Neighbor discovery for IPv6 over BLE mesh networks

Abstract

IPv6 over Bluetooth Low Energy (6LoBLE) can realize the seamless connection between Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices and the Internet, solve the restrictions on Bluetooth applications as short distance communication solutions, and advance the development of applications of smart cities, such as smart buildings and smart city management. Since neighbor discovery is the first step for BLE devices to establish a connection with each other, this paper proposes a novel neighbor discovery protocol for IPv6 over BLE mesh networks, including the structure of IPv6 over BLE mesh networks, the networking solutions, and IPv6 address auto-configuration and update mechanism. Furthermore, we analyze and simulate the performance of the neighbor discovery protocol utilizing the Revierbed simulator, and the results show the effectiveness of the proposed neighbor discovery protocol even in a crowded environment.