60 Series SOM with WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.1

Yes, 60 series is able to support ACS in AP mode.

To enable ACS mode, with summit supplicant, need to set "acs= 1" under network setting segment and it will scan first then choose the best channel to run as AP mode.

Here is an example of wpa_supplicant.conf with ACS enable,

# cat /etc/wpa_supplicant_ap.conf

ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant_1

network={

    ssid="miles-hotspot"

    mode=2

    frequency=2412

    acs=1

    psk="miles123"

    proto=RSN

    key_mgmt=WPA-PSK

}

There was a change in kernel 5.19 and higher, lrd-11 is built against the kernel 6.1 kernel backports), where there is a requirement to add cfg80211 to your image as a module (m) in the base platform kernel configuration. It must not be left out and must not be included as built-in (y). Networking support->Wireless->cfg80211 - wireless configuration API

There was a change in kernel 5.19 and higher, lrd-11 is built against the kernel 6.1 kernel backports), where there is a requirement to add cfg80211 to your image as a module (m) in the base platform kernel configuration. It must not be left out and must not be included as built-in (y).

• Networking support->Wireless->cfg80211 - wireless configuration API

I am seeing an error: error: 'struct net_device' has no member named 'ieee80211_ptr' while trying to build the lrd-11.0 release in Yocto.

This is due to a change in kernel 5.19 and higher, (lrd-11.0 is built against 6.1 kernel backports), where there is a requirement to add cfg80211 to your image.

To accomplish this:

1. Edit your kernel configuration by entering

   bitbake -c menuconfig virtual/kernel

2. Edit Networking support/Wireless and set cfg80211 to "M" for module
3. Save your changes.
4. Run your build again.

It is possible to bring up an AP on the IG60/SOM60 with network manager. If the connection is marked as "autoconnect" it will come up even after reboot. Property: connection.autoconnect: yes

However in so called APSTA mode (simultaneous station / AP operation) each connection (station and AP) need to have their own interface.

The standard interface is wlan0. For the AP it is necessary to define a secon interface, for example ap0:

iw phy0 interface add ap0 type __ap

This setting however is not persistent, hence it needs to be definded upon every reboot of the IG60/SOM60.

This could be achieved by adding above line to a script in /etc/profile.d. For example:

cat /etc/profile.d/add_ap0.sh

iw phy0 interface add ap0 type __ap

With this script being present the interface ap0 will be avaiable after each reboot.

AWM, if active, sets the regulatory domain and country of the 60 radio to the current location with the help of beacons it recieves from surrounding access points.

While it is mandatory to be FCC compliant, the routine to determine the location must run every 30min. This is a draw-back for softAPs created on the 60-radio as connections will be interupted every 30min. Some clients may take this less grazefully than others.

Running the AWM routine regularily is not mandatory for the other regulatory domains the 60-series is certified for, though. For those it is enough that the loaction is determined upon the first run of the routine and it as not to be repeated after that. That is what AWM-lite does.

So, for radios only deployed in regulatory domains ISED, ETSI, MIC, KC AWM-lite can be used, which also enables the seamless use of the 60-radio as softAP in conjunction with AWM(-lite).

It is also good practice to consult "app_note_60_summit_awm" which is located in the documents archive of a 60-radio software release.

From release 10.140.0.12 there is an easy way to set the MAC addresse for the two Ethernet phys on the 60-SOM and the IG60.

The command is called "mac". Please see example below:

# mac
Eth0:
Eth1:

# mac --help
usage: write: mac [-f] [xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx]
       read: mac

# mac -f 11:22:33:44:55:66
Eth0: 11:22:33:44:55:67
Eth1: 11:22:33:44:55:66

# mac
Eth0: 11:22:33:44:55:67
Eth1: 11:22:33:44:55:66

The countries listed in the Radio Release Notes (RRN) are those the module can be set to for regulatory testing and operation.

This enables users and their test houses to do regulatory testing for a very large number of countries by just setting the correct country for the correct channel and power settings.

However test reports have only been created for the countries that can be found in the documents under the "Certification" tab of the web landing page for the module.

For the 60-series those are:
USA (FCC), EU, UK (UKCA), Canada (ISED), Japan (MIC), Korea (KC), Australia, New Zealand

The repo tool is often available to be installed using a package manager. In the case you're facing challenges with this method, or would like to directly add the repo files to your path, the following commands can be used:

sudo wget https://storage.googleapis.com/git-repo-downloads/repo -O /usr/local/bin/repo
sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/repo

When you run the repo init command for the first time you will be asked to configure your name and email. You can also set these values with the following commands:

git config --global user.email "you@example.com"
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global color.ui true

With newer builds there are no default connections for Ethernet eth0 and eth1 anymore.
That prevents the device from getting an IP address to SSH in at.

In order to be able to establish an SSH connection again, it is possible to log in to the device through the serial debug console and define an Ethernet connection with this simple command:

# nmcli con add type ethernet con-name eth-connection ifname eth1
# nmcli con show
NAME            UUID                                  TYPE      DEVICE
eth-connection  a6183425-8fd1-4e06-9ff5-7a8d0bb5b346  ethernet  eth1

Routers providing IP addresses through DHCP will now issue an IP address to the 60SOM or IG60 again. If no DHCP is available, IP addresses can be added manually:

# nmcli con mod "eth-connection" ipv4.addresses "aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd"

Yes, Laird´s 60-radios support 4-addr mode and layer-2 bridging with Lairds specialized SUMMIT Wifi stack.

This functionality requires the use of software version 10.4.0.10 (Gihub) or newer and Lairds Summit Software stack for the 60-series modules: /wireless-modules/wifi-modules-bluetooth/summit-software-stack-60-series

This is supported on all 60-radios including SU60-SIPT, SU60-2230-C, SOM60 and SOM8M+.

You can also reference this tutorial: https://lairdcp.github.io/guides/Sterling-60-Tutorials/1.0/4addr-mode.html

No, LE coded is not supported in ST60.

Follow IEEE spec as below:

The transmitter center frequency tolerance shall be ± 20 ppm maximum for the 5 GHz band and ± 25 ppm maximum for the 2.4 GHz band. The different transmit chain center frequencies (LO) and each transmit chain symbol clock frequency shall all be derived from the same reference oscillator.

The internal memory of the 60SOM (and also the 60SOM DVK of course) can be flashed by the means of the program "fw_update" available in Laird Linux generic image downloadable from Laird.

There is no need to use a tftp server from U-boot.

A prerequisite of course is that the SDcard interface of the 60SOM is brought out and console access is available as is on the 60SOM DVK.

This is the process:

• Boot with generic 60SOM image from Laird from SDcard
• Issue “fw_update -m complete <url or path to .swu file>”
• Remove SDcard
• Reboot

<url or path to .swu file> can be on a USB stick, a network location, the SDcard itself, etc.

The .swu file will have been generated after succesfully bulding an image for the 60SOM for example in folder:
~/Projects/laird/som60/7.648.0.13/buildroot/output/som60/images

Note: this is just an example. Your full path will very likely be different.

Wifi adapters by default often come up in a power save mode. That is a mode in which the adapter shuts off the network connection in a state of inactivity.

While this is a good way to achieve additional power savings it of course introduces a delay for re-connecting.

To set the mode on or off:

iw wlan0 set power_save on
iw wlan0 set power_save off

To query the current setting issue:

iw wlan0 get power_save

Some systems might require "sudo" in front of the commands to be exectuted.

When you issue the following command on an embedded Linux system with mounted debugfs and correctly integrated 60-series radio, you, for example get the below information:

# cat /sys/class/ieee80211/phyX/device/lrd/info

Driver name : lrdmwl
Chip type   : 88W8997-SDIO
HW  version : 7
FW  version : 5.5.46.5
DRV version : 9.32.0.13
OTP version : 1
OTP num mac : 3
Radio Type  : SU
MAC address : c0:ee:40:50:2a:70
Region code : 0x10 (0x10)
Country code: 'US' ('US')
TX antenna  : 2
RX antenna  : 2

The country/region code on the left is the current code that is used by the system at that moment, whereas the one in parentheses is what is currently in OTP.

