Microsoft Has Joined Thread Group To Enable Universal Interoperability In IoT

Microsoft is already part of AllSeen Alliance and they have added support for AllJoyn in Windows 10. AllJoyn is a software framework and set of services to enable interoperability among connected devices to create dynamic proximal networks. Now, Microsoft has joined the Thread Group which is responsible for the market education around the Thread networking protocol and certification of Thread products. Thread is an IP-based wireless networking protocol that addresses the need for a new and better way to connect products in the home. With Thread, product developers and consumers can easily and securely connect more than 250 devices into a low-power, wireless mesh network.

Thread is a communication layer that provides secure and efficient packet delivery using industry-standard protocols. Thread builds a resilient mesh network that can transport many different protocols and application standards. As such it will complement Microsoft’s existing implementation of the AllJoyn framework.  AllJoyn allows devices to autonomously discover and interact with nearby products regardless of their underlying communications protocols, which dovetails neatly with Thread, where Thread provides a robust and reliable mesh over which AllJoyn will be able to communicate using TCP or UDP.

Thread is designed to work over standard 802.15.4 radios and its native use of IPv6 means it can easily route messages to WiFi networks and the broader Internet. This simplifies how IoT devices in a Thread mesh network can interact with cloud services, such as the Microsoft Azure IoT services, to lower TCO and provide significantly greater value in commercial IoT deployments.

Read more about it here.