Mesh Network Protocol for embedded devices

This is the low speed mesh network protocol. It allows to turn almost any kind of MCU device + Radio module device into a mesh node. It is designed to be lightweight, easy to use and portable to many plaftorms. The protocol may use variety of radio modules.

The network extends and heals itself automatically by communicating with other nodes, which have same protocol version installed. Most versions of this protocol are compatible, but for the best performance it is recommended to use same and the latest version.

The protocol has been tested with radio modules JDY-40 during the development, and potentially can use other radio modules, which might be or your choice:

• JDY-41
• SV-610
• HC-11
• HC-12
• LC12S
• GT-38
• LoRa modules

MCU - stands for Microcontroller Computer Unit. (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, PC, etc.)

Mesh node architecture:

 (Library code runs here which turns MCU into a mesh node)
        |                                          
        |                                          
        V           
+----------------+                 +-----------------+
|                |  (IO Interface) |                 |
|      MCU       |<--------------->|   Radio module  |
|                |                 |                 |
+----------------+                 +-----------------+

Network possible architecture:

+----------------+               +----------------+                 +---------------+ 
|                |               |                |                 |               | 
|      Node      |  (( Ether ))  |      Node      |   (( Ether ))   |     Node      |  
|   Address: 1   |               |   Address: 2   |                 |   Address: 3  | 
|                |  <--------->  |                |  <----------->  |               | 
+----------------+               +----------------+                 +---------------+ 
                  ^               ^                                                    
                   \             /                                                     
                    \           /                                                      
       (( Ether ))   \         /   (( Ether ))                                                    
                      \       /                                                        
                       \     /                                                         
                        v   v                                                           
                +----------------+                                                       
                |                |                                                       
                |      Node      |                                                       
                |   Address: 4   |                                                       
                |                |                                                       
                +----------------+                                                       

Quick links to usage examples:

• arduino-nano
• linux
• linux-cli-tool

Goal:

The goal of this project is to provide ability to build mesh network out of cheap, low memory, components. This protocol can be used for:

• Home automation
• Remote control
• Remote monitoring (telemetry)
• Decentralized messaging
• etc.

Working principle:

The way, how the protocol spreads the data:

The protocol routes the packets in the most dumb way. It spereads the packet in the way, similar to the spread of the atenuating wave in the pool. It means, that all near devices, that can catch the packet - cathes it. Then the device's router - determines if the packet is reached it's destination or the packet has to be transitted further into the network with decrease of lifetime value. Lifetime is decreased only during re-transition. Once lifetime value is reached zero during routing - the packet gets destroyed by the exact device which currently transits it.

The packets, that were just sent by user by send_to_exact, broadcast, send_ping_pong or send_with_transaction method in the device, which performs the operation - that packets bypasses routing and are sent directly into sending queue, and then into the ether. It means that lifetime of the packet is not decreased by the router of the device. So the message can be sent even with lifetime set to 0, anyway it will be transmitted in the ether for the first time. Sending of packets from the queues happends during call of update method.

It means, that the user can send the message with:

• Set the lifetime to 0, and the packet will be transmitted into the ether, nearest device will receive it, check if the destination is reached. If the destination is reached - catch the data. Otherwise - try to transmit further with decrease of lifetime value which will lead to packet destruction due to the end of packet's lifetime.

• Also set the lifetime to 1, and the packet will be transmitted into the ether, nearest device will receive it, check if the destination is reached, If the destination is reached - catch the data. Otherwise - try to transmit further with decrease of lifetime value which will lead to packet destruction due to the same reason.

• Set the lifetime to 2 and the packet will be transmitted into the ether, nearest device will receive it, check if the destination is reached, If the destination is reached - catch the data. Otherwise - try to transmit further with decrease of lifetime value which will lead packet transition back into the ether, but with less lifetime value.

• And so on..

Every node have 2 internal queues, they are not exposed to user:

• send - for packets that node holds to be sent.
• transit - for packets, that node holds to be transitted from other devices. Sizes of those queues are configurable. And their both configuration of size is made by PACKET_QUEUE_SIZE constant in ./src/mesh_lib/node/constants.rs.

