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What communication software stacks are available?
The development kit enterprise comes with 2 communication stacks: PeakNet Z and PeakNet LPR.
PeakNet Z can be compared to a typical ZigBee network. The network consists of a coordinator which is the master of the network. Range can be extended by using routers. These routers are always-on (microcontroller and radio enabled) meaning they need to be mains powered. Finally, the network also consists of end-devices (RFD’s) which join a network through a router (or directly if they are in range of the coordinator) and will go to a sleep mode (MCU off and radio off) until a wake-up is triggered. This wake-up can be caused by a timer (e.g. periodical wake-ups) or by an external interrupt (e.g. button pushed). Since the RFD’s are in a low-power state most of the time, they can be battery-powered.
The second communication stack included with the development kit is PeakNet LPR (low-power-routing). A disadvantage of PeakNet Z is that you always need mains-powered routers to extend your range over multiple hops. However, in some applications, mains-power is not always available. PeakNet LPR uses a network-wide time-synchronization to enable the devices to go to a low-power sleep mode most of the time. Periodically, all devices in the network will wake up at the same time to send/receive data. Using this duty-cycling mechanism, routers can be battery-powered and have a battery lifetime of multiple years.
Both PeakNet Z and PeakNet LPR make use of PeakNet Nano. This stack is used as the bootloader stack, and is by default included on every module (in the bootloader section of the microcontroller). This small, simple and stable software stack enables you to update the firmware (PeakNet Z or PeakNet LPR) of the module over the air or through a serial connection.
Hardware related questions:
Software related questions:
Development kit information:
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