About the Bluetooth Mesh SDK#

The Silicon Labs Bluetooth mesh stack is an advanced Bluetooth mesh protocol stack implementing the Bluetooth mesh standard. It can run alongside the Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) stack, using a common link layer, which allows using LE features in parallel. The Silicon Labs Bluetooth mesh stack is meant for Silicon labs Wireless Gecko SoCs and modules.

The Silicon Labs Bluetooth mesh stack provides multiple APIs for the developer to access the Bluetooth mesh functionality. Two modes are supported.

Standalone mode (also referenced as SoC mode), where both the Bluetooth mesh stack and the application run in a Wireless Gecko SoC or module. The application can be developed with the C programming language. It can be running on bare metal or can use an operating system such as FreeRTOS or Micrium OS.
Network Co-Processor (NCP) mode, where the Bluetooth stack runs in a Wireless Gecko and the application runs on a separate host MCU. For this use case, the Bluetooth stack can be configured into NCP mode where the API is exposed over a serial interface such as UART. For more information, see AN1259: Using the Silicon Labs Bluetooth® Stack v3.x and Higher in Network Co-Processor Mode.

Bluetooth Mesh Stack Features#

The features of the Silicon Labs Bluetooth mesh stack are listed in the following table. For details on the features of the Bluetooth Low Energy stack, refer to QSG169: Bluetooth® Quick-Start Guide for SDK v3.x and Higher.


Feature	Value and Comment
Bluetooth mesh version	Bluetooth mesh 1.1
Node types	Relay, Proxy, Friend, and Low Power Node (LPN)
Provisioning bearers	PB-ADV PB-GATT PB-Remote (Remote Provisioning, RPR)
GATT services	Proxy Provisioning
Security	ECDH AES-128 encryption, authentication, and obfuscation OoB authentication Certificate-based provisioning Replay protection Key refresh (reject list)
Host (NCP) interfaces	4-wire UART with RTS/CTS control or 2-wire UART without RTS/CTS GPIOs for sleep and wake-up management Secure NCP option for data encryption between NCP target and host
Wi-Fi Coexistence	Using Packet Trace Arbitration (PTA)
Bootloaders	Secure Gecko Bootloader supporting authenticated and encrypted updates over OTA (over GATT) or UART and Secure Boot. The Gecko Bootloader also supports flash partitioning and both internal and external (SPI) flash.
Non-volatile memory	EFR32[B\|M]G12, EFR32[B\|M]G13: NVM3 or Persistent Store (PS). (Note: Example applications in the SDK use NVM3 by default.) EFR32[B\|M]G21, EFR32[B\|M]G22, EFR32[B\|M]G24, EFR32[B\|M]G27: NVM3
Mesh 1.1 new features	Device Firmware Update (Mesh DFU), Mesh Blob Transfer, Mesh Remote Provisioning, Certificate-Based Provisioning, Mesh Private Beacons, Enhanced Device Composition Data page, i.e. Large Composition Data, Configurable SAR timing, Proxy Service Solicitation, On-Demand Private Proxy

