CONFIG_NET_L2_OPENTHREAD=y leads to failure in gpio pins.

[Allan-led]

Hi,

I noticed an issue with CONFIG_NET_L2_OPENTHREAD=y in my project, and I prepared a newer, simpler project to investigate in the issue.

The new program simply sets pins to high and low. After flashing it onto an external module and plugging the external module onto a baseboard, all of the LEDs on the base board should be flashing one by one in a cycle..

As I slowly add more configurations to prj.conf, I realize that adding CONFIG_NET_L2_OPENTHREAD=y when CONFIG_NETWORKING=y will lead to all the external module pins behaving unexpectedly. None of the LEDs on the base board will turn on. What does CONFIG_NET_L2_OPENTHREAD do exactly? How does it interfere with the gpio pins? 

[Maria Gilje]

Hello,

What does CONFIG_NET_L2_OPENTHREAD do exactly?

Some documentation on the OpenThread L2 abstraction level can be found here: https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/zephyr-apis-latest/page/group_ieee802154.html

CONFIG_NET_L2_OPENTHREAD also selects a list of other Kconfig symbols. See the list here:

https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ncs-latest/page/kconfig/index.html#CONFIG_NET_L2_OPENTHREAD

How does it interfere with the gpio pins? 

I need to investigate this. Your simple project may help to speed up the process, but it looks like you are using a custom board. Are you able to reproduce the issue on an nRF54L15 DK?

Best regards,

Maria

[Allan-led]

Hi Maria,

Thank you, I have read over the documentations, but I don't think they provide enough information as they're supposed to be abstract; 

On the 54L15, the pins are fine if I have CONFIG_NET_L2_OPENTHREAD, everything works out. 

The simple program was built on top of the blinky sample.

Here is the modified main.c:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <zephyr/kernel.h>
#include <zephyr/device.h>
#include <zephyr/devicetree.h>
#include <zephyr/drivers/gpio.h>
#include <nrf.h>


// /* 1000 msec = 1 sec */
#define SLEEP_TIME_MS   500
#define LED_COUNT 16

#define PIN_NODE(n) DT_ALIAS(pind##n)
#define PIN_SPEC(n) GPIO_DT_SPEC_GET(PIN_NODE(n),gpios)

static const struct gpio_dt_spec testleds[LED_COUNT] = {
	PIN_SPEC(1),PIN_SPEC(2),PIN_SPEC(8),PIN_SPEC(7),
	PIN_SPEC(6),PIN_SPEC(5),PIN_SPEC(4),PIN_SPEC(3),
	PIN_SPEC(16),PIN_SPEC(15),PIN_SPEC(14),PIN_SPEC(13),
	PIN_SPEC(12),PIN_SPEC(11),PIN_SPEC(9),PIN_SPEC(10)
};

void disableNFC(void){
	NRF_NFCT->PADCONFIG = 0;
}

int main(void)
{
	int ret;
	disableNFC();
	//static const struct device *gpio2_dev;  // Declare the GPIO device
	//gpio2_dev = DEVICE_DT_GET(DT_NODELABEL(gpio2));

	for(int i = 0; i<LED_COUNT;i++) {
		if(!device_is_ready(testleds[i].port)) {
			return 0;
		}
		ret = gpio_pin_configure_dt(&testleds[i],GPIO_OUTPUT_ACTIVE);
		if(ret < 0) printf("pin setting error\n");
	}

	for(int i = 0; i< LED_COUNT;i++) {
		if(i<8)	gpio_pin_set_dt(&testleds[i],1);
		else gpio_pin_set_dt(&testleds[i],0);
	}
//gpio_pin_configure(gpio2_dev, GPIO5_PIN, GPIO_OUTPUT);
//gpio_pin_configure_dt(&pinD1,GPIO_OUTPUT_ACTIVE);

	while (1) {
		for(int i=0;i<LED_COUNT;i++) {
			if(i<8)	gpio_pin_set_dt(&testleds[i],0);
			else gpio_pin_set_dt(&testleds[i],1);
			k_msleep(SLEEP_TIME_MS);
			printk("Pin level: %d\n", gpio_pin_get_dt(&testleds[i]));
			if(i<8) gpio_pin_set_dt(&testleds[i],1);
			else gpio_pin_set_dt(&testleds[i],0);
			k_msleep(SLEEP_TIME_MS);
			printk("Pin level: %d\n", gpio_pin_get_dt(&testleds[i]));
		}
	}
}

overlay file:

// &spi00 {
//     status = "disabled";  // Force disable SPI1 so its pins become GPIO
// };

// &uart20 {
// 	status = "disabled";
// };

// &uart30 {
// 	status = "disabled";
// };

// &pwm20 {
// 	status = "disabled";
// };

// &button0 {
// 	status = "disabled";
// };

// &button1 {
// 	status = "disabled";
// };

// &button2 {
// 	status = "disabled";
// };

// &led0 {
// 	status = "disabled";
// };

// &led1 {
// 	status = "disabled";
// };
// &led2 {
// 	status = "disabled";
// };

&gpio0 {
	status = "okay";
};

&nfct {
	status = "disabled";
};

&gpio1 {
	status = "okay";
};

&gpio2 {
	status = "okay";
};


/{
custom_gpios {
	compatible = "gpio-keys";

	pin_D1: pin_p2_05 {	gpios = <&gpio2 5 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};	//no
	pin_D2: pin_p2_03 {	gpios = <&gpio2 3 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};	//no
	pin_D8: pin_p1_06 {	gpios = <&gpio1 6 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};	
	pin_D7: pin_p1_07 {	gpios = <&gpio1 7 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};
	pin_D6: pin_p1_08 {	gpios = <&gpio1 8 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};
	pin_D10: pin_p2_09 {gpios = <&gpio2 9 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};
	pin_D9: pin_p2_10 {	gpios = <&gpio2 10 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};
	pin_D5: pin_p1_11 {	gpios = <&gpio1 11 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};
	pin_D4: pin_p1_10 {	gpios = <&gpio1 10 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};
	pin_D3: pin_p1_09 {	gpios = <&gpio1 9 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};
	pin_D11: pin_p1_04 {gpios = <&gpio1 4 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};
	pin_D12: pin_p1_03 {gpios = <&gpio1 3 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};//no
	pin_D13: pin_p1_02 {gpios = <&gpio1 2 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};//no
	pin_D14: pin_p2_00 {gpios = <&gpio2 0 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};//no
	pin_D15: pin_p2_01 {gpios = <&gpio2 1 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};//no
	pin_D16: pin_p1_13 {gpios = <&gpio1 13 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;};
};

// Aliases for easy access to GPIOs
aliases {
	pind1 = &pin_D1;
	pind2 = &pin_D2;
	pind3 = &pin_D3;
	pind4 = &pin_D4;
	pind5 = &pin_D5;
	pind6 = &pin_D6;
	pind7 = &pin_D7;
	pind8 = &pin_D8;
	pind9 = &pin_D9;
	pind10 = &pin_D10;
	pind11 = &pin_D11;
	pind12 = &pin_D12;
	pind13 = &pin_D13;
	pind14 = &pin_D14;
	pind15 = &pin_D15;
	pind16 = &pin_D16;
};
};

prj.conf (with CONFIG_NETWORKING and CONFIG_NET_L2_OPENTHREAD):

CONFIG_GPIO=y
CONFIG_LOG=y
CONFIG_USE_SEGGER_RTT=y
CONFIG_RTT_CONSOLE=y
CONFIG_LOG_BACKEND_RTT=y
CONFIG_UART_CONSOLE=n
CONFIG_SERIAL=n
CONFIG_STDOUT_CONSOLE=y
CONFIG_PRINTK=y
CONFIG_GPIO_INIT_PRIORITY=40
CONFIG_NETWORKING=y
CONFIG_NET_L2_OPENTHREAD=y

If we simply take out CONFIG_NET_L2_OPENTHREAD from prj.conf, my external module will successfully blink the LEDs on the base board one by one in a cycle. However, adding it back in, nothing lights up. 

Best regards,

Allan

[Allan-led]

Hi Maria, 

Just an update, I updated my project to an even simpler one, it will just print Hello World + iteration number over and over again. I can view the message through RTT when CONFIG_NET_L2_OPENTHREAD is not enabled. However, I tried enabling the configuration, I can no longer view the messages. Thus, this might be something more significant than just having a conflict with the GPIO pins, as RTTs will not even display any messages. 

#include <stdio.h>
#include <zephyr/kernel.h>
int main() {
	int i = 0;
	while (1) {
		printk("Hello World! %d\n", i++);
		k_msleep(1000);
	}
	return 1;
}