Blog

2016
June
20

Don’t Forget the Testing!

By Tom Sciorilli, Director of Certification, Thread Group

Since its inception, Thread Group's member companies have collectively invested thousands of hours to create a networking protocol specification with exciting capabilities that will enable a new era of products for the connected home. The specification, however, is just the first part of the equation for enabling new technology into the market; thousands more hours have been invested to prepare a rigorous certification program to ensure that Thread products connect effortlessly and securely.

Let's dive deeper into what needs to be considered for Thread product certification:

It takes a village

A key strength of industry alliances is the company collaboration, which yields far more innovative and competitive technology solutions than any single entity can produce. While the collaborative process precisely defines the critical "nuts and bolts" and restricts implementations where necessary to make a technology function correctly, it also intentionally provides degrees of freedom in appropriate areas where member companies can innovate and create products that have unique value. It is within those areas of freedom that human nature - differences in interpretation and prioritization between members - creates the possibility of incompatibility between products. Even amongst products using (and tested for) the same application layer, incompatibilities in a networking layer such as Thread can lurk undetected until the right combination of factors - different vendor stack, network topology, network conditions etc.- combine to push a device into a code path that does not end up as a happy place. Thread testing is designed to ensure that Thread-certified devices will get along happily together.

31 flavors of testing

As with ice cream, there are many flavors of product testing. Regulatory testing is legally mandated and safety-oriented, necessary to sell a product in a market.. Conformance tests are behavioral checks, required by administering organizations for inclusion in various ecosystems. Performance tests may be voluntary but are often necessary for a company to prove that a product is market-competitive. Many other types of testing exist. Thread product certification combines two facets - conformance testing for validating that a device correctly implements the "nuts and bolts" of Thread, and - the magic nugget - interoperability testing for verifying that a device can interact successfully with other Thread devices across the areas of freedom within the Thread specification.

Interoperability - It's not about you

During your school days, when you wanted to do something that pushed the envelope, a parent may have said "it's not you I worry about - it's all those other [students, drivers, people, etc.]." For product manufacturers, interoperability testing is critical for addressing the same concern. Manufacturers are very good at testing their own devices thoroughly within their own environment, but the ability to test their device against the sea of other manufacturers' devices is a tightrope between coverage and cost effectiveness. In a perfect world, a new device would be tested exhaustively and repeatedly against every other Thread device on the market. Thread certification aims to provide substantially similar coverage to its members within reasonable cost and time.

Thread certification - making it real

From its inception, Thread Group has held a rigorous testing and certification program as a cornerstone of delivering products that connect effortlessly and securely. To achieve this, Thread built an automated test platform, comprised of market-leading Thread network stacks, executing a test suite that has been vetted for coverage by Thread experts. To ensure quality and integrity throughout the certification process, global, 3rd-party, ISO-compliant lab networks test the devices. For real-world applicability, devices are tested in their go-to-market state with production firmware. Interoperability coverage will be continually expanded through the addition of other Thread stacks to the test platform as the ecosystem grows.

Developers, retailers and consumers alike can feel confident that solutions featuring the Thread Certified Component or Built on Thread mark provide a solid,secure networking foundation to usher in a new era of connected products.

UPCOMING EVENTS


2024
April
23-25

Thread Group Members Meeting

Toronto, Canada

Press Releases

2022
July
18

Thread Group Opens Access to Third Evolution of its Wireless Networking Protocol, Enabling Matter, Improving Seamless Connectivity in Smart Homes and Buildings

The Thread Group, an industry alliance enabling IoT convergence, and addressing challenges around secu...

2022
June
13

Thread Group Establishes New Marketing Chapter in China

The Thread Group, an industry alliance addressing IoT convergence, and challenges around security, energy footprint, and architecture at the network layer, today announced the addition of a Regional Marketing Working Group in China to educate...

2021
November
03

Amazon Joins Thread Group Board of Directors

The Thread Group, an industry alliance addressing IoT convergence, and challenges around security, energy footprint, and architecture at the network layer, today announced the addition of Amazon to its Board of Directors. Amazon’s increased backing of Thread Group further demonstrates its commitment to Matter, over both Thread and Wi-Fi, and to supporting a broad range of smart home protocols, which benefits both device makers and their customers.
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Thank you for your interest in Thread!

