Hi,
I just create my brand new Thread network and comissioning my first Thread Matter device. Now I wonder, how to add a second border router to my existing network?
Currently the OpenThread Border Router integration only support a single instance, unfortunately 
We are working on support multiple, hopefully this lands soon 
Actually, there are two problems here: The OpenThread Border Router add-on and The OpenThread Border Router integration. The integration part we intend to fix soon.
Currently it is also only possible to install/run a single add-on instance. However, runnign two instances at on the same machine is usually also not helpful: You want to spread out the BRs. So ideally you install another OTBR instance on a different machine.
To control such a second instance, as a work around to the problem that the integration only supports one instance, you should be able to just delete the current one from the integration and add just the second one, and configure it from the Thread configuration panel. The OTBR is self-contained, so the first instance should continue to run with the last configuration. You just won’t be able to control it anymore from the Thread configuration panel.
Do you have some Updates regarding multiple border routers?
I’m thinking on this some … I already have two HA instances, each instance running OTBR-AddOn w. Thread/OTBR Integration. I have both TBRs using the same Thread dataset, so they are both on the same Thread network. Each Thread integration knows its local dataset as well as the remote’s dataset.
So in the case where there is only one HA instance running a local OTBR AddOn and there is the desire to have a second OTBR instance on another machine but controlled by the one HA instance, then is it the case that the second OTBR is not implemented as an HA AddOn, but something else (Docker)?
If no, and the second OTBR is an AddOn running on a second instance of HA, then what would be the advantage of having one HA instance control the OTBR of the second instance?
Best Regards
I’m interested in this too. I’ve been looking forward to using thread like WiFi, deploy PoE TBRs like you would an access point. Deploy additional TBRs for redundancy and to increase coverage. In my deployment, WiFi is my strongest and most resilient signaling protocol because I have 3 APs. Its only drawback is battery powered devices. I’m hoping thread can solve for that.
@agners Thanks for your work on OTBR! Does this PR help improve stability in networks that mix Apple Home and OTBR devices?
I recently added a SkyConnect to my Home Assistant server, joining it to an existing Thread network. Since then, most of my Thread devices frequently go offline. The only Thread device I can monitor is my HomeKit device: it stays online for 1-3 minutes, then goes offline, and reliably reconnects exactly 30 minutes later. I cannot track the thread status of all my Matter devices, as the Matter integration doesn’t seem to log the status.
About a year ago, I merged my Apple Home and OTBR Thread networks with similarly unstable results. I thought I’d give it another try, but it seems the issues persist. I might end up buying another HomePod Mini or Apple TV instead of using my existing SkyConnect.
Do you know if anyone is actively working on these stability issues? I haven’t found any specific GitHub issues related to this, but navigating the HA project can be overwhelming without knowing exactly where to look. Thanks!
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EDIT: There’s nothing in the logs for Home Assistant Core, Open Thread Border Router and Matter Server for this time frame.
EDIT2: Removing the device from HA, resetting and readding it caused the issues with this specific device to disappear. I noticed its Thread status changed from Leader to Router. So the problem might be caused if a Router device decides to take additional responsibilities as a Leader.
@agners Can you please help to figure out how to connect additional Thread Boarder Router to existing Thread Network. I have Home Assistant Yellow flashed with Thread only, OpenThread add-on and integration configured. Everything works as excepted. I bought SLZB-06M to extend my Thread network. I reflashed SLZB-06M with Thread only firmware. How do I add it to existing thread network? Do I need second instance of Home Assistant to install addon? Or is it possible to connect it to existing one somehow?
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