ESP Basic Thread Border Router

The firmware does not need to be manually flashed onto the device. It will be integrated into the Border Router firmware and automatically installed onto the ESP32-H2 chip during the first boot-up. idf.py menuconfig can be used for customized settings.

This project uses Espressif Thread Border Router SDK locked to commit cf3a09f.

This section describes how to configure the device using idf.py menuconfig. This step is optional because the device can be configured using the OpenThread CLI after flashing the firmware.

The default configuration in sdkconfig.default file is designed to work out of the box on the ESP Thread Border Router board with ESP32-S3 as the default SoC target. For other SoCs, the target must be configured using idf.py set-target <chip_name>.

The command below opens the configuration menu:

Enable automatic start mode and the Web GUI:

• ESP Thread Border Router Example → Enable the automatic start mode in Thread Border

In automatic start mode, the device first attempts to use the Wi-Fi SSID and password stored in NVS ( Non-Volatile Storage). If no Wi-Fi credentials are found in NVS, it uses EXAMPLE_WIFI_SSID and EXAMPLE_WIFI_PASSWORD, retrieved from the following configuration options:

• Example Connection Configuration → WiFi SSID

• Example Connection Configuration → WiFi Password

Additionally, Thread dataset can be configured:

Component config → OpenThread → Thread Core Features → Thread Operational Dataset

Use USB2 (ESP32-S3) on the ESP Thread Border Router Board to connect the board to the computer. Only the ESP32-S3 ( main SoC) port needs to be connected. The main SoC automatically programs the Thread co-processor.

Connect the ESP Thread Border Router to a Wi-Fi network:

Disconnect the ESP Thread Border Router from the Wi-Fi network:

Print the current Wi-Fi network state:

Print all the IP address on each interface of lwIP of the Thread Border Router:

The output lists network interfaces (netif):

• nt

• ot (OpenThread Network Interface),

• st (Wi-Fi Station (STA) interface), this includes the Global Unicast Address (GUA), which falls within the 2000::/3 range (starts with 2xxx, 3xxx). This address is globally routable and can be used for external access if the Wi-Fi router’s firewall allows incoming connections to this address.

• lo (Loopback interface).

If the Thread Border Router is connected to a Wi-Fi network, we can ping it from another device. The following commands should be run on a Linux machine to find the name of the Wi-Fi network interfaces and then use it to ping the Thread Border Router:

The following commands form a Thread network:

1. Optional. Delete any previous settings stored on non-volatile memory, and then trigger a platform reset:

   factoryreset

2. Initialize a new dataset:

   dataset init new

3. Commit the new Operational Dataset buffer to Active Operational Dataset:

   dataset commit active

4. Enable IPv6 communication:

   ifconfig up

5. Enable Thread interface

   thread start

6. Show the Active Operational Dataset. The optional -x argument prints it as hex-encoded TLVs:

   dataset active -x

   

   The ip print command now shows the Thread interface with the IPv6 address:

   

The Border Routing Manager starts automatically after enabling the Thread interface. The br command can be used to manage the Border Routing Manager.

Print the current state of Border Routing Manager:

Initializes the Border Routing Manager:

Enables the Border Routing Manager:

The platform command prints the current platform. The version and rcp version print the OpenThread version and the radio version respectively.