There are four different types of devices to form a ZigBee mesh network:
- Router: A ZigBee router is a typical citizen of a mesh network, it routes messages to and from other devices, including other routers. In an ideal situation, each router is redundant. Consequently, if a router loses network connection, traffic to the remaining nodes in the network stays intact thanks to rerouting and redundancy.
- End device: A ZigBee end device, which is sometimes abbreviated ZED, does not route traffic to other nodes. It is usually asleep most of the time. Typical ZigBee end devices are simple peripherals like switches, attenuators, etc.
- Coordinator: A ZigBee coordinator is a ZigBee router with all characteristics of a router. The coordinator also controls the network setup, that is, it confirms new nodes to join the network.
- Trust center: The ZigBee trust center administrates the encryption and decryption keys and distributes the keys to new nodes. The trust center is almost always the same device as the coordinator.
In EcoStruxure Building Expert, Multi-purpose managers "MPM", SE7000 and SE8000 room thermostats can be configured as a router or coordinator. Smart Terminal Controllers "SEC-TE" and Smart Wireless Actuator "SED-0" are end devices.