Edition Comparison

Overview

FastBee-Arduino provides three editions targeting different hardware platforms and use cases. Users can select the appropriate edition based on cost budget, feature requirements and hardware resources.

Edition selection ultimately affects the visible features in the Web console. Lite/Standard focus on dashboard, network, peripherals and peripheral exec; Full additionally provides file, log, user and role management capabilities.

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Stability Assessment Conclusion

The current edition split is recalibrated by "chip resource first":

• Lite targets ESP32-C3/C6 single-core or low-memory chips, retaining only WiFi, MQTT, mDNS, Web management, basic sensors, OLED/TM1637 display, config import/export and health monitoring. Modbus, W5500, 4G, BLE, OTA, Command Script, RuleScript, TCP/HTTP/CoAP and other extra modules are disabled by default, avoiding heap memory pressure when serial/SPI peripherals, network stack and Web management run simultaneously.
• Standard targets ESP32/ESP32-S3 dual-core chips, retaining WiFi, MQTT, Modbus RTU master, Command Script, RuleScript, I2C sensors, RFID, IR and other common field capabilities; Ethernet, 4G, BLE, TCP/HTTP/CoAP, file/log management and multi-language are disabled by default. esp32s3-F8R0 is a Standard + OTA special case; 4MB esp32-F4R0 keeps OTA disabled.
• Full targets ESP32/ESP32-S3 modules with PSRAM, including esp32-F8R4, esp32s3-F8R4, esp32s3-F16R8. This edition is for gateways/advanced controllers, enabling Ethernet, 4G, TCP/HTTP/CoAP, OTA, file/log, user roles, multi-language and other capabilities. BLE compile switch is retained in Full, but there is no complete BLE provisioning/communication link; do not promise BLE as an available feature at delivery.

This split is more stable than "all editions enable 4G/Ethernet/Modbus": low-cost chips don't bear the long-term memory pressure of external network adapters, Modbus polling/routing, multi-language large resources, script engines and multiple protocol stacks; dual-core Standard covers common WiFi + MQTT + RS485/Modbus scenarios; Full is concentrated for gateways or advanced controllers with PSRAM.

Multi-language strategy recommendation by edition: Lite/Standard default to single-language resources, reducing LittleFS usage and frontend initialization burden; Full retains the complete multi-language experience. The current lite/prod Web profile still uses the i18n engine for Chinese text but does not provide language switching; if Lite/Standard firmware needs to completely remove the i18n mechanism, a separate static Chinese Web asset build tier is needed.

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Edition Overview

Dimension	Lite	Standard	Full
Positioning	Low-cost sensor node	Main IoT device	Flagship gateway/controller
Target Users	Batch deployment, cost-sensitive	General IoT development	Advanced feature requirements
Price Range	¥9-12	¥12-20	¥15-25
Build Environments	esp32c3-F4R0 / esp32c6-F4R0	esp32-F4R0 / esp32s3-F8R0	esp32-F8R4 / esp32s3-F8R4 / esp32s3-F16R8
Max Peripherals	16 (hard limit)	24 (hard limit)	32 (hard limit)
Recommended Rules	12 (soft limit)	24 (soft limit)	32 (soft limit)
Sensor Cache Entries	16	24	32

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Chip Compatibility Matrix

Lite - Recommended Chips

Chip	Architecture	Clock	RAM	Flash	BLE	WiFi	Recommendation
ESP32-C3	RISC-V Single-core	160MHz	400KB	4MB	5.0	2.4GHz	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ESP32-C6	RISC-V Single-core	160MHz	512KB	4-8MB	5.3	WiFi 6	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Selection Guide:

• ESP32-C3: Lowest cost option, ¥9-12, retains core IoT features
• ESP32-C6: Future-proof, supports WiFi 6 and BLE 5.3, ¥12-15