Please provide your contact information below and we will keep you informed about our activities.


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This email will be used for all email list subscriptions & all other Thread Group automated communications.

NEWSLETTERS

In The News

2024
January
10

Thread Border Router Fix Should Improve Smart Home Networking

By: Apple Insider

Read More

2024
January
09

Thread Group Unveils Credential Sharing Feature to Propel Smart Home Interoperability

SamMobile

Read More

2024
January
08

Thread Group to Fix Smart Home Protocol's Biggest Problem

Thurrott

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PAST EVENTS

  • CES 2024 January 9-12, 2024  Las Vegas, Nevada  
  • Thread Group Members Meeting Oct 23-26, 2023 Budapest, Hungary 
  • Thread Group Members Meeting April 25-27, 2023 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
  • CES 2023 January 5-8, 2023 Las Vegas, Nevada 
  • Thread Group Members Meeting OCTOBER 25-17, 2022 Málaga, Spain 
  • Light+Building 2022 OCTOBER 2-6, 2022 Frankfurt, Germany 
  • WEBINAR: Thread 1.3.0  SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 Watch Webinar, View Presentation 
  • Thread Group Members Meeting APRIL 26-28, 2022 Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Thread Group Members Meeting OCTOBER 5-7, 2021 Virtual
  • Thread Group Members Meeting APRIL 20-22, 2021 Virtual
  • Thread Group Members Meeting NOVEMBER 3-5, 2020 Virtual
  • Works With By Silicon Labs SEPTEMBER 9-10, 2020 Virtual Conference Endorsed by Thread Group Read More
  • WEBINAR: How to Keep Your Solar Plant Safe With Google's Full-wireless OpenThread System SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 View Presentation 
  • IoT World US AUGUST 11-13 2020 Virtual Event Endorsed by Thread Group
  • WEBINAR: IoT Convergence With Thread And Project CHIP  APRIL 21, 2020 Listen to Webinar, View Presentation 
  • Thread Technology Day NOVEMBER 22 2019 Taipei, Taiwan View Presentations 
  • Smart Home Summit NOVEMBER 20-21 2019 San Francisco, California View Presentation 
  • Thread Group Members Meeting NOVEMBER 5-7 2019 Zug, Switzerland, Hosted at Siemens 
  • Arm TechCon OCTOBER 8-9 2019 San Jose, California, Thread Endorsed Learn More
  • WEBINAR: New Membership Tier, IPR Considerations And Certification
    MAY 30, 2019 View Webinar
  • Internet of Things World
    MAY 13-16, 2019 Santa Clara, California Thread Endorsed  
  • WEBINAR: Dotdot + Thread: Learn About The Specification And Streamlined Certification Programs
    JANUARY 30, 2019 View Webinar
  • Connections Summit At CES
    JANUARY 8, 2019 Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Wireless Congress
    NOVEMBER 14-15, 2018 Munich, Germany
  • Arm TechCon
    OCTOBER 16-18, 2018 San Jose, California
  • Thread Group Members Meeting
    OCTOBER 16-18, 2018 Munich, Germany
  • Particle Webinar: Going Beyond The Connected Home
    OCTOBER 11, 2018 View Webinar
  • Spectra
    OCTOBER 3, 2018 San Francisco, California
  • Thread Group Members Meeting
    JUNE 26-28, 2018 Austin, Texas
  • Thread Webinar: Developing IoT Devices With Thread
    JUNE 20, 2018 View Webinar
  • Connections
    MAY 22-24, 2018 San Francisco, California
  • Light + Building
    MARCH 18-23, 2018 Frankfurt, Germany
  • Smart Energy Summit
    FEBRUARY 19-21, 2018 Austin, Texas
  • Strategies In Light
    FEBRUARY 13-15, 2018 Long Beach, California
  • Digital Experience! @ CES 2018
    JANUARY 8, 2018 Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Thread Group Members Meeting
    NOVEMBER 15-17, 2017 Lisbon, Portugal
  • Thread + One IoT Stakeholders Summit
    SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 Munich, Germany
  • Thread Group Technology Workshop
    SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 Munich, Germany
  • Thread Group Members Meeting
    JUNE 27-29, 2017 Vancouver, Canada
  • Connected Plus
    JUNE 20-21, 2017 Vancouver, Canada
  • CONNECTIONS 2017
    Speakers Panel: Connected CE Strategies: Building Product Ecosystems
    MAY 23-25, 2017 San Francisco, California
  • IoT World Speakers Panel: Understanding The Complexity And Interoperability Of IoT Platforms
    MAY 16-18, 2017 Santa Clara, California
  • CABA Forum
    APRIL 26-28, 2017 Santa Clara, California
  • Thread Technology Workshop
    MARCH 27, 2017 Mountain View, California
  • Thread Group All Members Meeting
    FEBRUARY 14-16, 2017 Atlanta, Georgia
  • CONNECTIONS Summit At CES
    JANUARY 5, 2016 Las Vegas, Nevada
  • CES 2017
    JANUARY 5-8, 2016 Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Strategies In Light Europe
    NOVEMBER 23-24, 2016 London, UK
  • Internet Of Things World
    NOVEMBER 21-22, 2016 Dublin, Ireland
  • Thread Group All Members Meeting
    NOVEMBER 15-17, 2016 Lisbon, Portugal
  • Wireless Congress
    NOVEMBER 9-10, 2016 Munich, Germany
  • Electronica
    NOVEMBER 8-11, 2016 Munich, Germany
  • CONNECTIONS Europe
    NOVEMBER 2-3, 2016 Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Smart Home Summit
    NOVEMBER 1-2, 2016 Palo Alto, California
  • Thread Group Webinar
    JUNE 28, 2016, 2016 Online
  • Smart Home World
    JUNE 21-22, 2016 London, UK
  • Computex CPX Conference
    MAY 31-JUNE 4, 2016 Taipei, Taiwan
  • Connected Conference
    MAY 25-27, 2016 Paris, France
  • Connections
    MAY 24-26, 2016 San Francisco, California
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    MAY 11-13, 2016 Shanghai, China
  • Informa IoT World 2016
    MAY 10-12, 2016 Santa Clara, California
  • Thread Group Open House
    MAY 10, 2016 Shanghai, China
  • SMAHome
    APRIL 21-22, 2016 San Francisco, California
  • IoT West 2016
    APRIL 19-21, 2016 Taipei, Taiwan
  • Thread Group All Members Meeting
    MARCH 22-24, 2016 Redwood City, California
  • Wearable Tech Show 2016
    MARCH 15, 2016 London, UK
  • Strategies In Light
    MARCH 1-3, 2016 Santa Clara, California
  • CES
    JANUARY 6-9, 2016 Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Thread Group All Members Meeting
    NOVEMBER 18-19, 2015 Evian Resort, France
  • Cedia
    OCTOBER 16, 2015 Dallas, Texas
  • Internet Of Things World Europe
    OCTOBER 5-7, 2015 Berlin, Germany
  • Thread Open House
    OCTOBER 5, 2015 Berlin, Germany
  • Connected + Conference & Exhibition
    SEPTEMBER 28-29, 2015 Toronto, Canada
  • IoT Security 2015
    SEPTEMBER 22-23, 2015 Boston, Massachusetts
  • Thread Group All Members Meeting
    JULY 23-24, 2015 Austin, Texas
  • O'Reilly Solid, Platforms, Devices And Interoperability In The Smart Home
    JUNE 25, 2015 San Francisco, California
  • Pepcom! Digital Experience
    JUNE 18, 2015 New York City, New York
  • IoT Silicon Valley Meetup
    JUNE 18, 2015 Mountain View, California
  • Connections, Innovative Partnerships: The Connected Home Panel
    MAY 19, 2015 San Francisco, California
  • Internet Of Things World 2015
    MAY 13, 2015 San Francisco, California
  • Mobile World Congress
    MARCH 5, 2015 Barcelona, Spain
  • Stack Tutorials & First All Members Meeting
    FEBRUARY 9-11, 2015 San Jose, California
  • Thread Group Information Event
    SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 Google Campus, Mountain View, California
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