Thread (network protocol): Difference between revisions
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Thread is the first low-power, wireless mesh networking protocol to allow low-power devices to use IP. And with a mesh network, there is no single point of failure. | Thread is the first low-power, wireless mesh networking protocol to allow low-power devices to use IP. And with a mesh network, there is no single point of failure. | ||
There are two kinds of devices on a Thread network--those plugged into power (such as, a light bulb or smart plug) and those that are battery-powered (such as a motion sensor or a smart lock). Thread considers an always-powered device on its network to be a "Router", and a battery-powered device to be an "End Device". Thread consider an always-powered device that also connects to the internet (such as a smart speaker or Wi-Fi router) to be a "Border Router". | |||
A Thread network can support more the 250 devices, and of those, as many as 64 can be Routers (always-powered), with at most 32 Routers active simultaneously. Among the Routers, multiple instances of Border Routers may exist. | |||
The new smart home standard, [[Matter (standard)|Matter]], is an application that runs on top of a Thread network. Matter support both Wi-Fi and Thread for connecting its devices, and its use of Thread means that there is no single point of failure in the home network--any one device may fail or be unplugged, but the rest of the network can continue to work normally. | |||
Unlike earlier technologies, Thread has been optimized from its inception to run on low-power devices that require near real-time access to rapidly changing data, and thus to handle a high volume of data messages with minimal delay (latency). Early benchmarking of Thread, as compared with Zigbee and Bluetooth networks, show Thread networks to have much less delay, especially when scaled to large numbers of devices, and the quicker activity of Thread translates into less power usage, which is especially important for battery-driven devices. | |||
Revision as of 05:52, 21 April 2023
Thread is a low-power, mesh network protocol which has been developed by a consortium of competing companies in the smart home industry. Thread uses IP version 6 over wireless networks, and it is a protocol designed specifically for IoT devices, allowing them to communicate more quickly, using less power, with fewer points of failure, than previous solutions using IEEE 802.15.4 radio technology.
Thread is a lot like existing smart home protocols Zigbee and Z-Wave, except that no central hub or bridge is needed. Instead, Thread devices talk directly to each other in a wireless mesh network and can connect directly to any other IP-based device, including smart phones, tablets, computers, and Wi-Fi routers.
Thread is the first low-power, wireless mesh networking protocol to allow low-power devices to use IP. And with a mesh network, there is no single point of failure.
There are two kinds of devices on a Thread network--those plugged into power (such as, a light bulb or smart plug) and those that are battery-powered (such as a motion sensor or a smart lock). Thread considers an always-powered device on its network to be a "Router", and a battery-powered device to be an "End Device". Thread consider an always-powered device that also connects to the internet (such as a smart speaker or Wi-Fi router) to be a "Border Router".
A Thread network can support more the 250 devices, and of those, as many as 64 can be Routers (always-powered), with at most 32 Routers active simultaneously. Among the Routers, multiple instances of Border Routers may exist.
The new smart home standard, Matter, is an application that runs on top of a Thread network. Matter support both Wi-Fi and Thread for connecting its devices, and its use of Thread means that there is no single point of failure in the home network--any one device may fail or be unplugged, but the rest of the network can continue to work normally.
Unlike earlier technologies, Thread has been optimized from its inception to run on low-power devices that require near real-time access to rapidly changing data, and thus to handle a high volume of data messages with minimal delay (latency). Early benchmarking of Thread, as compared with Zigbee and Bluetooth networks, show Thread networks to have much less delay, especially when scaled to large numbers of devices, and the quicker activity of Thread translates into less power usage, which is especially important for battery-driven devices.