Different SDK's and protocols

[mosgaard2000]

Hi,

I am evaluating the nRF52840 with the Segger IDE.

I am about to experiment with Bluetooth, but I have a hard time understanding the different protocols/softdevices/SDK's.

First I run into problems with choosing a SDK. There is 'SDK', 'SDK for Mesh', 'SDK for Thread and Zigbee' and 'IoT SDK'. Is there somewhere a comparison that shows the differences?

Then there are different protocols. 'Bluetooth 5', 'BLE', 'ANT'. On NordicSemi homepage it states it supports Bluetooth 5.0, but all the examples are BLE - is it actually the same?

Does anyone know where to find some info of the different choices?

[Einar Thorsrud]

Hi,

Here is a very short summary of the SDK variants:

• The "normal" nRF5 SDK is the generic SDK typically used for BLE applications and other applications that does not rely on one of the "special" SDKs. The other SDKs are based on this. This is most likely what you want.
• The SDK for Mesh is an addon to the nRF5 SDK which adds support for BLE Mesh. Only use if you are making a BLE Mesh product.
• SDK for Thread and Zigbee is a superset of the nRF5 SDK which adds support for the ZigBee and Thread radio protocols.
• SDK for HomeKit is a special SDK for use when you are making an accessory supporting Apple's HomeKit protocol.

BLE is an acronym for Bluetooth Low Energy, which is essentially the same as the "marketing name" Bluetooth Smart. BLE was introduced with Bluetooth 4.0, but nRF52 variants and latest SoftDevices support Bluetooth 5. That does not mean that all Bluetooth 5 features are supported though, and the degree of support differ for the various SoftDevices. You can find detailed information in the SoftDevice and SDK documentation, and product specifications for the chips. All is available in the Documentation Library.

Br,

Einar