How the protocol avoid packet duplication:

During send of the packet using send_to_exact method - you can set filter_out_duplication parameter to true which prevents network from being jammed by duplicated packets. Methods send_ping_pong, broadcast, send_with_transaction has this parameter set to true by default as send_ping_pong and send_with_transaction needs more than one packet to be sent trough the network.

filter_out_duplication works in the next way: 1 - Node sets ignore_duplication flag in the packet flags. 2 - Once intermediate node receives the packet with ignore_duplication flag set to true,

• it remembers the sender_device_identifier of the packet and id of the packet for the specified RECEIVER_FILTER_DUPLICATE_IGNORE_PERIOD period of time. This period is configurable. if the packet with same sender_device_identifier and with same id is received again by that same node - node will ignore packet for that specified period of time. ignore_duplication leads protocol to spread one exact packet trough the network only once.

Status:

• The version is: 2.1.0: Every planned functionality is working. It is:
  • Send data.
  • Receive data.
  • Send data with ignorance of duplicated packets.
  • Send data with limited of number of hops.
  • Broadcast data to all nodes.
  • Message transition by the intermediate nodes.
  • Send data via Ping-pong method, and receive result saying that ping-pong send finished.
  • Send data via Transaction and receive result saying that transaction being finished.
• Fully backward compatible with version 2.0.0
• Backward compatible with version 1.0.0 with no transaction support.

Cross-platform compatibility

Protocol currently natively runs on:

• Arduino nano
• Linux (Raspberry PI, Desktop)

Not tested yet on:

• Windows
• Mac
• STM32
• ESP8266
• Raspberry PI pico

Porting to other platforms

While initially designed to be able to run at least on Atmega328p microcontollers - it can run natively on huge variety of other platforms and operating systems. Protocol is using embedded-io trait to communicate with radio modules.

Issues and discussions:

Contacs are:

• Telegram channel: https://t.me/embedded_nano_mesh

• Github: https://github.com/boshtannik This will help this project grow.

Usage:

1 - Include library. Cargo.toml:

embedded-nano-mesh = "2.1.0"

2 - Include implementation of embedded-io or implement it for your platform. Cargo.toml:

embedded-nano-mesh-linux-io = "0.0.1" # For linux
# embedded-nano-mesh-arduino-nano-io = { git = "https://github.com/boshtannik/embedded-nano-mesh-arduino-nano-io.git" } # For arduino

3 - initialize and use your implementation of embedded-io in your code: src/main.rs:

    let mut interface = LinuxIO::new( ... );
    let mut mesh_node = ...;

    match mesh_node.send_to_exact(
        message.into_bytes(),              // Content.
        ExactAddressType::new(2).unwrap(), // Send to device with address 2.
        10 as LifeTimeType, // Let message travel 10 devices before being destroyed.
        true,
    ) {
        Ok(()) => {
            println!("Message sent")
        }
        Err(SendError::SendingQueueIsFull) => {
            println!("SendingQueueIsFull")
        }
    }

    loop {
        let _ = mesh_node.update(&mut interface, current_time);
    }

During sending of message you can regulate the distance that the packet will be able to make - by setting the lifetime parameter. For example:

• setting lifetime to 1 will limit the message's reach to the nearest devices in the network.
• setting lifetime to 10 will make the packet able to pass 10 nodes before being destroyed.

Full examples are available below.

Arduino nano examples.

Usage examples can be found here:

• arduino-nano

Sometimes code binary might not fit onto your arduino board memory, in order to reduce the size of final binary - it is recommended to compile it with --release flag - it increases optimisation level tlat leads to smaller binary.

Linux examples.

Usage examples can be found here:

• linux

API description

The central component of this protocol is the Node structure, which offers interface for actions like send_to_exact, broadcast, receive, send_ping_pong, and send_with_transaction.

