Glossary
Definition of the terms used across the solution, its products and its documentation. A term whose behaviour is described in detail elsewhere carries a link to the corresponding chapter.
Solution ecosystem
- Binding
- Association
Link established between a command feature and a control feature, making the former able to drive the latter. Both features must be compatible. One command can drive several controls, and vice versa.
See Feature bindings
- Command feature
- Fonctionnalité de commande
- Interrupteur
Input feature: it emits orders towards the mesh network. Typically a switch, a push-button or a sensor.
- Control feature
- Fonctionnalité de contrôle
- Contrôleur
Output feature: it drives a piece of equipment (light, socket, shutter, heating). It can be actuated from a bound command, the App, a scenario or a voice assistant.
- Feature
- Fonctionnalité
Functional unit carried by a product: command (input), control (output), sensor or measurement. A multi-function product exposes several of them, configured by the mobile App at installation time.
- Gateway
- Passerelle
Product bridging the home’s Bluetooth Mesh network and the internet over WiFi. Its presence is what enables remote control, push notifications and data reporting to the IoTHub.
See Remote control
- Home
- Logement
- Realm
Set of products and applications present within the same Bluetooth Mesh network. A contiguous space in principle: an apartment, a house or a whole building, outdoor spaces included.
See The home
- IoTHub
- Plateforme IoTHub
LinkIO cloud platform. It hosts user accounts, the image of homes and their products, and exposes the administration and integration interfaces.
- Local control
- Commande locale
Control from the mobile App inside the home, over direct Bluetooth Mesh, with no gateway and no internet. Requires at least one Proxy Node product within range.
See Local control
- Mobile App
- Application mobile
- App
Smartphone application used to install, configure and control the products. The central element of the solution for both the installer and the user.
- Product
- Produit
- Device
Physical equipment in the mesh network. It carries one or more input/output components to which features are assigned.
- Push notification
- Notification push
Message sent in real time to the user’s smartphone, and by email where applicable, to report a home event: doorbell, low battery, gateway connection loss, suspected intrusion, power outage.
- Remote control
- Commande à distance
Control from the mobile App or the IoTHub from outside the home. Requires an installed and connected gateway.
See Remote control
- Room
- Pièce
Grouping of features within a home, chosen at installation time. Used to organise the App display and to target group commands.
- Scenario
- Scénario
Series of pre-programmed actions run on an event or a schedule. For example: pressing a trigger button switches off the lights, closes the shutters and sets the heating to Eco mode.
- Trigger
- Déclencheur
Event that causes a scenario to run. Optional: with no trigger, the scenario can still be launched manually from the App.
- Vigilant Home
- Maison vigilante
Surveillance mode enabled by the user when leaving the home. A motion detection or a switch press is then treated as a suspected intrusion and notified.
See Vigilant Home
- Voice assistant
- Assistant vocal
Third-party voice command service compatible with the solution. It drives control features through the IoTHub, hence via a gateway.
User roles
- Administrator
- Administrateur
LinkIO or brand administrator operating the platform.
- Customer
- Client
End customer, occupant of the equipped home.
- Facility manager
- Gestionnaire
Operator of a fleet of equipped homes, tracking their state from the IoTHub without being the occupant.
- Installer
- Installateur
Professional installing and configuring the products in a home. They use the mobile App and may operate on several homes.
- Manufacturer
- Fabricant
Entity manufacturing the products and declaring them to the platform. Every catalogue product belongs to a manufacturer.
- Owner
- Propriétaire
Default role in a home: access to all configuration, product addition and sharing functions.
- Superadmin
- Super administrateur
Maintainer of the IoTHub platform.
- Tenant
- Locataire
Restricted role in a home: access limited to controlling the equipment, with no configuration and no product addition.
- User
- Utilisateur
Person holding an account on the platform. A user has access to one or more homes, with one role per home.
- Wholesaler
- Distributeur
Reseller of the product range.
Bluetooth Mesh
- Bluetooth Low Energy
BLE
Low-power radio layer on which Bluetooth Mesh is built. Also used on its own by Energy Harvesting products.
- Bluetooth Mesh
Mesh network standardised by the Bluetooth SIG, built on top of Bluetooth Low Energy. Messages are encrypted and propagate hop by hop, with no central point.
- Configuration mode
- Mode configuration
Internal product state, outside the mesh standard, in which it makes itself visible and connectable in order to be provisioned, updated or reconfigured.
- Deprovisioning
- Déprovisionnement
Removal of a product from the mesh network: encryption keys, addresses and bindings are erased, then the product returns to factory settings. It can be provisioned again.
- Energy Harvesting
EH
Powering of a product by a micro-generator, produced by the user’s own gesture: no wire, no battery. The available energy only allows a single frame to be sent, over Bluetooth Low Energy rather than mesh.
- Friend Node
Node buffering the messages addressed to a Low Power Node while it sleeps, and delivering them when it wakes up. One Friend Node can serve several LPNs.
