DFU-OTA over BLE compatibility query: S110 and SDK version

RE: DFU-OTA over BLE compatibility query: S110 and SDK version

sidekick — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 15:29:58 GMT

From this and this discussion, it seems that I need to enable Mutual exclusion between CPU and RF as I'm using IC revision 2 with Softdevice v8.0.0. Please confirm if the ordering is correct.

static void enable_cpu_rf_mutex(void)
{
    uint32_t opt_id;
    uint32_t err_code;
    ble_opt_t ble_cpu_block;
    memset(&ble_cpu_block, 0, sizeof(ble_opt_t));
    ble_cpu_block.common_opt.radio_cpu_mutex.enable = 1;
    opt_id = BLE_COMMON_OPT_RADIO_CPU_MUTEX;
    err_code = sd_ble_opt_set(opt_id, &ble_cpu_block);
    APP_ERROR_CHECK(err_code);
}

int main(void)
{
    enable_cpu_rf_mutex();
    ble_stack_init();
    gap_params_init();
    advertising_init();
    services_init();
    conn_params_init();
    ble_advertising_start(BLE_ADV_MODE_FAST);
    while (1) {}
}

RE: DFU-OTA over BLE compatibility query: S110 and SDK version

sidekick — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 13:34:46 GMT

The default behaviour is now that the application can use the CPU while the radio is active. In previous versions of the S110, the CPU execution was blocked by the SoftDevice during radio activity. Note that this new default setting is incompatible with running this SoftDevice on nRF51 series IC revision 2 (devices affected by PAN #44 "CCM may exceed real time requirements" and PAN #45 "AAR may exceed real time requirements" described in the nRF51822-PAN). If you plan to run S110 v8.x on devices affected by these PANs, you will need to enable mutual exclusion between the radio and the application by means of the sd_ble_opt_set() SV call and the BLE_COMMON_OPT_RADIO_CPU_MUTEX option (DRGN-4511).

RE: DFU-OTA over BLE compatibility query: S110 and SDK version

sidekick — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 13:32:57 GMT

I ported my application to:

nrf51822QFAA IC revision: 2

Softdevice: s110, v8.0.0

SDK: v10.0.0

Above compatibility matrix seem to work okay. however I need to test lot more. I'm not using DC/DC converter and didn't quite get as to how to turn on CPU block in my application? Can you please explain a little more about turning ON the CPU block and how to achieve that ?

RE: DFU-OTA over BLE compatibility query: S110 and SDK version

Vidar Berg — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 10:20:46 GMT

s110 v.8.0.0 is production tested on 2nd rev IC, but SDK v.10.0.0 is not. One reason for that is that the new SDK does not necessary provide workarounds for PANs present on older silicon, but it's probably going to work just fine if you make sure to turn on CPU block in your application and not use DCDC, see s110 v.8.0.0 release notes for more details.

Note that on the SDKs we don't run the same level of testing, as we deliver the source code, and it's example code that the customers can modify and use as they see fit. The final testing of the application code must be done by the customer as part of their product development and testing procedures.

PAN document for nRF51 : infocenter.nordicsemi.com/.../nRF51822-pan_v3.0.pdf

RE: DFU-OTA over BLE compatibility query: S110 and SDK version

sidekick — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:35:12 GMT

@Vidar Berg: After looking at the compatibility matrix, my understanding is that: SD S110, v8.0.0 with SDK v10.0.0 with IC revision 2 is NOT supported. In order to use those Softdevice and SDK revision, I need to purchase the ICs with Version 3 ?

RE: DFU-OTA over BLE compatibility query: S110 and SDK version

sidekick — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:06:56 GMT

Thank you so much for clearing my doubts. I will now start migrating to SoftDevice s110 8.0.0 and SDK 10.0.0 . While flashing the Softdevice, I noticed that SoftDevice s110, 8.0.0 is comparatively bigger and hence the memory layout needs to be accordingly changed in the bootloader and application. Glad to see that the documentation already covers this :)

RE: DFU-OTA over BLE compatibility query: S110 and SDK version

Vidar Berg — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 15:50:55 GMT

Yes, it's the 2nd revision

RE: DFU-OTA over BLE compatibility query: S110 and SDK version

Vidar Berg — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 15:50:00 GMT

Hi,

A1: Instructions on how to determine the chip revision can be found in the compatibility matrix. Note that the 3rd revision is recommended for new designs, and is the IC that it's currently in production.

The known issues are general for this release, but the last 3 are relevant for DFU.

The DFU over BLE example has been tested to work with a minimum connection interval of 11.25 ms. The application cannot handle connection intervals lower than 11.25 ms and may undergo a system reset in the middle of a firmware update. Workaround: If you face unexpected disconnects during the firmware update process, consider increasing the connection interval used by the master.

The preferred connection parameters are set to 15 ms and 30 ms in the bootloader. So this is not a problem unless the central ignores this request.

The old manual procedure for testing buttonless DFU, as specified in the documentation, can lead to the DFU process hanging or returning an error when used with Master Control Panel 3.8 and newer.

When using MCP version later than 3.8 you won't have to follow the instructions in the doc, only click the dfu button in MCP, and it will do all the steps automatically

Bootloader binaries (.bin files) generated with the GCC makefile should not be used. Instead, generate the bootloader bin files using nrfutils, found on GitHub.

Use the output .hex if you're using GCC. The binary includes the UICR section, 0x10001000 in memory map, which leads to lot of byte padding (0x3c000 -> 0x10001000 = ~250MB).

A2: S110 v.8.0.0 has better support for buttonless DFU. To be more specific, SDs prior to this release lacked an option for only restoring the attributes for the system services (service changed characteristic) , which caused problems when doing DFU with paired devices. Relevant thread if you want more details here.

A3. It's generally recommended to use the same softdevice as specified in the release notes for the given SDK. Otherwise you would have to manually port the SDK to support a different softdevice. The SDKs are contiously being improved with new features and bugfixes.

RE: DFU-OTA over BLE compatibility query: S110 and SDK version

sidekick — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 14:15:18 GMT

For the Q1 above, I referred the nRF51822 Product Anomaly notice document 3.0. The part number that I've is: NRF51822QFAAG21425CZ. Here G2 in the part number represents the hardware revision. Assuming that this represents the IC revision, What does G2 mean ? Is it IC Revision 2 ?