Features

embeNET has many features that distinguish it from other wireless mesh networking platforms. Read on to find out more!

Large scalability

Connect thousands of devices within one network without getting into congestion problems.

We use Time Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) mode of IEEE 802.15.4 to deliver a self-organizing mesh network with greatly reduced collisions and other congestion problems. This allows us to build networks spanning from dozens to 1000+ nodes and plan for the future growth.

Long range and coverage

Connect remote locations and hard to reach places covering large terrain with a single network.

Our solution can work in sub-GHz bands allowing better signal propagation, obstacle avoidance and material penetration. Combined with multi-hop networking it leads to large effective coverage.

Lightweight and hardware agnostic

No vendor lock-in and possibility to use various, cost-effective hardware platforms.

Our networking stack has already been ported to various hardware chips from many vendors. If your products already feature an LPWAN radio transceiver chances are that your hardware platform is also already covered. The ability to work on various chips combined with low memory footprint allows for cost optimisation and reduces vendor lock-in and supply chain disruption risks.

Standard networking protocols

IPv6 and UDP – a solid combination of proven networking protocols

Each device in the embeNET network has a unique IPv6 address and provides familiar, socket based data transport services based on UDP. Plain, simple, and easy to build upon. We also support multicast addressing for even better large-scale data transport experience.

Just one gateway per network

No need for expensive gateway infrastructure – a single border router is enough to run the network and connect it to the Internet

Our network spans from a device called a border router which acts as a gateway between our wireless mesh network and other networks, such as the Internet. It then extends hop by hop in a mesh topology joining other devices. Each device is effectively a router and can forward data packets back and forth.

Network of networks

Each embeNET network can be separated or shared depending on the application requirements.

Depending on application requirements the devices can join one or more embeNET networks. Networks can also be effectively connected to each other using standard IP routing protocols and form larger structures. This is a perfect fit for smart city solutions, where system providers can flexibly distribute available network capacity across many use cases (eg. lighting, car parkings, sensors, etc.).

Self organization and self healing

Avoiding single point of failure through redundancy and continuous monitoring of connections.

Each device in the embeNET network is constantly looking for better connection possibilities to form an optimal set of links. This also means tracking backup connections and being able to restore them quickly if some devices get broken or some connections are lost.

Optimal use of resources

Load balancing and reacting dynamically to application traffic demands.

When starting the network the connections are formed taking into consideration routing capabilities of each device and number of children devices already connected. This also applies to scheduled time slots, through which data packets are exchanged, which are allocated according to the current application traffic.

Interference-proof

Channel hopping allows to mitigate interferences and multipath fading.

The use of Time Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) mode of IEEE 802.15.4 makes sure that interferences from other devices and systems present at one, or even multiple channels do not cripple the communication possibilities of the devices. Same thing applies to multipath fading, which causes selective signal drops in some frequency channels. Channel hopping technique allows to effectively avoid overuse of such channels which leads to more stable connections.

Secure networking and protection against common attacks

Industry-standard security mechanisms and flexible authentication options.

All data links use industry-standard AES encryption with negotiated session keys between the border router and each device. The network also supports multiple authorization schemes and commissioning scenarios. Due to the use of standard networking protocols based on IPv6, it is also easy to use standard security tools such as firewalls and VPNs, leaving no security gaps between connected systems.

Out-of-the-box services for common use cases

Built in firmware update and diagnostics to speed up integration and deployment.

embeNET comes equipped with built-in services for remote diagnostics of the network itself, easing pilot installations, first deployments and maintenance tasks. It also features a solid mechanism for large scale automated firmware update of all devices in the network. These two functionalities are often craved for by the developers but take long to develop. With them ready out-of-the-box you can speed up embeNET integration in your products and run faster deployments for even better user experience.

Simple access to the cloud through MQTT

By using a combination of MQTT and MQTT-SN each device in the network can talk with standard MQTT brokers.

One of the available extensions of embeNET is the MQTT-SN client, that allows the devices to connect to standard MQTT brokers through a third-party open-source MQTT-SN gateway. This makes it easy to integrate your embedded application with leading IoT platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google cloud and many, many more.