Overview

The Thread is a plug and play data aggregation instrument that is used to power and connect any sensemetrics integrated device/sensor. The Thread will automatically create a Mesh node network to transfer data back to the gateway and onto the sensemetrics cloud/enterprise server.

This Article will cover the following topics

• Thread Overview
• Adding a Thread as a Connection
• Modifying a Thread (Settings)
• Sharing a Thread

 

Thread Overview 

Thread as a Connection

The Thread will be added as a connection within the sensemetrics hierarchy of Connections, Devices, and Sensors. 

 

Each Thread Can Have Two Devices

A Thread has two Device ports on it that can be configured to any supported Device. Each Device can then have any number of sensors associated with it.

 

Sensors are Dependent on the Device

A Device can have one or many sensors associated with it, all dependent on the device. Sensors are where the data will be collected and associated with.

 

Below is an example of how a Thread might be configured with associated Device and Sensors.

This Thread has one device configured on it, a Vibrating Wire datalogger that has a single Piezometer attached to it. The Piezometer will be added into the sensor section as an individual sensor. The datalogger can also read it's own battery Voltage and temperature which will be added as additional sensors as well. Choose these sensors from the sensor selection tool in the Analytics modules to graph any metric read by each sensor.

Each Thread will have three default sensors associated with it for Thread diagnostics: Voltage, Signal Strength, and Temperature. These can be selected and plotted as well.

 

Adding a Thread

Here, we will learn how to simply add a Thread to your sensemetrics server. First, make sure you have properly set up your Thread network and the LED is flashing green. If not, learn how in Setting up the Network.

 

 

Login to the sensemetrics cloud server, app.sensemetrics.com or your privately hosted Enterprise solution at the IP Address assigned to the appliance.

STEP 1

Click the Connectivity tab at the top of the page.

 

STEP 2

Press the +Connection button in the Connections Column

 

STEP 3

Select + Add THREAD 

 

STEP 4

Enter the 6 digit Connect Code of the Thread located on the label on the back of the Thread and click Save

 

Congratulations, you have successfully added a Thread! You are now ready to Add a Device.

 

Thread Settings

Each Thread has settings that the User is able to customize. To do this, click on the Thread you wish to edit and it will bring you to the following screen.

Details regarding a Thread are seen here. Some fields are editable and some are not. A brief overview of each field is described below.

 

Connect Code

The Connect Code for the Thread is shown here. This is how you can identify each Thread. 

 

Network State

Network State will display whether a Thread is a Gateway or an endpoint. Gateway denotes that the Thread is connected directly to the network or has cellular connectivity and other Threads can link wirelessly to this specific Thread and into the network. Endpoint denotes that a Thread is not connected directly and is connected to a Gateway through the wireless mesh node network automatically created.

Threads will always try to be a Gateway. Thread's follow a hierarchy of connectivity (shown below).

1. Network connectivity via the onboard network port
2. Cellular connectivity via a cellular network in the area (only if the Thread has cellular capabilities)
3. Wireless mesh connectivity via other Gateway Threads in the area

Note: Threads will always try to reach "Gateway" status. For example, if a Thread is an endpoint communicating through the wireless mesh and a network connection is introduced the Thread will automatically jump to stage 1 of the hierarchy listed above.

 

Power Mode

This editable field shows whether a Thread is in "Low Power" or "Always On".

Always On means a Thread will be continuously powered on and available to process commands or data.

Low Power is a power conservation mode that puts the Thread to sleep to save energy. The Thread will wake up every hour at the top of the hour to take a single reading, receive any command sent to it within the last hour, and go back to sleep. Low Power is indicated by a icon next to the Thread.

By default, Low Power will effectively have a sampling frequency of once per 1 hour. The Thread will stay awake for approximately 5 minutes before going back to sleep. This can be changed in the Power Mode settings in the Thread settings screen.

Once you have selected Low Power mode, there are a number of options to customize your Thread's wake pattern under the Advanced Settings menu.

Wake Frequency: How often the Thread wakes up to take a reading. This is based on UTC (e.g. a 4 hour Wake Frequency will trigger at 0000UTC, 0400UTC, 0800UTC, etc).

Wake Duration: How long the Thread will stay awake each time it turns on.

Time Slot: How long from the top of the hour the Thread will wait to wake. (based on the example above, a Time Slot of +20 minutes will wake at 0020UTC, 0420UTC, 0820UTC, etc).

 

Power Mode Scheduling

Scheduling allows you to set certain times throughout the day to put the Thread into either "Low Power" or "Always On". This functionality is useful when saving energy is extremely important.

Click on "+Add power mode schedule" to add a scheduling command.

Specify the mode and time you would like and click the check mark to accept the schedule.

Below is a simple schedule set to put the Thread to sleep at night and wake up during the day.

Note: When a Thread is in low power mode, it will only wake up at the top of the hour to receive any command that has been sent to it. For example, if a thread is in low power and the scheduler is set to put the thread in Always on at 5:30AM, the Thread will still only wake up at 6AM to receive that command and then go into Always on.

 

Connection Name

This editable field is the name of the Thread that will show up on the rest of your sensemetrics page. This can be changed to whatever the User desires. Filtering can be applied using the name given.

Location: Enter the coordinates of the Thread to keep track of its location.

 

Notes

A user can add anything to this field. These notes will be associated with the connection which can then be used when filtering. 

If any changes are made, click Save to write the settings.

 

Sharing a Thread

The process for sharing a Thread with another user is a simple process. On the Connections page, click the "Share this connection" button on the right-hand side of the desired Thread.

This will open the "Set user permissions for connection" dialog:

From here you can adjust this connection's permissions for yourself and other users. This includes sharing this Thread to other users. Begin by typing the user's name, username, or email address in the text box provided. The dialog will provide autocomplete suggestions as you type.

When you see the desired user appear, select them and click Add User. Their name will populate on the list of users and you may now adjust their permissions as desired.

 

Sharing with Multiple Users

It is also possible share multiple connections at a time. To do so, select any number of connections by checking the box on the left-hand side. Once you have all the desired connections selected, you can share them all by clicking the share icon at the top of the Connections section.

From there, the process is the same as sharing a single connection.

 

Archiving All Sensors

Archiving a THREAD allows you to save all the data and device/sensor configuration settings to a virtual THREAD for the purpose of swapping out sensors or devices while still having access to past data. To Archive a THREAD, click the archive button right of the Connect Code on the THREAD Configuration page.

 

Swapping Sensors to Another Thread

You can swap all devices and sensors from one THREAD to another in a single function. On the THREAD configuration page, click the double arrow button next to the THREAD connect code. 

From there, choose your target THREAD and the device ports for the previous THREAD's associated devices, then click Submit.

SWAPPING SENSORS TO ANOTHER DEVICE PORT ON THE SAME THREAD

To swap a device from one device port to another on the same THREAD, you must first archive the sensors on that THREAD. Once the data has been transferred to an archive node, you can open the archive node configuration page and follow the Swapping Sensors to a New Thread method, selecting the new device port as the new target port.