Join nodes to the coordinator

Use XCTU to set PAN ID and encryption settings to match those on the coordinator (XBee Gateway).

Next, configure your ZigBee nodes to connect to XBee Gateway. To do this, you will set the PAN ID for the ZigBee nodes to match the PAN ID you just set in XBee Gateway. Because the ZigBee are not yet joined to the network that your XBee Gateway (coordinator) initialized, you cannot configure them using the XBee Gateway web interface. Instead, you must use the XCTU software.

You must install XCTU on your computer. If you do not have XCTU installed, go to www.digi.com/xctu to download and install XCTU.

Once you have XCTU installed, follow these steps to change the PAN ID of an XBee ZigBee module:

  1. Attach the XBee ZigBee node to an XBee development board, and connect it to your computer using a USB cable.

  2. Open XCTU and add the XBee node that is connected to your computer to the list of radio modules.

  3. Select the node and wait for the application to read all its settings.

  4. Under the Networking category, replace the current PAN ID with your custom PAN ID in the ID PAN ID field.

  5. Once you have changed the setting, click the Write radio settings button to save the new PAN ID in the XBee module.

  6. If XBee Gateway uses XBee security parameters, set the XBee security parameters (EE, EO, NK, KY) as needed. The security parameters are as follows:

    • EE: Enable or disable security in the network.

    • EO: Set the security policy for the network.

    • NK: Set the network security key for the network. If set to 0 (default), the device will use a random network security key.

    • KY: Set the trust center link key for the network. If set to 0 (default), the device will use a random network security key.

    For more information on these parameters, see the XBee/XBee-PRO® S2C Zigbee® RF Modules User Guide.

  7. Click the Write radio settings button to save the new security settings in the XBee module. As soon as you save the new PAN ID in the XBee RF module, the module tries to connect to the ZigBee network that has the PAN ID that you configured.