A wireless sensor network provides a communication link between a plurality of nodes. Communication among the plurality of nodes is based one or more protocol components that are associated with a selected quality of service (QoS). A preamble byte can have bit values assigned based on application preferences, and the preamble byte used to select one or more protocol components from a component library. The preamble byte is combined with a data payload and transmitted to additional nodes based on the selected QoS.