Standard - Recommended Chips

Chip	Architecture	Clock	RAM	Flash	BLE	WiFi	Recommendation
ESP32	Xtensa Dual-core	240MHz	520KB	4-16MB	4.2	2.4GHz	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ESP32-S3	Xtensa Dual-core	240MHz	512KB	8-16MB	5.0	2.4GHz	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ESP32-C6	RISC-V Single-core	160MHz	512KB	4-8MB	5.3	WiFi 6	⚙️ Custom

Selection Guide:

• ESP32 (Classic): Most mature ecosystem, cheapest modules, suitable for general development
• ESP32-S3: Stronger performance, supports USB OTG and AI acceleration, suitable for high-performance scenarios
• ESP32-C6: Defaults to Lite; if Standard capabilities are needed, recommend custom build with item-by-item stress testing, not released as default stable edition

Full - Recommended Chips

Chip	Architecture	Clock	RAM	Flash	PSRAM	Recommendation
ESP32-S3	Xtensa Dual-core	240MHz	512KB	8-16MB	2-8MB	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ESP32 + PSRAM	Xtensa Dual-core	240MHz	520KB	4-16MB	4MB	⭐⭐⭐⭐

Selection Guide:

• ESP32-S3 (N16R8): First choice, 8MB PSRAM + 16MB Flash, performance and memory both sufficient
• ESP32 + PSRAM: Slightly lower cost, but USB capabilities not as good as S3

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Detailed Feature Comparison

1. Network Communication

Feature	Lite	Standard	Full	Description
WiFi STA Mode	✅	✅	✅	Connect to router for internet
WiFi AP Mode	✅	✅	✅	First-time setup hotspot
MQTT Communication	✅	✅	✅	Communicate with cloud platform
mDNS Discovery	✅	✅	✅	LAN device discovery; retained in Lite
Ethernet (W5500)	❌	❌	✅	Full enables by default; Standard disabled by default
4G Cellular	❌	❌	✅	Full enables by default; Standard disabled by default
BLE Provisioning	❌	❌	⚠️ Reserved	Full retains BLE switch, but no complete BLE provisioning page and handling chain

2. Communication Protocols

Feature	Lite	Standard	Full	Description
MQTT Protocol	✅	✅	✅	Main communication protocol
Modbus RTU Master	❌	✅	✅	RS485 device communication; Lite disabled by default
Modbus RTU Slave	❌	❌	✅	Respond as slave device
TCP Passthrough	❌	❌	✅	Raw TCP communication
HTTP Client	❌	❌	✅	REST API calls
CoAP Protocol	❌	❌	✅	Lightweight IoT protocol

3. Web Management Interface

Feature	Lite	Standard	Full	Description
Web Server	✅	✅	✅	AsyncWebServer
Device Status Dashboard	✅	✅	✅	Homepage status display
Peripheral Config Page	✅	✅	✅	GPIO/Sensor configuration
Peripheral Exec Page	✅	✅	✅	Automation rule configuration
Network Config Page	✅	✅	✅	WiFi/MQTT settings
Protocol Config Page	✅	✅	✅	Communication protocol management
Device Config Page	✅	✅	✅	Device basic info
SSE Real-time Push	✅	✅	✅	Real-time status updates
Login Authentication	✅	✅	✅	Lite/Standard use single admin mode; Full supports user/role management
File Manager	❌	❌	✅	File browse/upload
Log Viewer	❌	❌	✅	Online system log viewer
Multi-language (i18n)	❌	❌	✅	Lite/Standard target single-language resources; Full retains full multi-language
Config Import/Export	✅	✅	✅	Device config migration
Service Worker	✅	✅	✅	Offline cache acceleration