See Mesh Friend role
- Friendship
Relationship established between a Low Power Node and its Friend Node, setting the wake-up period and the message buffering. Without it, a provisioned LPN receives no command from the network.
See Mesh Friend role
- Generic Model
- Modèle Generic
Family of standard mesh models covering behaviours common to all equipment types: on/off, level, battery. Using them guarantees interoperability with other manufacturers’ products.
- Group Address
Address targeting several nodes at once, used for group commands (switching on all the lights in a room, for example).
- Long Range
LR
Bluetooth radio mode encoding information redundantly to reach further, at the cost of a reduced throughput.
- Low Power Node
LPN
Node optimised for minimal power consumption, intended for battery-powered or energy-harvesting products. It stays idle most of the time and wakes up periodically to poll its Friend Node.
See Low Power mode
- Mesh Element
- Élément Mesh
Addressable part of a node, carrying its own mesh models. A multi-function product exposes one element per independent feature.
- Mesh Message
- Message Mesh
Communication unit of the network, encrypted end to end. It carries an opcode identifying the operation and targets a unicast or group address.
- Mesh Model
- Modèle Mesh
Standardised definition of an element’s behaviour: the messages it accepts, those it emits, and the states it maintains. A model comes in a server version (holding the state) and a client version (commanding it).
- Mesh Scene
- Scène Mesh
Set of states stored in the products and recallable with a single mesh message. Not to be confused with a scenario, which is an automation handled by the App.
- Node
- Nœud
Product provisioned in a mesh network. It carries a unicast address and one or more roles (relay, proxy, friend, low power).
- Provisioning
- Provisionnement
Process by which a product joins the secure mesh network: invitation by the provisioner, security key exchange, unicast address assignment, then network configuration.
- Proxy Node
- Rôle proxy
Node acting as an intermediary between the Bluetooth Mesh network and an external device, in practice the smartphone. It translates messages both ways. A network needs at least one Proxy Node to be controllable from the App.
See Mesh Proxy role
- Publish/Subscribe
Bluetooth Mesh exchange mechanism: a model publishes its messages to an address, and every model subscribed to that address receives them. This is what technically implements a binding.
- Relay Node
- Rôle relais
Node retransmitting the messages it receives in order to extend the network range: a message hops from node to node when the destination is not within direct range.
See Mesh Relay role
- SAD
Static Authentication Data
Static authentication data used at provisioning time to authenticate a product before it joins the network: unique identifier, public key or any other information the provisioner can verify.
- Unicast Address
- Adresse unicast
Unique address assigned at provisioning time to each element of a node: the primary element carries the node address, the following ones the consecutive addresses. A message sent to this address is processed by that element only.
Data-model
- Board
- Carte électronique
- PCB
Board supporting one or more product models. It sets the microcontroller, the available input/output blocks and the admissible loads.
- Data-Model
Formal, versioned description of the catalogue: products, features, properties, sensors and templates. It is the single source from which the firmware, the application bindings and the documentation are generated.
- Feature option
- Option de fonctionnalité
Behaviour variant of a feature, chosen at configuration time. Options carry the compatibility rules that allow a binding or not.
- Feature property
- Propriété de fonctionnalité
Adjustable parameter of a feature, readable and often writable from the App or the IoTHub. For example, the duration of a timer.
- IO block
- Bloc d’entrée/sortie
Group of pins on a board fulfilling a given electrical function (dry contact input, relay output, dimming output), to which a feature is assigned.
- Item number
- Code article
Commercial reference of a sub-model, specific to the brand distributing it. It is the reference the wholesaler and the installer see.
- Product model
- Modèle produit
Definition of a catalogue product: its board, its features, its documentation and its mesh identifier.
- Sub-model
- Sous-modèle
Commercial variant of a product model, sharing the same board and the same features but with its own item number.
- Wiring template
- Template de câblage
Standard wiring diagram offered to the installer for an input or an output, which determines the features that can be assigned to that component.
Product identification
- DIS
- Device Information Service
Device Information Service
Standard Bluetooth Low Energy GATT service, readable on a connected product: manufacturer name, model name, serial number, versions. Its Firmware Revision characteristic carries the data-model version, not the firmware version.
- MAC address
- Adresse MAC
Bluetooth identifier of the product, on 6 bytes, carried by the hardware. It is part of the serial number, and its last 4 hexadecimal digits end the name advertised at scan time.
- Manufacturer identifier
- Identifiant fabricant
- manufacturer_id
Number of a manufacturer, on 2 bytes, set when the firmware is compiled.
- Model identifier
- Identifiant de modèle
- model_id
Number of a product model within its manufacturer, on 2 bytes, set when the firmware is compiled.
- Serial number
- Numéro de série
Unique identifier of a product: hexadecimal string made of the manufacturer_id, the model_id, the sub_model_id and the MAC address. Readable in the Device Information Service.
