This example shows how to do concurrent beaconing, allowing an application to advertise beacons (such as iBeacon or Eddystone beacons) while at the same time participating in the mesh network. The example illustrates usage of the Packet RX callback functionality and application usage of advertisers.
The RX callback must be registered in the mesh framework by calling nrf_mesh_rx_cb_set() (after nrf_mesh_init()). As input, the RX callback function takes a pointer to a parameter struct that contains all data available on the incoming packet.
The RX callback is invoked for all packets that are processed by the mesh after the mesh itself has processed them. The mesh assumes that all incoming packets adhere to the Bluetooth low energy advertisement packet format.
To send beacons, the application uses the mesh-internal packet manager and advertiser structure directly.
The application first initializes the advertiser (initialization is needed only once). It then allocates and fills the fields of the packet. There is no need to set the packet type or advertisement address, because this is taken care of by the advertiser module. The application then schedules the packet for transmission by putting it in the TX queue of the advertiser, with a parameter indicating the number of repeats that the advertiser should do. In this example, the repeat count is set to BEARER_ADV_REPEAT_INFINITE, causing the packet to be retransmitted forever or until replaced by a different packet.
Important: Using the packet manager and advertiser directly makes the application compete for the same resources as the core mesh framework. Incorrect or heavy usage will affect mesh performance or stability. Treat these modules with caution.
To build the example, follow the instructions in Building the Mesh Stack. Refer to the How to run examples section in Examples README for the commands required to program a device using nrfjprog.
Once running, the example outputs all incoming packets over RTT. Outgoing beacons can be observed with nRF Connect for desktop or nRF Connect for mobile.