Thread Ready

My son came up to me one day and asked: “Dad, when you were young, what did you watch on Netflix?” I started laughing since when I was growing up Netflix was not invented, nor was the internet, nor did we have cable. We got our television programming through the air waves to our roof top antenna. We had a total of three channels: NBC, CBS, and PBS. With the right atmospheric conditions, we also would get a very snowy ABC which we actively watched. My, how times have changed. Especially when it comes to technologies for the home.

In order to enjoy Netflix today, think of the technologies that had to be invented and then accepted for the home. I will list a few of the main technologies. The first is the personal computer (PC), which came out in the mid-1970s. My friend had the first PCs that I was aware of, and that was in the early 1980s. My parents did not get their first PC until late 1980s, and this was mainly for their home business. Once PCs started to be used in the home (and in businesses), the need to communicate became important and the internet came around. Yes, there were protocols such as Tymnet and Telenet that came out in the 1960s and 1970s, but the internet that we know of today came later and was not widely accepted for the home until the late 1980s and early 1990s, at least in my area of the country.

The internet forced the development of the modem and the router, especially the Wi-Fi router. Wi-Fi was huge in allowing you to connect multiple devices wirelessly. When I was growing up, all of our TVs would hook up to a cable that went to our antenna. Let me clarify, we had two TVs, both were color; one was built in a self-contained wood cabinet with beautiful trim, and the other was a 13” portable. The TVs were only moved as far as the coax cable would reach. Today, with Wi-FI you can be extremely portable throughout the house and you can connect computers, phones, TVs etc. So to enjoy Netflix today, technologies that came first and were adopted for the home use include, PCs, internet and Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi is just one way to connect a home. There are a lot of technologies that are being developed for the home to satisfy our Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity requirements that go beyond just watching TV. These technologies include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Zwave and Thread. Some you may know of, others maybe not so much. Let’s look at each of these technologies, at their strengths and weaknesses and where they can be used.

Wi-Fi: Since Wi-Fi was mentioned we will start with it. Wi-Fi is great for data-hungry applications such as streaming videos on Netflix and YouTube, but it is not practical for the low data rates of smart devices. Wi-Fi is power hungry, has bandwidth and interference issues, and is not practical for battery operated devices. It’s good for TV, but not so good for the smart coffee maker, climate control or security.

Bluetooth: Bluetooth uses far less power than Wi-Fi, with data rates that are lower than Wi-Fi, but are greater than Zigbee and Zwave. Bluetooth has very limited ranges and not ideal for applications that require continuous data feeds like security and monitoring systems. Bluetooth is great for syncing your headset to your phone, or downloading files from your phone to your laptop. Bluetooth is great for peer-to-peer connections but not ideal for peer to multiple peers. So in a smart home, you would not build a network using Bluetooth.

Zigbee and Zwave: Zigbee and Zwave are similar to each other in that they are low cost, have lower power consumption and have excellent range for a localized network. Zwave has been more widely accepted than Zigbee for home use mainly since Zwave has a stronger interoperability between devices that Zigbee lacks. In other words, Zwave products do a better job of communicating with other Zwave products, especially for forward- and backward-compatible devices and across manufacturers. Zigbee is used for many home networks but is not as universal in hooking up to devices from various Zigbee manufacturers. Zigbee tends to be stronger in the industrial world of networking such as in a factory.

Thread: And now there is Thread. Thread is a newer wireless protocol specifically designed for smart household devices. According to Thread’s website, “Thread was designed with one goal in mind: to create the best way to connect and & control products in the home.” The Thread group formed in 2014 with 7 core members and now boast over 200 members. So what exactly is Thread? According to Digi, “Thread runs on the IEEE 802.15.4 physical radio specifications and operates in the unlicensed ISM bands including 2.4GHz 9v1.0).” Thread is a low power and secure network that can handle up to 250 devices in a mesh configuration. Thread is so versatile that it can operate with a single router in a star topology or expand to multiple routers for a large mesh topology. Joel Young, Digi’s SVP of Research & Development, has a great video on Thread. In the figure below from Digi’s website, the star topology is on the left, and the mesh is on the right.

Another strength of Mesh topology is if a parent/router/leader fails, it will dynamically promote a new parent. Per Digi “Another Key advantage of Thread is that the application layer is separated from the actual Thread stack, making it agnostic and flexible...” See figure below. The frequency and technology are the same as what is used for Zigbee, so many companies are transitioning their current devices to work with Thread.

For more information check out this Product Training Module on Thread. Digi now has Thread Ready modules and kits to help you with your home networking needs. Thread is such an exciting technology specifically designed for our increasingly connected homes. With wide scale adoption and with over 200 members, Thread is the right choice for our IoT smart homes of today.

To answer my son’s question: when I was young, we did not have Netflix, but for TV, I watched Saturday morning cartoons since that was the only time they were on instead of the 24/7 that we have today. Also, after school, I watched a lot of classic TV shows from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. My favorites were Hogan’s Heroes and Gilligan’s Island. Lastly, we watched a lot of commercials.