Thread Application

Thread is an IP-based, low-power wireless protocol designed to facilitate connecting to and controlling IoT devices. Thread uses a mesh architecture, which allows for efficient and robust networking.

Elements of a Thread network include the following:

• Thread Router
  • Manages communication between devices within the Thread network.
  • Maintains a routing table to promote the efficient routing of messages.
  • Generally has no ability to communicate with networks outside the Thread network.
• Border Router
  • Extends the capabilities of a Thread Router to allow communication with networks outside the Thread network.
  • Acts as a gateway to external networks.
  • Performs NAT (Network Address Translation) to facilitate communication between external networks and the Thread network.
• Backbone Border Router
  • Extends the capabilities of a Border Router to allow communication between the Thread network and backbone networks.
  • Supports fail-over mechanisms to ensure network resilience.
  • Generally supports higher capacity and greater speeds compared to regular routers for faster and more reliable communication with external networks.

With ExtremeCloud IQ, assigning an IoT Thread profile to an AP5010/AP5010U wireless interface allows the device to function as a BBR (Backbone Border Router).

With ExtremeCloud IQ, the BBRs in the network negotiate and together elect one PBBR (Primary Backbone Border Router). The PBBR routes traffic between the Thread network and the Backbone network.

Although there can be multiple BBRs in a Thread network, only one can be PBBR at any time. The others act as secondary BBRs. If the PBBR is unreachable, failover occurs to a negotiated secondary BBR, which then becomes the new PBBR.

The IoT Thread profile allows for:

• Specifying key properties of the Thread network, such as its name, network key, PAN ID, Extended PAN ID, channel, and whether or not to enable NAT64.
• Optionally specifying the behavior of the Commissioner for the Thread network, including its credentials, timeout, and list of allowed devices.
• Optionally configuring the Default User Profile to be associated with the IoT Thread profile by applying only the VLAN.

Consider the following:

• IoT Thread profile configuration automatically takes precedence over iBeacon configuration. If iBeacon is configured and deployed, and later IoT Thread is configured and deployed, iBeacon becomes disabled and IoT Thread is enabled. If iBeacon configuration exists but has yet to be deployed, and then later IoT configuration is done and deployed, only the IoT configuration is pushed to the AP.
• Only one Commissioner can be active at any given time in a Thread network.