Supported Models#


Model	SIG Model ID	Example App (1)
Model Group: NA
Vendor	N/A	N/A
Model Group: Foundation
Configuration Server	0x0000	All
Configuration Client	0x0001	BT Mesh Host Provisioner
Health Server	0x0002	N/A
Health Client	0x0003	N/A
Remote Provisioning Server	0x0004	N/A
Remote Provisioning Client	0x0005	N/A
Mesh Private Beacon Server	0x000A	N/A
Mesh Private Beacon Client	0x000B	N/A
Model Group: Generic
Generic OnOff Server	0x1000	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller, PyBGAPI NCP Host Light
Generic OnOff Client	0x1001	SoC Switch CTL, SoC Switch CTL Low Power, NLC Dimming Control, NLC Dimming Control Low Power, PyBGAPI NCP Host Switch
Generic Level Server	0x1002	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller, PyBGAPI NCP Host Light
Generic Level Client	0x1003	NLC Basic Scene Selector, NLC Dimming Control
Generic Default Transition Time Server	0x1004	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller
Generic Default Transition Time Client	0x1005	N/A
Generic Power OnOff Server	0x1006	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller
Generic Power OnOff Setup Server	0x1007	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller
Generic Power OnOff Client	0x1008	N/A
Generic Power Level Server	0x1009	N/A
Generic Power Level Setup Server	0x100A	N/A
Generic Power Level Client	0x100B	N/A
Generic Battery Server	0x100C	N/A
Generic Battery Client	0x100D	N/A
Generic Location Server	0x100E	N/A
Generic Location Setup Server	0x100F	N/A
Generic Location Client	0x1010	N/A
Generic Admin Property Server	0x1011	N/A
Generic Manufacturer Property Server	0x1012	N/A
Generic User Property Server	0x1013	N/A
Generic Client Property Server	0x1014	N/A
Generic Property Client	0x1015	N/A
Model Group: Sensors
Sensor Server	0x1100	SoC Sensor Thermometer, NLC Occupancy Sensor, NLC Ambient Light Sensor
Sensor Setup Server	0x1101	SoC Sensor Thermometer, NLC Occupancy Sensor, NLC Ambient Light Sensor
Sensor Client	0x1102	SoC Sensor Client
Model Group: Times and Scenes
Time Server	0x1200	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller
Time Setup Server	0x1201	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller
Time Client	0x1202	N/A
Scene Server	0x1203	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller, PyBGAPI NCP Host Light
Scene Setup Server	0x1204	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller
Scene Client	0x1205	SoC Switch CTL, SoC Switch CTL Low Power, NLC Basic Scene Selector, PyBGAPI NCP Host Switch
Scheduler Server	0x1206	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller
Scheduler Setup Server	0x1207	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller
Scheduler Client	0x1208	N/A
Model Group: Lighting
Light Lightness Server	0x1300	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller, PyBGAPI NCP Host Light
Light Lightness Setup Server	0x1301	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller
Light Lightness Client	0x1302	SoC Switch CTL, SoC Switch CTL Low Power, PyBGAPI NCP Host Switch
Light CTL Server	0x1303	SoC Light CTL, PyBGAPI NCP Host Light SoC Light CTL
Light CTL Setup Server	0x1304	SoC Light CTL
Light CTL Client	0x1305	SoC Switch CTL, SoC Switch CTL Low Power, PyBGAPI NCP Host Switch
Light CTL Temperature Server	0x1306	SoC Light CTL
Light HSL Server	0x1307	SoC Light HSL
Light HSL Setup Server	0x1308	SoC Light HSL
Light HSL Client	0x1309	N/A
Light HSL Hue Server	0x130A	SoC Light HSL
Light HSL Saturation Server	0x130B	SoC Light HSL
Light LC Server	0x130F	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller
Light LC Setup Server	0x1310	SoC Light CTL, SoC Light HSL, NLC Basic Lightness Controller
Light LC Client	0x1311	N/A
Model Group: Firmware Update
BLOB Transfer Server	0x1400	SoC DFU Distributor
BLOB Transfer Client	0x1401	N/A
Firmware Update Server	0x1402	SoC DFU Distributor
Firmware Update Client	0x1403	N/A
Firmware Distribution Server	0x1404	SoC DFU Distributor
Firmware Distribution Client	0x1405	SoC DFU Distributor

(1) In Simplicity Studio 5, example app names are preceded with "Bluetooth Mesh -".

Additional Models for Mesh 1.1 features: Remote Provisioning, Private Beacon, On-demand Private Proxy, SAR Configuration, Large Composition Data, Solicitation PDU Replay Protection List Configuration, Firmware Distribution, Firmware Update, BLOB Transfer.

Bluetooth Mesh Stack Limitations#


Component	Feature	Value and Comment
Mesh Node (EFR32)	Network Keys on a node(1)	Maximum of 7
Application Keys on a node	Maximum of 8
Number of nodes that can be communicated with	Maximum of 4096 (depending on available RAM and NVM3)
Concurrent segmented messages being received	Maximum of 255 (depending on available RAM)
Concurrent segmented messages being sent	Maximum of 255 (depending on available RAM)
Parallel provisioning sessions	Maximum of 1
Faults reported on the health server	Maximum of 5
Mesh Provisioner (EFR32)	Maximum number of supported nodes	512
Maximum number of network keys per node	Maximum of 7
Maximum number of application keys per node	Maximum of 8
Replay protection list size	Maximum of 4096 (depending on available RAM and NVM3. Network size limit is still 512)
Parallel provisioning sessions	1
Concurrent key refresh operations	Maximum of 16
Mesh Provisioner (ADK)	Replay protection list size (max network node count)	32768
Maximum number of network keys per node	Maximum of 7
Maximum number of application keys per node	Maximum of 8
Parallel provisioning sessions	1

(1) The node belongs to a single network, but the network may have multiple network keys to encrypt the traffic.