Goals and Methods#

This application note defines a set of tests performed to evaluate mesh network performance, scalability, and reliability and to evaluate the performance of the new BT Mesh 1.1 features. The test conditions and infrastructure are described for these tests, which are conducted over actual wireless devices in test networks and not in simulation.

This testing was done to provide an overview of the Remote Provisioning and OTA DFU performance and to characterize the network used for these tests with the help of the throughput and latency tests.

Since the tests were carried out in a real-life environment, background noise was present at the time of the tests. These noises come from the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi devices in the office used by the employees, as well as from the other test benches in the office, which are in the order of hundreds. While it might be useful to execute the tests in such a noisy environment, some noise reduction was implemented.

For the Remote Provisioning performance test, a multi-hop setup was used, where the performance based on the number of hops in the network was measured.

For the OTA DFU performance test, since the substantial number of nodes prevented having a shielded environment, the tests were carried out in timeslots with no human presence in the office, and with the testbenches turned off on the whole floor. This enabled testing in a slightly more regulated environment.