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Tools and Scripts

OpenThread Border Router (OTBR) includes a variety of tools and scripts that can be used for testing purposes.

PSKc generator

pskc generates a Pre-Shared Key for the Commissioner (PSKc). The PSKc is used to authenticate an external Thread Commissioner to a Thread network. Build and install OTBR to use this tool.

After building, pskc is located at /ot-br-posix/tools.

Parameters

The PSKc is generated from the following parameters:

  • Commissioner Credential
  • Thread Network Extended PAN ID
  • Thread Network Name

Usage

Syntax:

pskc <commissioner-credential> <extpanid> <network-name>

Example:

./pskc J01NME 1234AAAA1234BBBB MyOTBRNetwork
ee4fb64e9341e13846bbe7e1c52b6785

See External Thread Commissioning for how to use this tool with ot-ctl.

Steering data generator

steering-data uses a Bloom filter to generate a hash of the set of Joiners intended for commissioning. During commissioning, the Joiner only looks for networks advertising steering data that includes the Joiner itself. Build and install OTBR to use this tool.

After building, steering-data is located at /ot-br-posix/tools.

Parameters

The steering data is generated from the following parameters:

  • Joiner ID (EUI-64)
  • Byte length of steering data (optional, default is 16)

Usage

Syntax:

steering-data [length] <joiner-id>

Example:

./steering-data 0000b57fffe15d68
00000000000000000020000000000100

Use multiple Joiner IDs to include them all in the steering data:

./steering-data 0000b57fffe15d68 0000c57fffe15d68
00000000000080000020000000000500

Use the length parameter to change the byte length of the resulting steering data:

./steering-data 8 0000b57fffe15d68
0020000000000100

OTBR commissioner

Use otbr-commissioner to commission a Thread device from the command line. This tool is used in MeshCop (Mesh Commissioning Protocol) tests during continuous integration. Build and install OTBR to use this tool.

After building, otbr-commissioner is located at /src/commissioner.

Parameters

To successfully commissioner a Thread device with otbr-commissioner, we suggest using the following parameters at a minimum:

Parameters
Network details
--network-name
Thread network name.
--network-password
Commissioner credential.
--xpanid
Thread extended PAN ID.
Joiner details
--joiner-eui64
Factory-assigned IEEE EUI-64 of the joiner device.
--joiner-pskd
Joiner credential.
Agent details
--agent-host
Agent IP address from mDNS broadcasts.
--agent-port
Agent port from mDNS broadcasts.

Use --help for a full list of parameters.

Usage

./otbr-commissioner --network-name MyOTBRNetwork --network-password J01NME \
      --xpanid 1234AAAA1234BBBB --joiner-eui64 0000b57fffe15d68 \
      --joiner-pskd J01NU5 --agent-host 192.168.1.2 --agent-port 49191

For a shell script example, see the meshcop test script.

libcoap examples

libcoap is an open-source C implementation of CoAP. By default, OTBR builds libcoap with examples and documentation disabled.

To build the examples:

  1. Remove the --disable-examples flag from the root configure.ac file.
  2. Rebuild OTBR: 
    cd <path-to-ot-br-posix>
./script/setup

After building, libcoap examples are located at /ot-br-posix/third_party/libcoap/repo/examples.

coap-client

Use the coap-client example to test the IPv6 connectivity of your Thread network featuring OTBR. coap-client can send non-secure CoAP requests to Thread devices on the Thread network.

When sending CoAP requests to a Thread network, use the device's Global IPv6 address. This address uses the On-Mesh Prefix specified during formation of the Thread network.

For example, if a resource of /some/path has been setup on a Thread node with a Global IPv6 address of fd11:22::287f:87ca:f4b3:498a, use coap-client to send a non-secure GET request to that node:

coap-client -m get coap://[fd11:22::287f:87ca:f4b3:498a]/some/path

Other examples

The libcoap library also includes the following examples:

  • coap-server—Server-side CoAP features
  • coap-rd—Implements a CoAP Resource Directory

For more information on the libcoap library, see libcoap.net.

standalone_ipv6 script

Use the standalone_ipv6 script to test IPv6 functionality if your test or development environment does not have a full IPv6 infrastructure available (for example, if your network is not connected to an upstream IPv6 provider).

This script installs extra features on the platform running OTBR to enable the device to serve IPv6 addresses.

This script is located at /ot-br-posix/script/standalone_ipv6.