The Node should be constantly updated by call its update method. During call of update method - it does all internal work:

• routes packets trough the network
• transits packets that were sent to other devices
• handles lifetime of packets
• handles special packets like ping and pong, or any kind of transaction one.
• saves received packets that will be available trough receive method.
• sends packets, that are in the send queue.

As the protocol relies on physical environment - it is crucial to provide ability to the library to rely on time counting and on communication interface. Time calculation is provided by millis_provider closure, and interface_driver is described above by embedded-io traits.

During the use of methods, that relies on millis_provider closure and interface_driver which is the structure that implements embedded-io trait - it is needed to provide those implementations during the method call. Those methods are:

• update
• send_ping_pong
• send_with_transaction

New Method

To initialize a Node, you need to provide NodeConfig with values:

• ExactAddressType: Sets the device's identification address in the node pool. It is ok to have multiple deivces sharing same address in the same network.
• listen_period: Sets period in milliseconds that determines how long the device will wait before transmitting packet to the network. It prevents network congestion.

main.rs:

let mut mesh_node = Node::new(NodeConfig {
    device_address: ExactAddressType::new(1).unwrap(),
    listen_period: 150 as ms,
});

Broadcast Method

To send the message to all nodes in the network, you can send it with standard broadcast method, It sends packet with destination address set as GeneralAddressType::BROADCAST. Every device will treats GeneralAddressType::Broadcast as it's own address, so they keep the message as received and transits copy of that message further. main.rs:

let _ = mesh_node.broadcast(
    message.into_bytes(), // Content.
    10 as LifeTimeType,   // Let message travel 10 devices before being destroyed.
);

Send to exact Method

!The term echoed message refers to a duplicated message that has been re-transmitted into the ether by an intermediate device.

Send to exact method - sends the message to device with exact address in the network. The send_to_exact method requires the following arguments:

• data: A PacketDataBytes instance to hold the message bytes.
• destination_device_identifier: A ExactAddressType instance indicating exact target device.
• lifetime: A LifeTimeType instance to control for how far the message can travel.
• filter_out_duplication: A boolean flag to filter out echoed messages from the network.

main.rs:

let _ = match mesh_node.send_to_exact(
    message.into_bytes(),              // Content.
    ExactAddressType::new(2).unwrap(), // Send to device with address 2.
    10 as LifeTimeType, // Let message travel 10 devices before being destroyed.
    true,
);

Receive Method

The receive method optionally returns received data in a Packet instance in case if that packet was previously received by this exact device. It does not matter if that data was sent via broadcast, send_to_exact, ping_pong or send_with_transaction method because anyway it was sent to that exact device. You can tell by which method the packet is sent by matching special_state field of returned Packet instance. The way that packet was sent to this device can be checked in special_state field of returned value. Field contains value of PacketState enum.

main.rs:

match mesh_node.receive() {
    Some(packet) => ...,
    Node => ....,
}

Send Ping-Pong Method

The send_ping_pong method sends a message with a "ping" flag to the destination node and waits for the same message with a "pong" flag which tells that the end device have received the message at least once. It returns an error if the ping-pong exchange fails. The following arguments are required:

Ping-Pong time diagram:

            +----------+              +----------+
            |  Sender  |              | Receiver |
            +--------- +              +----------+
                 |                         |     
 Ping-pong start |   --------Ping------->  |   <-- Receiver has received the message
                 |                         |     
Ping-pong finish |   <-------Pong--------  |     
                 |                         |     
                                    

• data: A PacketDataBytes instance.
• destination_device_identifier: A ExactAddressType instance, that indicates exact target device address.
• lifetime: A LifeTimeType instance.
• timeout: An ms instance specifying how long to wait for a response.

main.rs:

let _ = mesh_node.send_ping_pong(
    message.into_bytes(),               // Content.
    ExactAddressType::new(2).unwrap(),  // Send to device with address 2.
    10 as LifeTimeType,                 // Let message travel 10 devices before being destroyed.
    1000 as ms,                         // Set timeout to 1000 ms.
    || {
        Instant::now()
            .duration_since(program_start_time)
            .as_millis() as ms
    },                                  // Closure providing current time in milliseconds.
    &mut serial,                        // IO interface.
);

Send with Transaction Method

The send_with_transaction method sends a message and handles all further work to ensure the target device have received it only once and correctly. Method returns an error if the transaction failed.

