Sensor Networks with Zigbee: Architectures, Energy & Security Challenges, and Recent Advances

Zigbee continues to be a cornerstone technology for constructing low-power, low-data-rate wireless sensor networks (WSNs) within the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. Its prominence is particularly evident in applications such as smart home automation, industrial control, and environmental monitoring. This review examines the fundamental architectures of Zigbeebased networks, delving into the critical design considerations of energy conservation and security. The energy efficiency of a Zigbee WSN is heavily influenced by its network topology—typically star, tree, or mesh and the strategic implementation of routing and Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols. Techniques like beacon scheduling and CSMA-CA are central to minimizing power consumption, allowing battery-powered sensor nodes to operate for extended periods. However, the resourceconstrained nature of these devices also presents significant security challenges. While Zigbee's protocol stack incorporates security features like AES-128 encryption, vulnerabilities such as key management and replay attacks persist, requiring ongoing mitigation strategies.