SIMULATION OF WIRELESS MESH NETWORK BASED ON ZigBee SPECIFICATION

Abstract

Currently, the most widespread wireless access technology, which is widely used to transmit
a large amount of traffic of various types, is the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard. MESH networks
have become one of the most promising areas of technology development. MESH networks
provide the most interesting solutions integrating various wireless access technologies. The possibility
of organizing local (LAN) and metropolitan (MAN) networks using MESH topology, easily
integrating into wide area networks (WAN), is a positive factor for use on a ship. In maritime
practice, networks based on digitalization and automation are increasingly used. This article discusses
modeling the interaction of devices in a MESH network based on the ZigBee specification,
the principle of operation of the data link layer, which is used in this network, as well as a variant of the method for preventing increased consumption of energy used by the network. One of the
advantages of the ZigBee network is the ability to track network participants and the topology
itself in the mode of their frequent connections, disconnections and reconnections. In this case, it
is necessary to analyze the network speed, reliability, bandwidth. For this purpose, we estimated
the average waiting time for connecting a node, the probability of a successful connection of a
node to the network, the probability of finding a channel busy during the first and second probing
of the carrier, and a test of the throughput of the network under consideration. The obtained results
of the analysis indicate the operability of the network in various situations: both under normal
conditions and in a difficult jamming environment.