Bluetooth on nRF5340

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Yanpengwu — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 13:22:11 GMT

Hi Vidar,

I will include the fix in my application. Thank you so much for the reminder.

Best regards,
Yanpeng Wu

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Vidar Berg — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 08:56:45 GMT

Hi Yanpeng,

Your welcome. While reviewing the code, I noticed we didn't use release the force-off signal properly on bt_enable(). This is fixed by this PR: https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/pull/70162. I recommend you include this fix in your code.

Best regards,

Vidar

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Yanpengwu — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 08:45:33 GMT

Hi Vidar,

Thank you for the confirmation, I will try the mature solution 'Split Controller and Host'. Thank you very much.

Best regards,
Yanpeng Wu

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Vidar Berg — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 08:19:49 GMT

Hi Yanpeng,

Support for running the whole BT stack on the netcore is currently experimental and therefore not recommended for production. The bt_disable() function will force off the network core. And bt_enable will force it on again.

Best regards,

Vidar

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Yanpengwu — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:27:09 GMT

Hi Vidar,

Thanks for the update. Is the API bt_disable() used to close and release HCI resources on netCore in the architecture of 'Split Controller and Host'?

In my case, the BLE is only used to do the system configuration. The system is not in configuration mode most time. I'm thinking put the 'Full Bluetooth LE stack' on the netCore, and using API nrf_reset_network_force_off() (the API description, and the netCore Force-OFF mode) to power off the net-core totally from appCore when in operating mode. When need to do the system configuration, also use nrf_reset_network_force_off() to power on the netCore and connect with BLE.

Does this method make sense? Looking forward to your comments.

Best regards,
Yanpeng Wu

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Vidar Berg — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 10:51:49 GMT

Update: support for disabling the network core through bt_disable() was added in SDK v2.6.0.

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Vidar Berg — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 12:54:58 GMT

I don't believe that moving the Bluetooth host to the network core will simplify the application logic needed to dynamically power the network core on and off. The application will still be responsible for enabling and disabling the stack using the same APIs.

I will investigate this further and let you know if it can be supported with the current implementation.

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Yanpengwu — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 12:47:41 GMT

Update: I followed the sample's guide, try to run 'west build -b nrf5340dk_nrf5340_cpuapp -- -DCONFIG_BT_RPC_STACK=y' in the peripheral_uart directory to replace the default hci_rpmsg with the rpc_host on the netCore, but some CMake error appears:

CMake Error at ../../../cmake/multi_image.cmake:221 (message):
  A domain may only have a single child image.Current domain image is:
  hci_rpmsg, `hci_rpmsg` is a domain parent image, so you may add `rpc_host`
  as a child inside `hci_rpmsg`
Call Stack (most recent call first):
  ../../../cmake/multi_image.cmake:178 (add_child_image_from_source)
  ../../CMakeLists.txt:148 (add_child_image)

Should I change some configuration else in the sample peripheral_uart?

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Yanpengwu — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:41:39 GMT

Hi Vidar,

Following the above inputs, I'd like to append some questions in this line:).

Thank your suggestion, I moved the LTE modem and net stack to app-core now, it works well. In my current design, I want to use Bluetooth for system configuration only. So I'd like to put the full Bluetooth LE stack on the net-core, thus I can force-power-off the net-core when the system is not in configuration mode to save power. Could you help give some comments for this design, is it feasible, or somewhere can be optimized?

To run the full Bluetooth LE stack on the net-core, I built the samples/bluetooth/rpc_host for the netCore image and built the samples/bluetooth/peripheral_uart for the appCore image.

1. The sample can be built and I can exchange data between 'nRF Connect for Mobile' and appCore terminal successfully. But it is strange that the net-core image is not the rpc_host, it is hci_rpmsg as below.

Did I make a mistake somewhere? How can I use the rpc_host and put the full Bluetooth LE stack on the netCore?

2. To put the full Bluetooth LE stack on the net-core, I think the sample rpc_host is the right sample for netCore. Which sample is the most suitable one for my appCore? I just want to get the configuration data in my application from Bluetooth, so I think no need for UART.

I need to read the document and study the samples more, if you can give me some guidance I can have a clearer understanding. Thank you in advance:).

Best regards,
Yanpeng Wu

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Yanpengwu — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 14:48:11 GMT

Hi Vidar,

Thank you so much for your guidance, which helped me a lot and I know the right direction now:).
Thank you very much.

Best regards,
Yanpeng Wu

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Vidar Berg — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 14:23:41 GMT

Hi Yanpeng,

1. I don't foresee any problems with moving this to the appcore.

2. the RADIO peripheral cannot be accessed from the application core. Therefore, any SW requiring access to the radio must run on the network core.

Note that Bluetooth: HCI RPMsg is automatically included as a child-image if you build SDK BLE samples such has peripheral heart rate, etc. To apply configuration changes to a child image to reduce memory footprint, etc, you can create a child image folder as explained here: https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF_Connect_SDK/doc/latest/nrf/config_and_build/multi_image.html#permanent-configuration-changes-to-child-images

Best regards,

Vidar

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Yanpengwu — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 14:15:38 GMT

Hi Vidar,

Thank you for your reply. I tried to compile the sample Bluetooth: HCI RPMsg and can see that 69% Flash and 74% RAM are used.

Just as you suggested, maybe the better solution is to move the LTE modem and net stack from the net-core to the app-core. Could you help give some guidance for the below questions?

1. Now I use UART connecting to the LTE modem on net-core. I don't know if is there any obstacle to moving this from net-core to app-core? I mean the feasibility of this solution. Maybe your experiences can help me understand this point better:).
2. I see the nRF5340 net-core diagram, there is a 'RADIO' on it. Is it connected to the bluetooth controller hardware? Or can I understand that the bluetooth controller hardware is fixed on net-core?

Thank you very much.

Best regards,
Yanpeng Wu

RE: Bluetooth on nRF5340

Vidar Berg — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 12:39:35 GMT

Hello,

As described in the Protocols and use cases section of the SDK documentation, the typical configuration is to have the Bluetooth controller (hci_rpmsg) reside on the network core, and the Bluetooth host and application on the application core. The memory footprint of the controller depends on the configuration. E.g. how many connections it needs to support, GAP roles, etc. You also need to include a bootloader if you need support for FW updates.

[quote user=""]I'm using an LTE modem and enabled the net-stack and mqtt on the net-core of nRF5340, now 53% FLASH and 77% RAM are used.[/quote]

Have you considered implementing this on the application core instead?

Best regards,

Vidar