Bluetooth Network Topology

Bluetooth networks at the first level are called piconets. A piconet is defined as up to 255 devices (of which only eight may be active) linked together, all using a specific frequency-hop sequence defined by the master device. In a piconet, there can be only one master device and seven active slave devices. The device that initiates a connection is considered the master of the piconet; it is possible for a device to be a slave in two different piconets, or to be a master of one piconet and slave to another. Piconet communication is in the form of point-to-point or point-to-multipoint connections.

One or more piconets may be linked together to form a scatternet. A scatternet is defined as multiple piconets joined together, where each piconet has a unique frequency-hop sequence. There may be a maximum of ten fully loaded piconets in a scatternet. This topology allows inter-piconet communication, as well as range adaptation. The nominal range limit for two devices to communicate is 10 meters, but in the context of a scatternet this range may be extended to 100 meters by using inter-piconet communication.