4. Peripherals & Sensors

Feature	Lite	Standard	Full	Description
GPIO Control	✅	✅	✅	Digital input/output
DHT11/DHT22 Temp/Humidity	✅	✅	✅	Temperature and humidity sensor
DS18B20 Temperature	✅	✅	✅	One-wire thermometer
OLED Display	✅	✅	✅	U8g2 driver
TM1637 7-Segment	✅	✅	✅	Seven-segment display
Command Script	❌	✅	✅	Command script engine; Lite disabled by default
NeoPixel/WS2812B	✅	✅	✅	RMT LED strip driver; Lite retains basic strip capability
I2C Sensors (BMP280/MPU6050)	❌	✅	✅	Pressure/gyroscope sensors
RFID (MFRC522)	❌	✅	✅	Radio frequency identification module
IR Remote Control	❌	✅	✅	IR transmit/receive
Rule Script Engine	❌	✅	✅	MQTT/Modbus data format template conversion

5. Peripheral Execution Engine (PeriphExec)

Feature	Lite	Standard	Full	Description
Timer Trigger	✅	✅	✅	Periodic tasks
Button Trigger	✅	✅	✅	Physical button events
Condition Trigger	✅	✅	✅	Sensor threshold trigger
MQTT Trigger	✅	✅	✅	Remote command trigger
GPIO Action	✅	✅	✅	Output HIGH/LOW
Display Action	✅	✅	✅	OLED/TM1637 display
Delay Action	✅	✅	✅	Delayed execution
Modbus Action	❌	✅	✅	Read/write Modbus devices; Lite disabled by default
Worker Pool	✅	✅	✅	Async task pooling
Execution Sync (EXEC_SYNC)	✅	✅	✅	Rules sync reported in real-time

6. System Features

Feature	Lite	Standard	Full	Description
Health Monitoring	✅	✅	✅	Memory/CPU monitoring
Memory Gating (MEMGUARD)	✅	✅	✅	OOM prevention
Task Manager	✅	✅	✅	Background task scheduling
Serial Logging	✅	✅	✅	Debug output
File Logging	❌	❌	✅	Persistent logging
OTA Firmware Upgrade	❌	Partial	✅	esp32s3-F8R0 retains OTA partition; 4MB Standard disables OTA
OTA Filesystem Upgrade	❌	Partial	✅	esp32s3-F8R0 supports Web filesystem OTA; 4MB Standard disables
NTP Time Sync	✅	✅	✅	Network time retrieval
DNS Service	✅	✅	✅	AP mode DNS

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Hardware Resource Usage

Memory Usage (Typical Values)

Metric	Lite	Standard	Full
Firmware Size	~1.8-2.1MB	~2.2-2.5MB	~2.6-3.0MB
Post-boot Free Heap	~90-130KB	~110-160KB	~160KB+ (PSRAM can hold large objects)
Stable Running Heap	~70KB+	~90KB+	~120KB+
Web Filesystem	~200-230KB (single-language target)	~220-250KB (single-language target)	~350KB
TCP Connection Budget	4 (C3) / 6 (C6)	6 (ESP32) / 8 (S3 budget)	6 (ESP32) / 8 (S3 budget)

Flash Partition Recommendations

Partition	Lite (4MB)	Standard (4MB)	Full (8MB)
Firmware (app)	≥2MB	≥3MB	≥3MB
Filesystem	1MB	1MB	1MB
OTA Partition	❌	❌	3MB
NVS	24KB	24KB	24KB
coredump	❌	❌	64KB

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Peripheral and Rule Limits

Different editions have different configuration limits designed for chip memory resources.

Configuration Limits

Dimension	Lite	Standard	Full	Limit Type
Max Peripheral Config	16	24	32	Hard (GPIO/memory limited)
Recommended Exec Rules	12	24	32	Soft (warning only when exceeded)
Sensor Cache Entries	16	24	32	Soft

Hard Limit: System refuses to add new items when limit is reached, returns clear error.

