UPnP-ZigBee internetworking architecture mirroring a multi-hop ZigBee network topology

In this paper, we present a UPnP-ZigBee internetworking architecture. Different from traditional internetworking architectures which focus on integrating either wired networks or single-hop wireless networks into UPnP networks, integrating ZigBee with UPnP is more difficult because ZigBee nodes communicate over multi-hop wireless network, and further their short addresses can be changed due to mobility of ZigBee nodes. To cope with it, we combine UPnP-ZigBee gateway with ZigBee network topology monitoring functions. A UPnP-ZigBee gateway mirrors ZigBee network topology; therefore, it creates, terminates, and updates virtual UPnP proxies according to ZigBee topology changes. Thus, the proposed internetworking architecture dynamically and automatically integrates ZigBee devices into the UPnP network and provides seamless internetworking between a multi-hop ZigBee network and the UPnP network. We have demonstrated the proposed architecture by implementing both the UPnP-ZigBee gateway and network monitoring functions and integrating them together. By conducting experiments on physical testbed, we have shown that the proposed architecture provides dynamic integration and seamless internetworking.