| Applicable versions | NetSim Academic | NetSim Standard | Netsim Pro |
| Applicable Releases | v11 | v12 | v13 |
Firstly, it is essential to understand the following limitations of the ZigBee protocol in the WSN/IoT network.
- ZigBee supports very low data rates. The PHY rate is 250 Kbps.
- The upper bound on the application layer throughput is approximately 120 Kbps. It may vary slightly based on whether or not link layer ACK is enabled.
Secondly, the impact of generation rate and network saturation capacity on throughput needs to be understood. Even though each video codec generates traffic at different rates, as explained in the Traffic Generator section of the NetSim User Manual, in all these cases the generation rate lies above the upper bound throughput of ZigBee protocol which is approximately 120 Kbps. The maximum throughput achievable in ZigBee would be 120 Kbps regardless of whether the application generation rate is 1 Mbps or 100 Mbps.
To analyze variation in throughput in WSN running ZigBee protocol, set application generation rates less than 120 Kbps.
Refer to the following articles for further details:
The following is a useful reference paper that provides a simulation-based analysis of maximum achievable throughput in ZigBee-based wireless networks: