Topology-based Device Self-identification in Wireless Mesh Networks

Abstract: In the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), commissioning is the process of securely adding a new device to a network. It covers many different tasks, including the physical deployment of devices and configuration of parameters. It is network installers who need to manually commission each device one by one with the help of commissioning tools. In practice, the first task for a network installer is to identify each device correctly before configuring it with proper parameters. Individually identifying each device, especially in a large network, is a very time-consuming process. This is also known as the identification problem. This project is going to address the problem.A novel device identification approach is presented in the thesis, and there is no human intervention involved in the identification process. Devices are trying to identify themselves based on predefined rules and given information. The approach is therefore called device self-identification, and it is implemented in two different algorithms. One is the centralized device selfidentification, and the other is the distributed device self-identification. In short, only one device participates in the device identification process in the centralized approach, and in the distributed counterpart, every device is part of the identification process.The results of the implementations show the potential of the new way to identify devices in IoT. Devices in both the centralized approach and the distributed approach are able to identify themselves given necessary information about the network. A detailed discussion regarding the two proposed algorithms and the network information is presented in the thesis.