PAN coordinator

A PAN coordinator or a ZigBee coordinator of a PersonalArea Network (PAN) is a central station in ZigBee and in Wireless Sensor Networks(WSN), which takes over the network control of the Full Function Devices( FFD) and the Reduced Function Devices( RFD).

Network configurations of ZigBee networks

Each IEEE 802.15.4 network has only one PAN coordinator, which performs routing functions and communication with the connected FFD or RFD stations. The PAN coordinator determines the topology of the network, starts the network with specified parameters, and allocates guaranteed bandwidth to requesting stations via Guaranteed Time Slots( GTS). In smaller networks, an FFD station can take over the functions of the PAN coordinator.