Matter OTA Test

[Tony]

I would like to test updating my Matter device based on the nRF5340 using the Matter OTA.

I am reading the documentation here:

https://project-chip.github.io/connectedhomeip-doc/examples/ota-provider-app/linux/README.html

I found the ota-provider-app source in the nordic folder, but when I try to run the build script mentioned on that page I get a ton of errors about missing thirdparty stuff.

I am trying to build and run this on MacOS.

Please tell me if this is possible and if so how to do it.

[Marte Myrvold]

HI,

The guide for the OTA Provider app in the nRF Connect SDK can be found in our documentation here: Device Firmware Upgrade over Matter. It differs slightly from the guide you link to, so I recommend following the guide in our documentation instead.

Regardless, the OTA Provider is a Linux application not officially supported on MacOS. Do you have a computer running Linux that you can test with?

Best regards,
Marte

[Tony]

I will create a virtual machine on my mac with linux. Can you think of any reason that won't work?

I also noticed they talk about needing a boarder router and give instructions on creating one with an RPi. If I am connecting to a Smartthings hub, does that count as the boarder router or do I still need the RPi?

[Marte Myrvold]

Hi,

Tony said:

I will create a virtual machine on my mac with linux. Can you think of any reason that won't work?

Running chip-tool or OTA Provider on a virtual machine normally does not work well, as the PC running these applications must be on the same Wi-Fi network as the Thread Border Router. A virtual machine is typically "connected" to the network through the host computer, so you will need to forward the Wi-Fi interface of the host to the virtual machine so that the virtual machine uses this instead of the simulated Ethernet connection to the host. The same goes for Bluetooth if you are to commission your Matter device using chip-tool on a virtual machine. I would not recommend using virtual machine for this.

Tony said:

I also noticed they talk about needing a boarder router and give instructions on creating one with an RPi. If I am connecting to a Smartthings hub, does that count as the boarder router or do I still need the RPi?

In theory, you can use the Smartthings hub as the Thread border router. However, you should use chip-tool for Matter controller instead of the Smartthings hub. It should be possible to use the Smartthings hub only for Thread and run the Matter fabric using chip-tool, but then you need to get the credentials of the Thread network running on the hub in order to commission the devices. I would recommend using a Raspberry Pi and OpenThread Border Router instead.

Best regards,
Marte

[Tony]

Thank you for the information about using a VM and border router.

Sounds like I really should use a RPi for the router and another for a Linux computer. RPi to the rescue...

I am wondering whether the Thread border router will replace the Smartthings hub or use them together?

[Marte Myrvold]

Hi,

In this scenario, the OpenThread Border Router (OTBR) on RPi would replace the Smartthings hub. We usually recommend starting with OTBR and chip-tool when developing Matter applications since you get more control over the Thread network and Matter fabric. If anything does not work, you can get logs from the Matter controller (chip-tool), which you cannot get when using commercial ecosystems. Later, you can test it with commercial ecosystems.

However, you can test both together by using the multiple fabrics feature. To do so, first commission the device using chip-tool, then follow steps 1-3 under Multi-admin scenario and the section related to Samsung Smartthings under "Stage 3: Sharing Matter over Thread Light Bulb from Google to the SmartThings ecosystem"  in Matter: Testing the nRF Connect platform with Apple, Google and Samsung ecosystems.

Best regards,
Marte