Building Wireless Sensor Networks with OpenThread

This book will guide you through the operation of Thread*, the setup of a Thread network, and the creation of your own Zephyr-based OpenThread applications to use it. You'll acquire knowledge on:



> The capture of network packets on Thread networks using Wireshark and the nRF Sniffer for 802.15.4.

> Network simulation with the OpenThread Network Simulator.

> Connecting a Thread network to a non-Thread network using a Thread Border Router.

> The basics of Thread networking, including device roles and types, as well as the diverse types of unicast and multicast IPv6 addresses used in a Thread network.

> The mechanisms behind network discovery, DNS queries, NAT64, and multicast addresses.

> The process of joining a Thread network using network commissioning.

> CoAP servers and clients and their OpenThread API.

> Service registration and discovery.

> Securing CoAP messages with DTLS, using a pre-shared key or X.509 certificates.

> Investigating and optimizing a Thread device's power consumption.



Once you've set up a Thread network with some devices and tried connecting and disconnecting them, you'll have gained a good insight into the functionality of a Thread network, including its self-healing capabilities. After you've experimented with all code examples in this book, you'll also have gained useful programming experience using the OpenThread API and CoAP.



* Thread is a protocol for building efficient, secure and scalable wireless mesh networks for the Internet of Things (IoT), based on IPv6. OpenThread is an open-source implementation of the Thread protocol, originally developed by Google. It offers a comprehensive Application Programming Interface (API) that is both operating system and platform agnostic. OpenThread is the industry's reference implementation and the go-to platform for professional Thread application developers.



Koen Vervloesem has been writing for over 20 years on Linux, open-source software, security, home automation, artificial intelligence (AI), programming, and the Internet of Things (IoT). He holds a Master's degree in Computer Science Engineering, a Master's degree in Philosophy, and an LPIC-3 303 Security certificate. He is a teaching Linux and Python classes to students aspiring to an Associate degree in Internet of Things.