IEEE 802.15.4

.. _ieee802154_interface:

IEEE 802.15.4
#############

.. contents::
    :local:
    :depth: 2

Introduction
************

IEEE 802.15.4 is a technical standard which defines the operation of low-rate
wireless personal area networks (LR-WPANs). For a more detailed overview of this
standard, see the `IEEE 802.15.4 Wikipedia article
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.15.4>`_.

The most recent version of the standard is accessible through the `IEEE GET
Program
<https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/browse/standards/get-program/page/series?id=68>`_.
You need to create a free IEEE account and can then downloading it.

We're currently following the IEEE 802.15.4-2020 specification. This version is
backwards compatible with IEEE 802.15.4-2015, parts of which are contained in
the Thread protocol stack. The 2020 version also includes prior extensions that
were accepted into the standard, namely IEEE 802.15.4g (SUN FSK) and IEEE
802.15.4e (TSCH) which are of relevance to industrial IoT and automation. For
recent developments in UWB ranging technology, see IEEE 802.15.4z which is not
yet integrated into the standard's mainline.

Whenever sections from the standard are cited in the documentation, they refer
to IEEE 802.15.4-2020 section, table and figure numbering - unless otherwise
specified.

Zephyr supports both, native IEEE 802.15.4 and Thread, with 6LoWPAN. Zephyr's
:ref:`thread_protocol_interface` implementation is based on `OpenThread
<https://openthread.io/>`_. The IPv6 header compression in 6LoWPAN is used for
native IEEE 802.15.4.

API Reference
*************

IEEE 802.15.4 API Overview
==========================

Gives an introduction and overview over the whole IEEE 802.15.4 subsystem and
all of its APIs, configuration and user interfaces for all audiences.

.. doxygengroup:: ieee802154


.. _ieee802154_mgmt_api:

IEEE 802.15.4 Management API
============================

This is the main subsystem-specific API of interest to IEEE 802.15.4
**application developers** as it allows to configure the IEEE 802.15.4 subsystem
at runtime.  Other relevant interfaces for application developers are the
typical shell, socket, Kconfig and devicetree APIs that can be accessed through
Zephyr's generic subsystem-independent documentation. Look out for
IEEE802154/ieee802154 prefixes there.

.. doxygengroup:: ieee802154_mgmt


.. _ieee802154_driver_api:

IEEE 802.15.4 Driver API
========================

This is the main API of interest to IEEE 802.15.4 **driver developers**.

.. doxygengroup:: ieee802154_driver


.. _ieee802154_l2_api:

IEEE 802.15.4 L2 / Native Stack API
===================================

This documents the IEEE 802.15.4 L2 native stack, which neither applications nor
drivers will ever access directly. It is called internally by Zephyr's upper
network layers (L3+), its socket and network context abstractions. This API is
therefore of interest to IEEE 802.15.4 **subsystem contributors** only.

.. doxygengroup:: ieee802154_l2

OpenThread L2 Adaptation Layer API
==================================

Zephyr's OpenThread L2 platform adaptation layer glues the external OpenThread
stack together with Zephyr's IEEE 802.15.4 protocol agnostic driver API. This
API is of interest to OpenThread L2 **subsystem contributors** only.

The OpenThread API is part of the :ref:`thread_protocol_interface` subsystem and
documented there.