Performance Analysis of ZigBee IEEE 802.15.4 in Star Topology Using Network Simulator-3

Anhar Anhar, Suwitno Suwitno, Rangga Byian Tri Putra, Adinda Juita, Ahmad fauzan


Abstract


This study presents a comprehensive performance analysis of ZigBee IEEE 802.15.4 operating in a star topology, simulated using Network Simulator-3 (NS-3 v3.46.1). Five network configurations—comprising 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 nodes—were evaluated across four Quality-of-Service (QoS) metrics: packet loss, end-to-end delay, jitter, packet delivery ratio (PDR), and throughput. A total of 150 per-node observations were collected and subjected to descriptive statistics, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Tukey HSD post-hoc tests, Pearson correlation analysis, and linear regression modeling. ANOVA results confirmed highly significant differences across all node configurations (p < 0.001) for every metric. Pearson correlation revealed strong positive associations between node count and packet loss (r = 0.852) and jitter (r = 0.666), and a strong negative association with PDR (r = −0.852). Linear regression models demonstrated that each additional node increases packet loss by approximately 1.01% and end-to-end delay by 0.30 s. The results indicate that ZigBee in star topology performs adequately for small IoT deployments (≤10 nodes) but degrades significantly beyond 20 nodes due to MAC-layer contention and CSMA/CA backoff collisions. These findings provide empirical benchmarks for ZigBee network designers and IoT system engineers.

Keywords


Zigbee; IEEE 802.15.4; Star Topology; NS-3; QoS

Full Text:

PDF

References


Muh. A. Indrajaya, R. Fauzi, and E. A. Saputra, “ZigBee-Based Wireless Sensor Network Topology Design and Comparison in Residential Areas,” Jurnal Ecotipe (Electronic, Control, Telecommunication, Information, and Power Engineering), vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 42–51, Apr. 2023, doi: 10.33019/JURNALECOTIPE.V10I1.3704.

O. Jayeola Adaramola and J. Rotimi Olasina, “Evaluation of Mobile ZigBee Technology Performance with Simulation Techniques,” 2022.

Z. Zhou, “Node Injection Control Logic Design for Intelligent Home System Based on Wireless Sensor Network,” 2022. Hindawi Journal of Sensors, vol. 2022, 2022, doi: 10.1155/2022.

P. D. P. Adi et al., “A Performance Evaluation of ZigBee Mesh Communication on the Internet of Things (IoT),” 3rd 2021 East Indonesia Conference on Computer and Information Technology, EIConCIT 2021, pp. 7–13, Apr. 2021, doi: 10.1109/EICONCIT50028.2021.9431875.

S. I. Pella and H. F. Lami, “Performance Analysis of IEEE 802.15.4 Channel Access Mechanisms during Event Detections in Wireless Sensor Networks,” Jurnal Media Elektro, pp. 148–155, Oct. 2022, doi: 10.35508/JME.V0I0.8250.

H. Hadadian Nejad Yousefi, Y. Kavian, and A. Mahmoudi, “A Markov chain model for IEEE 802.15.4 in time critical wireless sensor networks under periodic traffic with reneging packets,” Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing 2021 13:4, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 2253–2268, Mar. 2021, doi: 10.1007/S12652-021-02984-6.

J. Jaworek-Korjakowska et al., “Congestion Avoidance in Intelligent Transport Networks Based on WSN-IoT through Controlling Data Rate of Zigbee Protocol by Learning Automata,” Electronics 2023, Vol. 12, Page 2070, vol. 12, no. 9, p. 2070, Apr. 2023, doi: 10.3390/ELECTRONICS12092070.

E. I. Essa, M. A. Asker, and F. T. Sedeeq, “Investigation and performance optimization of mesh networking in Zigbee,” Periodicals of Engineering and Natural Sciences (PEN), vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 790–801, Jun. 2020, doi: 10.21533/PEN.V8.I2.1106.

N. K. Baqer, B. A. Salih, and A. W. Abbas, “A Study of WSN Topologies for IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee Standard,” International Journal on Computational Engineering, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 68–74, Sep. 2024, doi: 10.62527/COMIEN.1.3.26.

K. F. Haque, A. Abdelgawad, and K. Yelamarthi, “Comprehensive Performance Analysis of Zigbee Communication: An Experimental Approach with XBee S2C Module,” Sensors 2022, Vol. 22, Page 3245, vol. 22, no. 9, p. 3245, Apr. 2022, doi: 10.3390/S22093245.

D. Naubetov, M. Yakubova, B. Yakubov, and N. Smailov, “The impact of coordinator failures on the performance of Zigbee networks in various topologies,” Indonesian Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 235–246, Jul. 2025, doi: 10.11591/IJEECS.V39.I1.PP235-246.

B. Padma and S. B. Erukala, “End-to-end communication protocol in IoT-enabled ZigBee network: Investigation and performance analysis,” Internet of Things, vol. 22, p. 100796, Jul. 2023, doi: 10.1016/J.IOT.2023.100796.

H. M. Pakka, “Sistem Cross Layer pada Protokol Zigbee untuk Peningkatan Efisiensi Energi dan QoS,” Transient: Jurnal Ilmiah Teknik Elektro, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 31–36, Mar. 2024, doi: 10.14710/TRANSIENT.V13I1.31-36.

N. K. Baqer, Y. J. Harbi, and H. A.-J. Al-Asady, “Impact of Delay in ZigBee WSNs for Smart Home Applications | Journal of Engineering Research and Reports.” Accessed: Apr. 25, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://journaljerr.com/index.php/JERR/article/view/1252

N. Islam, Md. I. Hossain, A. Rahman, N. Islam, Md. I. Hossain, and A. Rahman, “A Comprehensive Analysis of Quality of Service (QoS) in ZigBee Network through Mobile and Fixed Node,” Journal of Computer and Communications, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 86–99, Mar. 2022, doi: 10.4236/JCC.2022.103006.

Y. H. Zhu, S. Gong, K. Chi, Y. Li, and Y. Fang, “Optimizing Superframe and Data Buffer to Achieve Maximum Throughput for 802.15.4-Based Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks,” IEEE Internet Things J., vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 3689–3704, Mar. 2021, doi: 10.1109/JIOT.2020.3024615.

U. Hassan, E. Settat, M. P. M. Mohammed, and M. P. N. Bouchaib, “Zigbee Routing Opnet Simulation for a Wireless Sensors Network,” International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, vol. 5, no. 12, Jan. 2015, doi: 10.14569/IJACSA.2014.051220.

S. Pollin et al., “Performance analysis of slotted carrier sense IEEE 802.15.4 medium access layer,” IEEE Trans. Wirel. Commun., vol. 7, no. 9, pp. 3359–3371, Sep. 2008, doi: 10.1109/TWC.2008.060057.

S. Khan, A. N. Alvi, M. A. Javed, B. H. Roh, and J. Ali, “An Efficient Superframe Structure with Optimal Bandwidth Utilization and Reduced Delay for Internet of Things Based Wireless Sensor Networks,” Sensors 2020, Vol. 20, Page 1971, vol. 20, no. 7, p. 1971, Apr. 2020, doi: 10.3390/S20071971.

M. A. Moridi, Y. Kawamura, M. Sharifzadeh, E. K. Chanda, M. Wagner, and H. Okawa, “Performance analysis of ZigBee network topologies for underground space monitoring and communication systems,” Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, vol. 71, pp.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.30743/jet.v11i3.13918

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2026 Anhar Anhar, Suwitno Suwitno, Rangga Byian Tri Putra, Adinda Juita, Ahmad fauzan

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.