The only time they might not match is when using Advanced World Mode (AWM).

The used region codes are:

0x00: WW (World Wide)
0x10: FCC
0x20: IC
0x30: ETSI
0x31: KCC
0x32: AU
0x40: JP
0x50: CN

"phyX" in above command will have to be replaced with the actual phy your module is known to your system. e.g. phy0, phy1, phy2, phy3,...

When you have an agreement with Laird to send in your device for testing of anything around your radio you need to make sure your radio can be set to all necessary test modes.

In order to do that please contact the Laird FAE already known to you or write to Laird at "support@lairdconnect.com" to get in contact with us.

Your FAE will be able to help you determine if your device is fit for testing.

After booting the latest standard 60-som image from SDcard you can use "fw_update" to write the swu file to the 60-soms NAND memory.

Usage:

fw_update -m complete <path to swu-file>

<path to swu file> can be to a USB drive, a networl location, a swu-file on the SDcard, etc.

E.g. with a USB Stick mounted at /media and the som60.swu file present on the USB stick top directory:

fw_update -m complete /media/som60.swu

When setting the 60 module to WorldWide mode all 5GHz channels are set to "no IR" - no Initiate Radio by default.
However when there are APs present that beacon on the 60s WW channles the "no IR" flag will be removed and does not show anymore when probing the module with "iw phy<X> info".

For example:
                       * 5260 MHz [52] (20.0 dBm) (no IR, radar detection)
versus
                       * 5260 MHz [52] (20.0 dBm) (radar detection)

Calculations show that the OTP in the 60-series can be written to well more than 100 times.

That is in contradiction with some apps notes that still state a value of 10 times. That luckily is not true. You can savely consider a number 100 times during your development work.

However, as the term OTP (One-Time-Programmable) memory suggests it will fill up one by one with every change of the regualtory domain and will eventually be full. It will then be stuck with the last regualtory doamin that it has been changed to.
So, it is advised to not change the regulatory as part of your design as the OTP will top up eventually.

The LMU tool offers the possibilty to set the regualtory domain the 60 module is going to be used in at the command line in an OTP memory.

This can be done by selecting the respective regualtory domain (e.g. ETSI, FCC, etc.) as well as by selecting the country code of the desired country (e.g. US, NZ, DK, FR, DE)

A comprehnsive list of available options is shown when exectung the LMU tool by simply typing "lmu" <enter>.

Yes, actually up to three APs with different SSIDs are possible to be created on the very same 60-radio.
The 60-radio is required because it supports up to three MAC addresses.

Each AP will have to be created on the very same channel as there is only one singel radio in the 60 module.

Of course since this must all be on the same channel in the same band heavy constraints with throughput and bandwidth have to be taken in account.

You need to boot into Linux and after Login log in issue the command

fw_setenv ethaddr <desired MAC address> 

for example:

fw_setenv ethaddr AABBCCDDEEFF

and reboot

You can read out the address previously set with:

fw_printenv ethaddr

Please refer this blog as below. Laird are currently investigating these issues internally and investigating with the chipset vendors and our internal QA team to establish test scenarios to evaluate the impacted devices.

/resources/blog/frag-attack-wi-fi-putting-pieces-back-together

Once you have created the soft AP on your Linux system and have successfully connected clients to the soft AP you can issue the command:

# iw wlan0 station dump

This will get a list of connected clients. 

Note: the interface name (here: wlan0) might be different in your system.

You can use the Network Manager command line interface to create an open hotspot using this command:

MCS stands for Modulation Coding Scheme and is an industry metric index based on Wi-Fi connection parameters between a client and wireless access point. These parameters include modulation type, coding rate, spatial streams, channel width, and guard interval.