Soft Limit: System logs warning when exceeding recommended count, but allows continued creation. Actual running limits are controlled by:

• MAX_ACTIVE_TASKS = 12: Maximum number of simultaneously running rules
• System memory gating (MEMGUARD): Auto-degrades on low memory

Selection Recommendations

• Lite (ESP32-C3/C6): Limited resources, suitable for small-scale sensor collection and simple automation. Recommended 8-12 peripherals, 6-10 rules, with margin for stable operation.
• Standard (ESP32/ESP32-S3): Dual-core + sufficient RAM, suitable for medium-scale projects. Can configure 15-20 peripherals, 10-20 rules, including Modbus polling, command script and rule script; Ethernet/4G disabled by default.
• Full (ESP32/ESP32-S3 + PSRAM): Most abundant resources, suitable for gateway/controller scenarios. Can run at full capacity with 32 peripherals, 32 rules, simultaneously running Modbus polling, script engine, multi-protocol stack, file/log and remote maintenance features.

Note: When memory is tight, the system automatically enters degraded mode, Web API list pagination temporarily reduces to 5 items per page to ensure page accessibility. Peripheral config returns errors when hard limit is reached; exec rules exceeding recommended values log warnings but don't prevent creation.

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Runtime Configuration Differences

Parameter	Lite	Standard	Full
CONFIG_ASYNC_TCP_MAX_CONNECTIONS	C3=4 / C6=6	ESP32=6 / S3=14	ESP32=6 / S3=14
CONFIG_ASYNC_TCP_QUEUE_SIZE	C3=4 / C6=8	ESP32=8 / S3=24	ESP32=8 / S3=24
ARDUINO_LOOP_STACK_SIZE	12288	16384	16384
SCRIPT_TASK_STACK	❌	8192	8192
SIMPLE_TASK_STACK	4096	6144	6144
FASTBEE_JSON_DOC_SIZE	8192	8192	8192
CORE_DEBUG_LEVEL	1	1	1

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Build Environment Mapping

platformio.ini Environment Configuration

PlatformIO Env	Edition	Chip	Description
esp32c3-F4R0	Lite	ESP32-C3	4MB Flash, no PSRAM, low-cost node
esp32c6-F4R0	Lite	ESP32-C6	4MB Flash, no PSRAM, WiFi 6 low-cost node
esp32-F4R0	Standard	ESP32	4MB Flash, no PSRAM, default mass production
esp32-F8R4	Full	ESP32	8MB Flash, 4MB PSRAM, ESP32 full feature verification
esp32s3-F8R0	Standard + OTA	ESP32-S3	8MB Flash, no PSRAM, OTA partition retained
esp32s3-F8R4	Full	ESP32-S3	8MB Flash, 4MB PSRAM, S3 full feature verification
esp32s3-F16R8	Full	ESP32-S3	16MB Flash, 8MB PSRAM, recommended full production env

Build Commands

# Lite
pio run -e esp32c3-F4R0        # ESP32-C3 Lite
pio run -e esp32c6-F4R0        # ESP32-C6 Lite

# Standard
pio run -e esp32-F4R0          # ESP32 Standard
pio run -e esp32s3-F8R0        # ESP32-S3 Standard + OTA

# Full
pio run -e esp32-F8R4          # ESP32 Full
pio run -e esp32s3-F8R4        # ESP32-S3 Full
pio run -e esp32s3-F16R8       # ESP32-S3 Full

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Recommended Use Cases

Lite Use Cases

• 🏠 Smart Home Sensor Node - Temp/humidity collection + MQTT reporting
• 🏭 Lightweight Data Collection - Local sensors + MQTT reporting
• 🌱 Agricultural Greenhouse Monitoring - Environment monitoring + auto control
• 💡 Smart Lighting Control - GPIO + timer/automation
• 📊 Low-cost Batch Deployment - Many nodes, cost-sensitive

Standard Use Cases

• 🖥️ General IoT Development Platform - Web config + standard field features
• 🔧 Device Debugging & Development - Rich Web management interface
• 🏗️ Smart Building Control - Multi-sensor + automation control
• 🏭 Industrial Data Collection - Modbus RTU + MQTT reporting
• 📡 Edge Gateway (Lightweight) - Data collection + forwarding
• 🎓 Education & Prototyping - Full-featured, easy to learn

