Use skyconnect zbt-1 as OpenThread Border Router on a remote host?

Configuration Matter/Thread
1

I have a skyconnect/zbt-1 that I have been using as a zigbee controller for a while… but because my HomeAssistant server is a VM on a server in my basement, I eventually got a Raspberry Pi to host it somewhere more central to my house, and use ser2net to expose the serial port to HA over the (wired) network.

I want to convert it to a thread controller (I will first migrate my zigbee network to a different controller), but keep it plugged into the remote pi. It looks like I’ll need to install the OpenThread Border Router on the pi, and run that directly connected to the ZBT-1, and then specify the border router’s API address when configuring Thread in HomeAssistant.

The part that isn’t clear to me is how to flash the thread firmware to the ZBT-1 if it isn’t plugged directly into the HomeAssistant OS box. Is there a simple howto for that process that I can run manually on the pi?

The official instructions seem to suggest the only way to do this is with the ZBT-1 directly plugged into the HA system (or VM) and while configuring it to run the OpenThread border router add-on in HAOS directly… but I’m honestly not sure I’d trust flashing the firmware over a forwarded USB connection to the VM - firmware flashing often makes the device temporarily show up as another ID, which would need to be forwarded separately, possibly resetting it and screwing up the firmware flash.

Also, if anyone knows, are these the best instructions for installing the OpenThread Border Router on the pi, or is there a binary distribution available that is recommended for HomeAssistant use?

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I was going to recommend that you install the full-blown HA onto the Pi and use it as the OTBR. Full-blown HA has had a lot of work done (and continues as such) to get Matter and Thread working. Plus it can be used to reflash and update your ZBT-1 automatically. On the other hand, for your Zigbee, HAOS doesn’t seem to support a ser2net server, and not sure that there is an AddOn for it either. You could of course use ZigBee2MQTT on the Pi.

The only other option that comes to mind is that the HA OTBR AddOn supports connecting to a remote “network_device” (IP address and port) where the network device is “a network-based RCP”. The only network-based RCP that I have heard about that works this way is a PoE based device from SMLIGHT SLZB-06/M. I think you can bypass the powering via Ethernet and power instead via USB?