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How to provision a mesh node which is without proxy feature via proxy node

Dear support team,

I'd like to provision a mesh node which is implement on thingy and without proxy feature.

As I know, the BLE device (mobile) should communicate with mesh via proxy node.

So If I use the nRF Mesh APP(IOS.Android) as a provisioner to provision the node via the proxy node?

My computer platform is Windows, development software is Segger.

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  • Hi,

    If you want to use the nrf mesh app to provision a Thingy:52 device, you will need to use the proxy feature. If you have not already taken a look at this youtube video, I would start there. There is FW attached in the comments which you can download directly to the Thingy:52 device.

  • Hi Bjorn,

    Thanks for the reply. I've tried this demo.

    But I want to implement another scenario. I have two thingies. One is proxy node which is implement a Simple ON-OFF Server/Client(I will call it Thingy_1 here to explain my scenario), another one is only  Simple ON-OFF Server/Client without proxy feature(I will call it Thingy_2 here to explain my scenario),. And I want to use the nRF Mesh app (Or Windows app which will be developed by me)to provision the Thingy_2. But I've tried that use the nRF Mesh app and I can't see the Thingy_2 in the app. So I wonder know how provision Thingy_2 via Thingy. As I know BLE device can communicate with mesh node via proxy node. So I thought it can achieve my scenario. But it seems not, actually. If the FW part need to do something?

  • Sorry for the delayed response. The reason you cannot see Thingy_2 in the app is because it does not have the proxy role enabled. Just so I understand this correctly: you want Thingy_1 to have the proxy feature & Thingy_2 to not have the proxy feature. Do you then want to provision Thingy_1 via the nRF Mesh app & provision Thingy_2 via Thingy_1?

  • Well...half correct. I  want to provision Thingy_1 via the nRF Mesh app or our APP & provision Thingy_2 with the nRF Mesh app or our APP but via node(Thingy_1 ). I wonder know how to do it. Can I create a model on proxy node named provision. And when I receive a write command to enable the provision. I will do auto provision( I saw the function in Thingy_Bridge node). This is my plan. But I don't know is that the correct way.

    So I need your advice. By the way, another question. In nRF Mesh APP, the provision process is using the Mesh Provisioning Service to do  provision. The reading and control process is using the  Mesh Proxy Service which means the app sent a proxy pdu that be included in Mesh  to communicate with the node to achieve the function. Am I right? 

  • You may be able to provision Thingy_2 via Thingy_1 if you port the remote provisioning example to the Thingy_1 (see client & server example). I would take a look at the remote provisioning example first. Is the reason you want to provision Thingy_2 via Thingy_1 because Thingy_2 is out of range of Thingy_1?

    Yes, you are correct that the reading & control process of the generic on/off model uses the Mesh Proxy Service & the app sends a proxy pdu to communicate with the proxy node.

  • Dear Bjorn,

    Thanks for your reply .According your question: 

    Q: Is the reason you want to provision Thingy_2 via Thingy_1 because Thingy_2 is out of range of Thingy_1?

    My answer is as below:

    A:  Actually, the Thingy_2  nearby Thingy_1 . But Thingy_1(proxy node)  can communicate with BLE device and Thingy_2 (A normal mesh node)can't. I want to implement provisioner on PC(Windows) which acts as a BLE device and to provision both of them. Base on the Mesh spec. BLE device can communicate with mesh node via proxy node. Theoretically, the PC( I will develop a Windows app to be a provisionor) can provision the Thingy_2  via Thingy_1. My question is how to do that?Can I create a model on proxy node named provision. And when I receive a write command to enable the provision. I will do auto provision( I saw the function in Thingy_Bridge node). This is my plan. But I don't know is that the correct way. And I have seen the remote provisioning example and it didn't have proxy feature. So I think this isn't my solution. 

  • Have you taken a look at the interactive pyACI script in mesh sdk v2.1.1? You can run this with the serial example. That way, you could use a nrf52 dk as the mesh serial interface device to the Thingy_1 & Thingy_2 & you would not need to use the proxy feature at all. The interactive pyaci script runs via python 3 & the regular windows command line interface. 

    Another solution would be to create a nrf connect for pc app (see link here for documentation & a good starting point app for development) & use a 52 DK or the 52840 dongle to interface from the windows pc to the Thingy_1 proxy node over BLE. It is recommended to use a dongle or nrf52832 dk to interface via windows because this will most likely work out of the box & we have noticed various issues with the Windows Bluetooth drivers when trying to connect directly from a Windows PC to another Nordic device.

    Are you referring to this Thingy_Bridge node found here? It could be useful to take a look at this Thingy demo FW here instead, as the first link uses an outdated version of the mesh sdk (v1.0.1), whereas the second link uses mesh sdk v2.0.1. Version 1.0.1 does not have a qualified Mesh Bluetooth stack, while v2.0.1 does. I do not believe the Thingy_Bridge node uses the proxy feature either (as this was not out in v1.0.1), so I would suggest taking a good look at the provisioner light switch example in mesh sdk v2.1.1 & modifying that to start provisioning when you receive a message from the computer to start provisioning. Hope that helps!

     

Reply
  • Have you taken a look at the interactive pyACI script in mesh sdk v2.1.1? You can run this with the serial example. That way, you could use a nrf52 dk as the mesh serial interface device to the Thingy_1 & Thingy_2 & you would not need to use the proxy feature at all. The interactive pyaci script runs via python 3 & the regular windows command line interface. 

    Another solution would be to create a nrf connect for pc app (see link here for documentation & a good starting point app for development) & use a 52 DK or the 52840 dongle to interface from the windows pc to the Thingy_1 proxy node over BLE. It is recommended to use a dongle or nrf52832 dk to interface via windows because this will most likely work out of the box & we have noticed various issues with the Windows Bluetooth drivers when trying to connect directly from a Windows PC to another Nordic device.

    Are you referring to this Thingy_Bridge node found here? It could be useful to take a look at this Thingy demo FW here instead, as the first link uses an outdated version of the mesh sdk (v1.0.1), whereas the second link uses mesh sdk v2.0.1. Version 1.0.1 does not have a qualified Mesh Bluetooth stack, while v2.0.1 does. I do not believe the Thingy_Bridge node uses the proxy feature either (as this was not out in v1.0.1), so I would suggest taking a good look at the provisioner light switch example in mesh sdk v2.1.1 & modifying that to start provisioning when you receive a message from the computer to start provisioning. Hope that helps!

     

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