- Sub-model identifier
- Identifiant de sous-modèle
- sub_model_id
- custom-id
Number of a sub-model within its model, on 1 byte. It is written at the factory over the serial port, and read over mesh in the custom-id feature property.
MQTT API
- MQTT broker
- Broker MQTT
Server to which MQTT clients connect to publish and receive messages. The gateway connects to the platform’s one and, when the secondary interface is enabled, to the customer’s one.
- Secondary MQTT interface
- Interface MQTT secondaire
Second MQTT connection of the gateway, to a broker provided by the customer on the local network. A third-party system controls the products through it without going through the platform; product installation is not covered there.
- Topic
Named channel of an MQTT broker, on which a client publishes or to which it subscribes. In the MQTT API, the topic designates the gateway and the nature of the exchange; the targeted product is designated in the message.
Electricity and heating
- Dimming
- Variation
- Dimmer
Continuous adjustment of a load’s light intensity. It requires a calibration matched to the type of load connected.
See Dimming control
- Electrical flexibility
- Flexibilité électrique
- Délestage
Ability to shed or shift an appliance’s consumption on request from the power grid or an operator, in order to relieve the load at peak hours.
- Linky
Communicating electricity meter deployed in France. It exposes a telemetry output from which the solution reads the consumption and the current tariff period.
- Linky Radio Transmitter
- Émetteur Radio Linky
ERL
Product connected to the Linky meter’s telemetry output, broadcasting consumption data and the tariff period into the mesh network.
- Load
- Charge
Electrical equipment connected to an output: light, motor, heating appliance. Its nature and power must stay within the limits admitted by the board.
- No neutral
- Sans neutre
- 2 fils
- 2-wire
Wiring of a product on the live and lamp return only, with no neutral conductor — the case when replacing a switch in a renovation. The product then draws its supply through the load, which requires a dimmer output and constrains the lamp type. The designation is “no neutral”; “2-wire” is a technical qualifier that accompanies it, never used on its own.
- Override
- Dérogation
Temporary departure from the current schedule’s setpoint, decided by the user and applied for a configurable duration.
- Peak / Off-peak hours
- Heures Pleines / Heures Creuses
HP/HC
Tariff split of the electricity supply. The corresponding signal is used to trigger deferrable usages during off-peak hours.
- Pilot wire
- Fil pilote
Additional wire in the electrical wiring carrying orders to a heating appliance. The voltage applied between this wire and neutral selects the mode: Comfort, Eco, Frost-Free or Off.
- Setpoint
- Consigne
Temperature targeted by the thermostat. It comes from the active schedule, an override or a manual setting.
- Shutter
- Ouvrant
Motorised equipment controllable in opening, closing and intermediate position: roller shutter, blind, gate or garage door.
- VMC
Ventilation Mécanique Contrôlée
Controlled mechanical ventilation of the home, whose speed can be driven from the solution.
- With neutral
- Avec neutre
- 3 fils
- 3-wire
Wiring of a product that has the neutral conductor, which supplies it independently of the load. Every output type accepts it, and it is the only wiring of products with a relay output. The designation is “with neutral”; “3-wire” is a technical qualifier that accompanies it, never used on its own.
Project and industrialisation
- Active
- Actif
Flag on a firmware version in the IoTHub: the version is offered as an update by the App. For the gateway, the update is automatic, at the next restart. Only an active version is distributed.
See Software updates
- ATE
Automatic Test Equipment
Automatic test bench used in production to check and program the products before shipment.
- Beta
Flag on a firmware version in the IoTHub: the version is reserved for beta homes.
See Software updates
- Beta home
- Logement beta
- Firmware en version beta
- Beta version firmwares
Home whose “Beta version firmwares” option is ticked, on the App’s home edit page. It receives beta firmware versions, which may be unstable. The option belongs to each home and is unticked by default.
See Software updates
- DFU
Device Firmware Upgrade
Update of a product’s firmware, delivered over the air from the mobile App or, for the gateway, from the IoTHub.
See Software updates
- Firmware
- Micro-logiciel
Software embedded in the product. It determines the features the product is able to expose, and is updated through DFU.
- OTA
Over The Air
Qualifies an operation carried out over the air, without physical contact with the product — typically a firmware update.
- Product Owner
Person responsible for the content and prioritisation of the product scope, ensuring consistency between the expressed need and the specification.
- QDID
Qualification Design ID
Identifier issued by the Bluetooth SIG certifying that a design has passed qualification. It is required to market a product bearing the Bluetooth trademark.
- QR Code
Label affixed to the product and its packaging, carrying its identity and its authentication data. Scanning it with the App speeds up provisioning.
- Stakeholder
- Partie prenante
Party concerned by the solution, on the LinkIO side as well as the brand side, whose needs feed the product trade-offs.
- UUID
Universally Unique Identifier
Unique identifier carried by every product, used to recognise it during provisioning.