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nRF53 interfacing with external modem

Hi,

If i use nrf53 to interface with a modem(nrf91 or any other modem), is it possible to run the the TCP + TLS stack on nrf53? 

In case nrf91 the the BSD lib runs on the M33 application processor, is it possible to run the TCP stack with BSD layer on the nrf53 application core and used the external modem as PPPoS?

On nRF53 BLE and NFC be used simultaneously used?

regards

KK

  • Hi!

    The short answer is no.

    The long answer is that only the application core on the nRF9160 SiP has access to the modem core, so you can't just run BSDLib on the nRF53. and expect it to interface with the modem. And since the source code for BSDLib isn't available you can't split it up to have the "modem-interface" running on the 91, and the rest running on the 53. 

    The 91 has "raw sockets" that could probably be used to have the IP stack outside the modem, but then you would have to write everything from scratch to expose this functionality. The nRF9160 was never meant to be used in this way though, so this isn't something we recommend or support. 

    Have you checked out the Serial LTE Modem example available in NCS? 

    Why do you need to run the IP stack on the 53? If you give me more details about what you want to achieve, I could try to help you find a solution. 

    Best regards,

    Heidi

  • On nRF53 BLE and NFC be used simultaneously used?

    Yes.

  • Have you checked out the Serial LTE Modem example available in NCS? 

    Yes i am very much familiar with SLM we are evaluating it.

    Why do you need to run the IP stack on the 53?

    If i use any serial modem from Telit/ublox/Quectel definitely i need to run the TCP/IP stack in the host controller here it will be on 53 and from host controller i need to open PPP over serial for internet services.

    regards

    KK

  • Okay, I see.

    So, you are free to write your own TCP/IP stack to run on the nRF53 that can interface with an external modem. This should be possible in theory.

    We, unfortunately, don't have any examples to give you, and this isn't really a feature we will be focusing on in the future either. 

    Best regards,

    Heidi

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