Full Use Cases

• 🌐 Edge Computing Gateway - Multi-protocol support + high performance
• 🏭 Industrial Control Center - Modbus + Ethernet/4G
• 🔐 High-security Projects - Security auth + OTA
• 🛠 Field Maintenance Device - Files, logs, OTA, user roles
• 🚀 Feature Verification & Integration Testing - Complete device-side feature verification except BLE provisioning

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Edition Selection Decision Tree

Start Selection
  ├── Cost sensitive? (unit price < ¥12)
  │   ├── Yes → Lite (ESP32-C3/C6)
  │   └── No ↓
  ├── Need any of these flagship features?
  │   • OTA remote upgrade
  │   • Files/logs/user roles
  │   • Multi-language management
  │   • TCP/HTTP/CoAP protocols
  │   • 4G / Ethernet
  │   ├── Need 1+ above → Full (ESP32/ESP32-S3 + PSRAM)
  │   └── No ↓
  ├── Need any of these standard field features?
  │   • Modbus RTU
  │   • Command Script / RuleScript
  │   • I2C advanced sensors / RFID / IR
  │   ├── Yes → Standard (ESP32/ESP32-S3)
  │   └── No ↓
  └── Standard (ESP32/ESP32-S3)

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Upgrade Path

Lite (ESP32-C3/C6)  →  Standard (ESP32/S3)  →  Full (ESP32/S3 + PSRAM)
     │                      │                      │
     │ Fully compatible     │ Fully compatible     │
     │ Only swap chip       │ Only swap chip       │
     │ Configs universal    │ Configs universal    │
     └──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

All three editions share the same codebase, controlled by compile-time feature switches:

• Upward compatible: Lower edition config files can be used directly on higher editions
• Downward compatible: Higher edition config fields for advanced features are ignored on lower editions
• Seamless migration: Change chip + modify build target to upgrade

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Notes

ESP32-C6 Special Note

ESP32-C6 requires the pioarduino community platform:

[env:esp32c6-F4R0]
platform = https://github.com/pioarduino/platform-espressif32/releases/download/55.03.38/platform-espressif32.zip

Reason: The official espressif32 platform does not yet fully support ESP32-C6's Arduino framework.

ESP32-C3/C6 and PSRAM

ESP32-C3 and ESP32-C6 hardware does not support external PSRAM (lacks dedicated pins and SPI controller), therefore:

• All memory management for Lite must be done within on-chip SRAM
• Cannot extend memory via PSRAM
• JSON document size should not exceed 8KB

ESP8266 Not Supported

This project does not support ESP8266 chips, because:

• ESP8266 available heap is only ~40KB, unable to parse large config files (periph_exec.json ~33KB)
• Does not support BLE, dual-core, LittleFS and other core dependencies
• Severe heap fragmentation, unstable for long-term operation
• ESP32-C3 is only ¥3-4 more expensive with 10x performance improvement, making it a better low-cost choice

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Deployment & Verification

This section covers firmware building, flashing, smoke testing, long-term stability verification and release artifacts, ensuring the selected edition can be successfully deployed. Core principle: PlatformIO environment, LittleFS Web filesystem, release images and target hardware must match.

