Node Descriptors - Digi XBee Zigbee Mesh Kit User Manual

Zigbee communication in depth
For instance, the temperature sensor node with address 0x4567 generates a new temperature value.
The application object that measures the temperature is located at endpoint 10 and the cluster ID in
charge of this is 0x0402. So, the sensor node transmits to the coordinator the new temperature, the
source endpoint (10) and the cluster ID (0x0402) generating the value along with its own network
address (0x4567). The coordinator looks for the entries in its binding table that match source endpoint
10 and cluster ID 0x0402 and generates a message for each one. In the example, there is only one
match so the sending node generates and transmits to 0x1234 (the thermostat node), destination
endpoint 1, a single message with the temperature value, source endpoint, and cluster ID.
Binding types
Binding is possible between a single output and input cluster but it can also be destined for groups of
nodes or even multiple destinations by having multiple entries for the same source endpoint and
cluster ID in the binding table. The types of bindings are:
One-to-one: An endpoint binds to one (and only one) other endpoint.
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One-to-many: A source endpoint binds to more than one destination endpoint.
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Many-to-one: More than one source endpoint binds to a single destination endpoint.
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Node descriptors

Other than the reserved endpoints, endpoint numbers are not standardized. Different manufactures
may choose different endpoints for their applications. In other words, our product implements an
on/off output on endpoint 2, but Acme Corp. uses endpoint 55 for the same on/off output on their
products.
This means that when a node enters a network, it needs to query the rest of nodes to find out what
endpoints they have and what services are implemented on those endpoints. Each endpoint returns
some information when it is queried, such as which profile is implementing, which device description
within that profile is being implemented, and the list of inbound (server) and outbound (client) clusters
this endpoint has.
Every Zigbee node in the network defines several descriptors to identify itself and its endpoints:
Node descriptor contains information about the capabilities of the Zigbee node and is
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mandatory for each node. There is only one node descriptor in a node.
Power descriptor gives a dynamic indication of the power status of the node and is mandatory
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for each node. There is only one node power descriptor in a node.
Simple descriptor contains information specific to each endpoint contained in this node. The
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simple descriptor is mandatory for each endpoint present in the node.
XBee® Zigbee® Mesh Kit
Zigbee Application Framework
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