up to 240 application objects can exist, numbered in the range 1-240. 0 is reserved for the ZDO data interface and 255 for broadcast; the 241-254 range is not currently in use but may be in the future.

There are two services available for application objects to use (in ZigBee 1.0):
* The "key-value pair service" (KPV) is meant for configuration purposes. It enables description, request and modification of object attributes through a simple interface based on get/set and event primitives, some allowing a request for response. Configuration uses compressed XML (full XML can be used) to provide an adaptable and elegant solution.
* The "message service" is designed to offer a general approach to information treatment, avoiding the necessity to adapt application protocols and potential overhead incurred on by KPV. It allows arbitrary payloads to be transmitted over APS frames.

Addressing is also part of the application layer. A network node consists of an 802.15.4-conformant radio transceiver and one or more device descriptions (basically collections of attributes which can be polled or set, or which can be monitored through events). The transceiver is the base for addressing, and devices within a node are specified by an "endpoint identifier" in the range 1-240.

Communication and device discovery

In order for applications to communicate, their comprising devices must use a common application protocol (types of messages, formats and so on); these sets of conventions are grouped in "profiles". Furthermore, binding is decided upon by matching input and output cluster identifiers, unique within the context of a given profile and associated to an incoming our outgoing data flow in a device. Binding tables contain source and destination pairs.

Depending on the available information, device discovery may follow different methods. When the network address is known, the IEEE address can be requested using unicast communication. When it is not, petitions are broadcast (the IEEE address being part of the response payload). End devices will simply respond with the requested address, while a network coordinator or a router will also send the addresses of all the devices associated with it.

This extended discovery protocol permits external devices to find out about devices in a network and the services that they offer, which endpoints can report when queried by the discovering device (which has previously obtained their addresses). Matching services can also be used.

The use of cluster identifiers enforces the binding of complementary entities by means of the binding tables, which are maintained by ZigBee coordinators, as the table must be always available within a network and coordinators are most likely to have a permanent power supply; backups may be needed by some applications, whose higher-level layers must manage. Binding requires an established communication link; after it exists, whether to add a new node to the network is decided, according to the application and security policies.

Communication can happen right after the association. "Direct addressing" uses both radio address and endpoint identifier, whereas indirect addressing requires every relevant field (address, endpoint, cluster and attribute) and sends it to the network coordinator, which maintains these associations and translates requests for communication. "Indirect addressing" is particularly useful to keep some devices very simple and minimize their need for storage. Besides these two methods, "broadcast" to all endpoints in a device is available, and "group addressing" is used to communicate with groups of endpoints belonging to a set of devices.

ecurity services

As one of its defining features, ZigBee provides facilities for carrying out secure communications, protecting establishment and transport of cryptographic keys, cyphering frames and controlling devices. It builds on the basic security framework defined in IEEE 802.15.4. This part of the architecture relies on the correct management of symmetric keys and the correct implementation of methods and security policies.

Basic security model

The basic mechanism to ensure confidentiality is the adequate protection of all keying material. Trust must be assumed in the initial installation of the keys, as well as in the processing of security information. In order for an implementation to globally work, its general correctness (e.g., conformance to specified behaviors) is assumed.

Keys are the cornerstone of the security architecture; as such their protection is of paramount importance, and keys are never supposed to be transported through an insecure channel. There is a momentary exception to this rule, which occurs during the initial phase of the addition to the network of a previously unconfigured device. The ZigBee network model must take particular care of security considerations, as ad hoc networks may be physically accessible to external devices and the particular working environment cannot be foretold; likewise, different applications running concurrently and using the same transceiver to communicate are supposed to be mutually trustworthy: for cost reasons the model does not assume a firewall exists between application-level entities.

Within the protocol stack, different network layers are not cryptographically separated, so access policies are needed and correct design assumed. The open trust model within a device allows for key sharing, which notably decreases potential cost. Nevertheless, the layer which creates a frame is responsible for its security. If malicious devices may exist, every network layer payload must be cyphered, so unauthorized traffic can be immediately cut off. The exception, again, is the transmission of the network key, which confers a unified security layer to the network, to a new connecting device. Point-to-point encryption is also supported.

ecurity architecture

ZigBee uses 128-bit keys to implement its security mechanisms. A key can be associated either to a network, being usable by both ZigBee layers and the MAC sublayer, or to a link, acquired through preinstallation, agreement or transport. Establishment of link keys is based on a master key which controls link key correspondence. Ultimately, at least the initial master key must be obtained through a secure medium (transport or preinstallation), as the security of the whole network depends on it. Link and master keys are only visible to the application layer. Different services use different one-way variations of the link key in order to avoid leaks and security risks.

Key distribution is one of the most important security functions of the network. A secure network will designate one special device which other devices trust for the distribution of security keys: the trust center. Ideally, devices will have the trust center address and initial master key preloaded; if a momentary vulnerability is allowed, it will be sent as described above. Typical applications without special security needs will use a network key provided by the trust center (through the initially insecure channel) to communicate.

Thus, the trust center maintains both the network key and provides point-to-point security. Devices will only accept communications originating from a key provided by the trust center, except for the initial master key. The security architecture is distributed among the network layers as follows:
* The MAC sublayer is capable of single-hop reliable communications. As a rule, the security level it is to use is specified by the upper layers.
* The network layer manages routing, processing received messages and being capable of broadcasting requests. Outgoing frames will use the adequate link key according to the routing, if it is available; otherwise, the network key will be used to protect the payload from external devices.
* The application layer offers key establishment and transport services to both ZDO and applications. It is also responsible for the propagation across the network of changes in devices within it, which may originate in the devices themselves (for instance, a simple status change) or in the trust manager (which may inform the network that a certain device is to be eliminated from it). It also routes requests from devices to the trust center and network key renewals from the trust center to all devices. Besides this, the ZDO maintains the security policies of the device.

The security levels infrastructure is based on CCM*, which adds encryption- and integrity-only features to CCM.

ee also

* ZigBee
* IEEE 802.15.4
* Bluetooth
* Wireless personal area network

References

* ZigBee specification 1.0
* [http://www.zigbee.org/en/spec_download/download_request.asp ZigBee specification 2006]

External Links

* [http://www.daintree.net/resources/spec-matrix.php Compare ZigBee Specification Versions: 2004/2006/2007/PRO]