User guide

BB2-7040 User Guide – Rev. 1.2 Page 14
5 Setting Up the ZigBee Device List
There are three ways to get the BB2-7040 to recognize a device. Devices must be recognized one way or another so that
we know the right data is ending up in the right BACnet objects.
5.1 Network Identifier
The Network Identifier is a 20-character ASCII string naming the device. The name needs to be unique on the PAN. The
combination of a valid ASCII string and non-zero Rx Timeout value signal your desire to have the BB2-7040 try to find
this device by Network Identifier. The name will be broadcast, asking any ZigBee device matching that name to reply
with its 64-bit address. From that point forward, the BB2-7040 will use the 64-bit address that was reported.
IMPORTANT: Network Identifier might be considered the ideal approach since you can replace a sensor by naming that
sensor rather than keep track of its 64-bit address. However, the BB2-7040 will keep looking for that name until it finds
it. An undesired side effect is that every time the ZigBee coordinator transmits the command looking for the name, it
wakes up all sleeping devices on its PAN. If the name is not found for any reason, the continued retries that continue to
wake up all sensors will result in premature end of battery life in all of the sensors.
You can avoid this potential battery life problem by using the fixed 64-bit address as outlined in the following section.
While it is less convenient in the sense that you need to know its 64-bit address, it is more convenient in the sense that
you do not have to take any steps to assign it a name. You only need to assign a PAN ID and set the timing parameters.
The ZigBee device will be immediately recognized the first time it transmits because the 64-bit address is always
included in every transmission. More importantly, the ZigBee coordinator does not waste any device’s battery life by
searching the network for names.