I'm thinking in a project where I've to build a network. A kind of WiFi network, with some end-devices connected to a central "modem"... with the difference that I want to do this with ZigBee.
There won't be a lot of end devices per network, between [2,10]. Each one sends some few bytes of data every minute more or less. This data should be collected by a router or something connected to a computer that has a DataBase which will store that data and return a signal telling the end-device that the data has been received (so a LED will blink).
With WiFi this would be pretty simple, the computer would have an IP and the end-devices connected to that network should send a message to that IP and a port (let's say 80) as if they were connecting to a webpage. The computer could process that data with PHP and store it in the DB, then return just a boolean (1:ok, 0:not ok) that the end device would receive and voilà.
My question is if doing this with ZigBee is possible, then which kind of hardware would you use for this (XBees are pretty expensive), and then some advise or anything that came to your mind while reading...
XBee Series 2 is a good way to go here, although they are a little expensive. But they
are made for building mesh networks.
Be careful, however, because those XBees are 3.3V only devices and the pins are not 5V
tolerant. Also, some of the early sparkfun shields did not have 5V to 3.3V level-shifters.
Also, Faludi's book has one ENORMOUS gaping error. He doesn't show any level-shifters
between the 5V Arduino board and the 3.3V XBee signal pins.
Be careful, however, because those XBees are 3.3V only devices and the pins are not 5V
tolerant. Also, some of the early sparkfun shields did not have 5V to 3.3V level-shifters.