Forming a Wi-SUN network allows your devices to communicate wirelessly over a mesh topology, enabling distributed sensing, monitoring, and control applications. By establishing a network with a Border Router and remote nodes, you create a robust, self-healing infrastructure that can scale across large areas while maintaining reliable connectivity.

Authorization and authentication must be established for a remote node to join the Border Router’s network. See Secure the network for more information.

Configure the Border Router

To successfully form a network, you must configure three critical parameters on both the Border Router and all remote nodes: Channel Plan ID, PHY Operating Mode ID, and Network Name. These parameters must match exactly across all devices for nodes to discover and join the network.

Steps

  1. Configure the Border Router settings:

    1. Navigate to the Wi-SUN Border Router configuration section

    2. Set the Channel Plan ID field that is valid for your regulatory domain and deployment region

    3. Set the PHY Operating Mode ID field that meets your throughput and range needs and that your devices support

    4. Set the Network Name field that uniquely identifies the network and that you will apply consistently to all devices

  2. Enable the Wi-SUN Border Router network

Configuration methods

You can configure the Border Router using:

  • Web UI: Use the Device Configuration page from the Web UI

  • Admin CLI: Use the config command in the CLI under wisun configuration

See Wi-SUN network settings and Wi-SUN authorization settings for field descriptions and examples.

Configure remote nodes

Each remote node must be configured with the same Channel Plan ID, PHY Operating Mode ID, and Network Name as the Border Router.

Steps

  1. Configure each remote node with the same parameters used on the Border Router

  2. Use AT commands to set the configuration:

    1. Use WN to set the Network Name to the same value as the Border Router

    2. Use WC to set the Channel Plan ID to the same value as the Border Router

    3. Use WM to set the PHY Operating Mode ID to the same value as the Border Router

  3. Use AI to verify the node has joined the network

Configuration methods

You can configure remote nodes using:

  • Digi XBee Studio: Use the configuration interface to set the WN, WC, and WM parameters

  • AT commands: Send commands directly via serial interface or API frames

  • MicroPython: Use the XBee MicroPython API to configure settings programmatically

Once the Border Router is advertising the network, follow Add devices to an existing network to configure node settings and admission controls (allowlist, open, or RADIUS).

Channel Plan ID

What it is

The Channel Plan ID selects a standardized channel plan within the regional regulatory domain.

Why it matters

The plan defines:

  • Channel list and spacing

  • Center frequencies

  • Channel hopping function and parameters (dwell time, hop sequence)

  • Compliance constraints (maximum transmit power, duty cycle limits, listen before talk behavior)

Requirements

All devices in a Personal Area Network (PAN) must use the same Channel Plan ID to guarantee that advertisement, discovery, and data frames occur on the same set of frequencies and at the same hopping cadence.

Impact of mismatch

If the Channel Plan ID does not match, the node will scan the wrong frequencies or follow a different hop sequence and will not hear the Border Router.

Selection considerations

  • More channels: Improves coexistence and resilience but can increase discovery time because the node must scan a larger set

  • Fewer channels: Reduces join time but may suffer more from interference and may have tighter regulatory limits

PHY Operating Mode ID

What it is

The PHY Operating Mode ID selects a specific IEEE 802.15.4g SUN PHY mode profile as referenced by the Wi-SUN FAN specification.

Why it matters

The mode defines:

  • Modulation and coding

  • Symbol rate and bandwidth

  • Data rate parameters used on the air interface

Requirements

All devices in a PAN must use the same PHY Operating Mode ID for discovery, authentication, and data exchange.

Impact of mismatch

If the PHY Operating Mode ID does not match, the demodulator will not decode frames even if the device is on the correct channel.

Selection considerations

  • Lower rate modes: Provide better sensitivity and range at the cost of airtime

  • Higher rate modes: Increase throughput at the cost of link budget

  • More robust modes: Improve joining reliability in noisy environments and at the cell edge

  • Higher throughput modes: Reduce network latency and improve capacity when link margins are good

Some products support multiple modes, but a given PAN operates in a single selected mode at a time for interoperability.

Network Name

What it is

The Network name is a human-readable identifier carried in Wi-SUN FAN information elements included in PAN Advertisements.

Why it matters

Remote nodes use the Network name to:

  • Filter candidate networks

  • Prevent accidental join attempts to nearby Wi-SUN deployments that share the same channel plan and PHY mode

Requirements

  • Must be identical on the Border Router and on each node for the nodes to attempt a join

  • Case sensitive and must be treated as an exact match string by configuration tools

Selection considerations

  • Choose a unique name to prevent accidental joining to nearby deployments

  • Use a stable name that follows your site and fleet naming conventions to simplify operations

  • Changing the name on a running deployment effectively creates a new network and requires nodes to rejoin

What’s next

After defining your Wi-SUN network parameters, complete the following tasks: