Bluetooth Architecture Overview: James Kardach, Mobile Computing Group, Intel Corporation
Bluetooth Architecture Overview: James Kardach, Mobile Computing Group, Intel Corporation
Bluetooth Architecture Overview: James Kardach, Mobile Computing Group, Intel Corporation
Index words: Bluetooth, Piconet, IEEE, 802.15, PAN, Wireless, CMOS Radio, Data Access Points, Cable
Replacement, WLAN, Global, Frequency Hopping, SIG
*
Bluetooth is a trademark owned by its proprietor
and used by Intel under license.
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Intel Technology Journal Q2, 2000
consistent with a mobile traveler’s needs (1 Mega symbol course, support much higher data rates than today’s
per second data rates per piconet); must support many modems, as public spaces could connect a variety of
simultaneous and private connections (hundreds of private private Bluetooth access points via a LAN that is routed to
piconets within range of each other); must support the the Internet over a DSL line, allowing each access point a
types of data used by mobile users (voice and data); and private 1Mbps connection to the Internet.
must be very low power and compact to support the small
portable devices into which the technology will be
integrated. Finally, the technology must be global as the
mobile devices will travel and must work with devices
found in other parts of the world.
USAGE MODEL
While the Bluetooth∗ usage model is based on connecting
devices together, it is focused on three broad categories:
voice/data access points, peripheral interconnects, and
Personal Area Networking (PAN).
Peripheral Interconnects
The second category of uses, peripheral interconnects,
involves connecting other devices together as shown in
Figure 2. Imagine standard keyboards, mice, and
joysticks that work over a wireless link. The Bluetooth
link is built into the mobile computer; therefore, the cost
of the peripheral device is less because an access point is
not needed. Additionally, many of these devices can be
used in multiple markets. For example, a Bluetooth
headset used in the office could be connected to a
Bluetooth access point that provides access to the office
Figure 1: Voice/data access points phone and multi-media functions of the mobile computer.
When mobile, the same headset could be used to interface
Voice/Data Access Points
with the cellular phone (which can now remain in a
Voice/data access points is one of the key initial usage briefcase or purse).
models and involves connecting a computing device to a
communicating device via a secure wireless link (see Another aspect of a short-range link like Bluetooth is in
Figure 1). For example, a mobile computer equipped the area of proximity security devices. In this case, if one
with Bluetooth technology could link to a mobile phone device is not within range of another device, the first
that uses Bluetooth technology to connect to the Internet device will go into a high security mode.
to access e-mail. The mobile phone acts as a personal
access point. Even more ideal, the notebook can connect
to the Internet while the cell phone is being carried in a
briefcase or purse. The Bluetooth usage model also
envisions public data access points in the future. Imagine
the current data-equipped pay phones in airports being
upgraded with Bluetooth modems. This would allow any
mobile device equipped with Bluetooth technology to
easily connect to the Internet while located within ten
meters of that access point. These access points could, of
∗
Figure 3: Personal Area Networking (PAN)
Bluetooth is a trademark owned by its proprietor and
used by Intel under license.
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Intel Technology Journal Q2, 2000
ol
someone in an airport and quickly and securely
n tr
Data
Co
exchanging documents by establishing a private piconet.
In the future, Bluetooth kiosks could provide access to L2CAP
electronic media that could be quickly downloaded for Audio
later access on the mobile device. Link Manager LMP
Baseband
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RF
BLUETOOTH∗ TECHNOLOGY
Figure 4: Bluetooth architecture
The Bluetooth technology was developed by members of
a Special Interest Group (SIG). The participating The Radio Frequency Layer
companies agree not to charge royalties on any
Intellectual Property (IP) necessary to implement the The Bluetooth air interface is based on a nominal antenna
technology. The SIG started initially with the promoters, power of 0dBm (1mW) with extensions for operating at
who were the primary developers of the technology, and up to 20dBm (100mW) worldwide. The air interface
then expanded to include early adopters and adoptees. complies with most country’s ISM band rules up to
20dBm (America, Europe, and Japan). The radio uses
Environment Frequency Hopping to spread the energy across the ISM
spectrum in 79 hops displaced by 1 MHz, starting at 2.402
The Bluetooth technology was developed to be used
GHz and stopping at 2.480 GHz. Currently, the SIG is
within a unique global environment that would not only
working to harmonize this 79-channel radio to work
enable integration into the host devices but would also
globally and has instigated changes within Japan, Spain,
allow the mobile device to travel easily from one country
and other countries.
to another. In addition, due to the personal/confidential
data contained on the different types of client devices The nominal link range is 10 centimeters to 10 meters, but
(e.g., the mobile computer), the link formed between these can be extended to more than 100 meters by increasing the
devices needed to be as secure as the cable it was transmit power (using the 20dBm option).
replacing.