Transaction time diagram:

                      +----------+              +----------+
                      |  Sender  |              | Receiver |
                      +--------- +              +----------+
                           |                         |     
    *Transaction start     | ---SendTransaction--->  |    \
                           |                         |     (increment packet id by 1)
                   /       | <--AcceptTransaction--  |    /
(increment packet id by 1) |                         |     
                   \       | ---InitTransaction--->  |    \ <--- Receiver has received the message
                           |                         |     (increment packet id by 1) 
    *Transaction finish    | <--FinishTransaction--  |    /                           
                           |                         |     
                                    

The required arguments are:

• data: A PacketDataBytes instance.
• destination_device_identifier: A ExactAddressType instance, that indicates exact target device address.
• lifetime: A LifeTimeType instance.
• timeout: An ms instance to specify the response wait time.

main.rs:

match mesh_node.send_with_transaction(
    message.into_bytes(),               // Content.
    ExactAddressType::new(2).unwrap(),  // Send to device with address 2.
    10 as LifeTimeType,                 // Let message travel 10 devices before being destroyed.
    2000 as ms,                         // Wait 2 seconds for response.
    || {
        Instant::now()
            .duration_since(program_start_time)
            .as_millis() as ms
    },                                  // Closure providing current time in milliseconds.
    &mut serial,                        // IO interface.
);

Update Method

The update method is used to perform all internal operation of the Node. It shall be called in a loop with providing embedded-io implemented structure and current_time im milliseconds. It allows Node to interact with outer world. With out call this method in a loop - the node will stop working.

main.rs:

loop {
    let current_time = Instant::now()
        .duration_since(program_start_time)
        .as_millis() as ms;

    let _ = mesh_node.update(&mut serial, current_time);
}

Reduce packet collisions

It is recommended to set listen_period value on multiple devices different from each other, like:

• device 1 - 230 ms,
• device 2 - 240 ms,
• device 3 - 250 ms, this will reduce chance of the network to sychronize, and shall make less packet collisions. You can play with this values in order to reduce the chance of packet collisions.

Note: The higher count of nodes in the network leads to the more network stability, but listen period must be higher in order to let devices to share same ether with less collisions. In the stable networks - there is less need to use transaction or ping_pong sending, unless, you send something very important.

No encryption

This protocol does not provide data encryption. To secure your data from being stolen, you should implement (de/en)cryption mechanisms independently.

All nodes must have the same version of the protocol installed to communicate. Different implementations of the Packet structure, or serialization or deserealization methods will lead to communication issues.

Note

Under the hood, data is packed into a Packet instance. If you need customize packets for your needs - you need configure the Packet ./src/mesh_lib/node/packet/mod.rs and ./src/mesh_lib/node/packet/types.rs Also serialization and deserealization part shall be changed too.

Support project:

You can support project by donate to bitcoin address: bc1qc50tm0ppj3hh7fecd6d0rv8tdygy8uhe2cemzt Or you can buy me a coffee:

License

This project is licensed under:

• GNU General Public License, Version 3.0 (LICENSE-GPL or GPL License)
• Apache License, Version 2.0 (LICENSE-APACHE or Apache License 2.0)
• MIT License (LICENSE-MIT or MIT License)

You can choose the license that best suits your preferences.

Contribution

You can contribute to this project by make fork of 'main' branch and then creating pyull request to this repository. Pull request shall be created with next data mentioned.

• Name of the issue the the pull request solves.
• Link to the issue in the pull request description.
• Abstract description of the cause of problem and the way it was solved.
• Optionally notes or wishes for further maintainance or improvement.
• Before pushing the pull request - merge it with main branch again to void all possible conflicts.
• Push the pull request.