One-Click Flash

cd D:\project\gitee\FastBee-Arduino
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\doctor.ps1 -Port COM6
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\deploy.ps1 -Env esp32-F4R0 -Port COM6

Common examples:

# ESP32 Standard, 4MB Flash
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\deploy.ps1 -Env esp32-F4R0 -Port COM6

# ESP32-S3 Standard, 8MB Flash, OTA support
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\deploy.ps1 -Env esp32s3-F8R0 -Port COM6

# ESP32-S3 Full, 16MB Flash + 8MB PSRAM
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\deploy.ps1 -Env esp32s3-F16R8 -Port COM6

# Build only, no flash
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\deploy.ps1 -Env esp32s3-F16R8 -BuildOnly

deploy.ps1 uploads the LittleFS Web filesystem for the current environment first, then flashes firmware. To update only part:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\deploy.ps1 -Env esp32s3-F16R8 -Port COM6 -SkipFirmware
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\deploy.ps1 -Env esp32s3-F16R8 -Port COM6 -SkipFs

After successful deployment, browse to device IP or http://192.168.4.1, login and confirm IP, WiFi, heap, PSRAM and uptime on the dashboard.

Post-deploy Dashboard

Device Smoke Test

Run the corresponding smoke test immediately after deployment:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\smoke-test-device.ps1 -BaseUrl http://192.168.4.1 -Profile standard
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\smoke-test-device.ps1 -BaseUrl http://192.168.5.116 -Profile full

When network and MQTT must both be online:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\smoke-test-device.ps1 -BaseUrl http://192.168.5.116 -Profile full -RequireNetworkConnected -RequireMqttConnected

Test matrix is driven by scripts/device-api-test-matrix.json, covering auth, system info, capability switches, network, MQTT, protocols, peripherals, PeriphExec, batch API, and Full-tier file, log, OTA, RuleScript, user and role interfaces.

Long-term Stability Testing

Before release, run at least 100 soak rounds on delivery hardware. Release thresholds come from scripts/device-stability-thresholds.json:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\soak-test-device.ps1 -BaseUrl http://192.168.5.116 -Profile full -Rounds 100 -StabilityPreset release -RequireNetworkConnected -ReportPath .pio\test-results\soak-full.csv

Key observations: failure rate, P95 response time, consecutive failures, heapFree, heapMaxAlloc, Full edition psramFree, and whether abnormal reboots occur during testing.

Build All Editions

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\build-all-artifacts.ps1 -CleanOutput

Output directory:

dist/business/firmware/all-latest/

Release file naming: fastbee-{chip}-F{flash}R{psram}.bin:

Filename	Environment
fastbee-esp32-F4R0.bin	esp32-F4R0
fastbee-esp32-F8R4.bin	esp32-F8R4
fastbee-esp32c3-F4R0.bin	esp32c3-F4R0
fastbee-esp32c6-F4R0.bin	esp32c6-F4R0
fastbee-esp32s3-F8R0.bin	esp32s3-F8R0
fastbee-esp32s3-F8R4.bin	esp32s3-F8R4
fastbee-esp32s3-F16R8.bin	esp32s3-F16R8

When release packages already exist, field recovery or mass production flashing can write the merged image directly:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\flash-release.ps1 -Env esp32s3-F16R8 -Port COM6

Pre-Release Checks

Local no-hardware checks:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command ".\scripts\test-all.ps1 -Checks static,native,build,artifacts"

After device comes online, add:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command ".\scripts\test-all.ps1 -Checks device-smoke -BaseUrl http://<device-ip> -DeviceProfile full"
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command ".\scripts\test-all.ps1 -Checks device-soak -BaseUrl http://<device-ip> -DeviceProfile full -StabilityPreset release -SoakRounds 100"

Field Stability Recommendations

• Full edition must use hardware with PSRAM and confirm psramTotal in /api/system/info?probe=1.
• Be cautious enabling OTA, file management, logs, user roles, Ethernet/4G and other high-resource features on 4MB devices; RuleScript is enabled in Standard, but rule count and script length should be controlled.
• Multiple browser tabs and high-frequency refresh increase embedded Web service pressure; when keeping pages open long-term in the field, prefer staying on the dashboard.
• Config import/export should use same-tier or higher-tier devices for organizing before migrating to lower-tier devices.
• Config, peripherals and rules are safely disabled by default; enable item by item after wiring confirmation.