The Bluetooth Baseband
BLUETOOTH ARCHITECTURE As mentioned previously, the basic radio is a hybrid
The Bluetooth technology is divided into two spread spectrum radio. Typically, the radio operates in a
specifications: the core and the profile specifications. The frequency-hopping manner in which the 2.4 GHz ISM
core specification discusses how the technology works, band is broken into 79 one-MHz channels that the radio
while the profile specification focuses on how to build randomly hops through while transmitting and receiving
interoperating devices using the core technologies. This data.
paper deals with the core technology, as illustrated in
Frame
Figure 4, and focuses on the lower layers of the Bluetooth
architecture (up to the link manager). fk fk+1
One
Master Slot
Packet
One
Slave Slot
Packet
625 us
∗ One Slot
Bluetooth is a trademark owned by its proprietor and
used by Intel under license. Figure 5: Single slot frame
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A piconet is formed when one Bluetooth radio connects to are formed by a master radio simultaneously connecting
another Bluetooth radio. Both radios then hop together up to seven slave radios. The Bluetooth radios are
through the 79 channels. The Bluetooth radio system symmetric in that any Bluetooth radio can become a
supports a large number of piconets by providing each master or slave radio, and the piconet configuration is
piconet with its own set of random hopping patterns. determined at the time of formation. Typically, the
Occasionally, piconets will end up on the same channel. connecting radio will become the master; however, a
When this occurs, the radios will hop to a free channel and “master/slave swap” function allows the roles to be
the data are retransmitted (if lost). reversed. (A device can only be a master in one piconet
though.)
The Bluetooth frame consists of a transmit packet
followed by a receive packet. Each packet can be
composed of multiple slots (1, 3, or 5) of 625 us. A
typical single slot frame is illustrated in Figure 5, which
typically hops at 1,600 hops/second.
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Once a radio joins a piconet, it is assigned a 3-bit Active channel as the inquiring radio and will respond with an
Member Address (AMA) allowing other radios on the FHS packet (containing its Global ID and clock offset).
piconet to address it. Once the piconet has eight radios The sequence is then repeated for the second set of 16
active, the master must then take a radio and “Park” it on frequencies after which the inquiring radio will have a list
the piconet. This radio stays coordinated with the piconet of FHS packets for all radios within range.
but releases its AMA for an 8-bit Passive Member
Paging follows a similar sequence. Each radio has a
Address (PMA). The freed AMA can now be assigned to
unique sequence of 32 paging frequencies and 32 response
another radio wishing to join the piconet. The
frequencies based on its Global ID. A radio in Standby
combination of AMA and PMA allows over 256 radios to
mode doing a Page Scan will listen for a page of its
actively reside on a piconet, while only the eight radios
Global ID on each of these paging frequencies for 10 ms,
with the AMAs can actively transfer data. This is also
every 1.25 seconds going to the next paging frequency in
illustrated in Figure 9’s Radio D, which has loaded the
the sequence. The paging radio will continuously page
master’s Global ID and clock offset and is parked on the
using the paged radios’ Global ID on one of two sets of 16
piconet (prepared to join the piconet when data are ready
frequencies within the paging radios’ 32 paging
to be transferred).
frequencies. The paging radio makes an estimate (based
on its last known clock offset) of where the paged radios
should be listening and then creates an “A Train” of page
frequencies around this estimated frequency. The paging
radio will then continuously page across these 16
frequencies for 1.25 seconds. If the estimate was wrong
(the paging radio received no response), the paging radio
will next try the remaining 16 frequencies for the next
1.25 seconds. Radios that have little clock offset will be
able to connect very quickly, while radios that have large
clock offsets (meaning the radios haven’t connected
recently) could take up to a maximum of 2.5 seconds to
connect (a complete A/B train search).
Once a radio has been found (via Inquiry) and then placed
into a piconet (via Page), a piconet is formed and some
Figure 9: Bluetooth radios in a piconet
useful work can now take place. Figure 10, entitled
Parked radios listen at a beacon interval for information Functional Overview, depicts the different high-level
addressed to them. This allows a master to perform a states of a Bluetooth radio.
broadcast to all slaves (parked and active).
Radios that are not actively connected to the piconet are in Unconnected Standby
Standby
the Standby state (e.g., Radio E in Figure 9). These
radios listen for Inquires or Pages from other radios. Di
Every 1.25 seconds they will perform a Page Scan and/or sc
on
an Inquiry Scan to see if such a request is being made. ne Ttypical=2s
ct
The inquiry process involves one radio executing a page Connecting Inquiry Page
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CONCLUSION
Bluetooth∗ is a radio system designed for connecting a
variety of mobile devices in a secure ad-hoc fashion.
Much thought has gone into developing a radio system
that provides interoperability between different device
types while also meeting the requirements of mobile users.
This paper covered a small aspect of the Bluetooth radio
system, the lower layers of the Bluetooth radio stack.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to the teams and companies that worked to
develop this radio system in record time. These
companies include, but are not limited to, Intel
Corporation, Ericsson, IBM, Motorola, Nokia, and
Toshiba. Thanks to Laura Mariani for editing this article
and Robert Hunter for reviewing it.
REFERENCES
[1] Bluetooth Specifications, Bluetooth SIG at
http://www.bluetooth.com/.
AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY
Jim Kardach is a Principal Engineer with the Mobile
Communications Group (MCG) at Intel Corporation. He
earned a B.S. degree in EE from Fresno State University
and has been employed by Intel for 14 years. Jim is
currently the chairman of the Bluetooth Special Interest
Group, which is now developing extensions to the first-
generation Bluetooth radio system. Jim holds over 35
patents in the areas of computer systems, power
management, and communications and has most recently
lead the developments of the ACPI and Bluetooth
technologies. His e-mail is jim.kardach@intel.com.
∗
Bluetooth is a trademark owned by its proprietor and
used by Intel under license.
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