Although there is much to be gained from Bluetooth Mesh, there are many good reasons why Zigbee and Thread are still ideal for deploying IoT with mesh networks.
IEEE 802.15.4 was created to provide a low-power, low-bandwidth way to reliably connect devices to networks that support constrained devices, a proven and widely deployed mesh technology that is already in the market For more than 13 years.
Zigbee and Thread are solutions based on this network technology, which to date has 8 Threads and over 50 Zigbee certified stacking and chip platforms, of which Thread Mesh Technology is designed for the powerful Internet of Things (IoT ) Infrastructure.
Bluetooth Mesh, a new entrant to the grid networking market, uses Bluetooth connectivity to replace wires, wearable devices and peripherals. "Unlike the Bluetooth agreements that connect smartphones and speakers, the Bluetooth Mesh protocol requires software upgrades, Bluetooth hardware may or may not support.
Users are always yelling for more options, but the criteria for choosing to provide connectivity infrastructure are meaningless to them, and if Internet highway is IP, then Thread is the technology that's based on that IP.
More importantly, at the application level that enables interoperability, Thread supports languages such as Dotdot for other IoT applications, including HVAC, lighting, home security, etc. Dotdot supports over the Internet In contrast, Bluetooth Mesh supports commercial lighting applications, but only operates over a stand-alone Bluetooth Mesh network.
Bluetooth is present in everyone's smartphone, but the Bluetooth Mesh gateway is closed to the Internet.You can use the Bluetooth remote to change channels on your TV, but if you want to use a thermostat to check the weather forecast on the Internet, Can not rely on Bluetooth to achieve.
Bluetooth Mesh uses the 'flooding' approach, which repeats each message to make it available on the network; it also uses a flooding approach to confirm messages.
Thread uses flooding only when multicast information is needed, such as messages for discovery or group addressing; Threads use routing when flooding unicast messages and do not flood the network.
Flooding tends to cause network congestion and conflicts, especially in dense networks with 20 or more nodes.To reduce collisions, Bluetooth Mesh requires the installer to carefully configure which particular nodes will repeat the message, while Threads can add, delete Or dynamically configure routes when moving nodes.
Because the network configuration is automatic, Thread out of the box. In addition, the address allocation to the Internet border routing protocols, backup routing, login, sleep device management, etc. are automatic, there is no single point A failure issue. This is not the case for Bluetooth Mesh, which requires some undefined entity (such as an installer) to perform such a configuration.
Thread has 16 effective communication channels, allowing adjacent networks to be separated and therefore will not interfere with each other. Bluetooth Mesh only one channel, but also the global shared broadcast pipeline. In addition, Thread each transmission of data up to 10 times , Thus improving the efficiency and throughput of the network.
Threads use the same end-to-end security technology to secure applications over the Internet, and such security technologies are also used to secure banking transactions, Amazon buying processes, and social media conversations without any intermediate trust Devices, such as gateways, are well-suited for the rigors of power management and must be able to maintain network security automatically with minimal user interaction.
Thread built-in security at the network layer, using the smart phone era authentication scheme and AES encryption to eliminate security vulnerabilities in other wireless protocols.Product installation code is used to ensure that only authorized devices can join the Thread network, and then use the bank-level encryption Technology for data transmission over the network.
Recent news from Bluetooth Mesh confirms the need for mesh networking in IoT deployments, but Bluetooth Mesh is a new technology just entering the market that uses a relatively limited number of Bluetooth protocols.
The environment we live in today has more options for technology and looks for good interoperability. Thread, of great value as an IP-based web protocol, can be quickly deployed in many IoT devices, applications and real world scenarios to Create a network without hubs. In short, Thread is enabling IoT promises.
Compile: Luffy Liu