XBee®/XBee‐PRO® ZB SMT RF Modules
and maintained by the ZigBee Alliance. Each application profile has a unique profile identifier assigned by the
ZigBee Alliance.
Examples of public profiles include:
•Home Automation
•Smart Energy
•Commercial Building Automation
The Smart Energy profile, for example, defines various device types including an energy service portal, load
controller, thermostat, in-home display, etc. The Smart Energy profile defines required functionality for each
device type. For example, a load controller must respond to a defined command to turn a load on or off. By
defining standard communication protocols and device functionality, public profiles allow interoperable ZigBee
solutions to be developed by independent manufacturers.
Digi XBee ZB firmware operates on a private profile called the Digi Drop-In Networking profile. However, API
mode can be used in many cases to talk to devices in public profiles or non-Digi private profiles. See the API
Operations chapter for details.
Clusters
A cluster is an application message type defined within a profile. Clusters are used to specify a unique
function, service, or action. For example, the following are some clusters defined in the home automation
profile:
•On/Off - Used to switch devices on or off (lights, thermostats, etc.)
•Level Control - Used to control devices that can be set to a level between on and off
•Color Control - Controls the color of color capable devices.
Each cluster has an associated 2-byte cluster identifier (cluster ID). The cluster ID is included in all
application transmissions. Clusters often have associated request and response messages. For example, a
smart energy gateway (service portal) might send a load control event to a load controller in order to
schedule turning on or off an appliance. Upon executing the event, the load controller would send a load
control report message back to the gateway.
Devices that operate in an application profile (private or public) must respond correctly to all required
clusters. For example, a light switch that will operate in the home automation public profile must correctly
implement the On/Off and other required clusters in order to interoperate with other home automation
devices. The ZigBee Alliance has defined a ZigBee Cluster Library (ZCL) that contains definitions or various
general use clusters that could be implemented in any profile.
XBee modules implement various clusters in the Digi private profile. In addition, the API can be used to
send or receive messages on any cluster ID (and profile ID or endpoint). See the Explicit Addressing ZigBee
Command API frame in chapter 3 for details.
Endpoints
The APS layer includes supports for endpoints. An endpoint can be thought of as a running application,
similar to a TCP/IP port. A single device can support one or more endpoints. Each application endpoint is
identified by a 1-byte value, ranging from 1 to 240. Each defined endpoint on a device is tied to an
application profile. A device could, for example, implement one endpoint that supports a Smart Energy load
controller, and another endpoint that supports other functionality on a private profile.
ZigBee Device Profile
Profile ID 0x0000 is reserved for the ZigBee Device Profile. This profile is implemented on all ZigBee
devices. Device Profile defines many device and service discovery features and network management
capabilities. Endpoint 0 is a reserved endpoint that supports the ZigBee Device Profile. This endpoint is
called the ZigBee Device Objects (ZDO) endpoint.
ZigBee Device Objects (ZDO)
The ZDO (endpoint 0) supports the discovery and management capabilities of the ZigBee Device Profile. A
complete listing of all ZDP services is included in the ZigBee specification. Each service has an associated
cluster ID.
The XBee ZB firmware allows applications to easily send ZDO messages to devices in the network using the
API. See the ZDO Transmissions section in chapter 4 for details.
© 2010 Digi International, Inc.
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