Industrial low-power wireless sensor networks demand high reliability and adaptability to cope with dynamic environments and evolving network requirements. While the 6TiSCH protocol stack provides reliable low-power communication, the CoAP Management Interface (CORECONF) for runtime management remains underutilized. In this work, we implement CORECONF and introduce clustering as a practical use case. We implement a cluster formation mechanism aligned with the Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) and adjust the TSCH channel-hopping sequence within the established clusters. Two use cases are presented. First, CORECONF is used to mitigate external Wi-Fi interference by forming a cluster with a modified channel set that excludes the affected frequencies. Second, CORECONF is employed to create a priority cluster of sensor nodes that require higher reliability and reduced latency, such as those monitoring critical infrastructure in industrial settings. Simulation results show significant improvements in latency, while practical experiments demonstrate a reduction in overall network charge consumption from approximately 50 mC per hour to 23 mC per hour, by adapting the channel set within the interference-affected cluster.

Low-power wireless networks are increasingly deployed in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environments to ensure reliable and secure operation of machinery. One of the key requirements for these networks is reliability, which hinges on the ability to continuously assess the network’s health a challenge addressed by Application Performance Monitoring (APM). Within APM, transmitting performance metrics, particularly in low-power networks, must be efficient to preserve battery life. This paper addresses various APM approaches, including In-band Network Telemetry (INT), which leverages multi-hop topologies to append telemetry data to existing packets. We propose HyPM, a novel hybrid method that combines active monitoring with INT to meet user requirements for telemetry scope and frequency while improving energy efficiency by $31 \%$. Simulations in the Contiki-NG network simulator demonstrate the superiority of HyPM in balancing energy consumption and data reporting accuracy.

Bit errors in wireless communication predominantly stem from external interference as well as from multipath fading and attenuation. In order to tackle these harmful influences, the IEEE 802.15.4 standard includes time slotted channel hopping. We have collected packets containing bit errors from 200,000 packets generated in two different testbeds. We show that the channels used in IEEE 802.15.4 exhibit different error patterns typical for either external interference or multi-path fading and attenuation. These insights allow to detect, classify and quantify the presence of these phenomena. Furthermore, practical use cases for exploiting the knowledge on error patterns on a per-channel basis are presented. We propose to choose Forward Error Correction on a per channel basis and provide reference values in terms of code error correcting capability required to recover from 50% of the occurred packet errors on certain channels.