nRF5340 example code availability

[Bhavit Rajput]

We are using nRF52840 chip for our development and till now we have used nRF SDK's zigbee CLI example for development.

Now we are interested in nRF5340 chip but I have not found the same Zigbee CLI example in Connect SDK  and also there are no example codes for OTA/DFU which are available in nRF SDK. 

So if we want to use this nRF5340 chip then how can I start?

Is there any timeline you can give when will we get those example codes or any other solution? so we can speed up our development.

[Marjeris Romero]

Hi,

We have a Zigbee Shell library for NCS whichs will work as the nRF5 SDK zigbee's CLI example and assist you with development. The supported backends are UART and segger RTT. You can add shell support to any of the available Zigbee sample in NCS. See the documentation on Zigbee Shell for more information: https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF_Connect_SDK/doc/latest/nrf/libraries/zigbee/lib_zigbee_shell.html 

There is also a Zigbee FOTA library:

https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF_Connect_SDK/doc/latest/nrf/include/zigbee/zigbee_fota.html

So you should have everything you need to start with development for Zigbee in the nRF5340 platform right now Let me know if you need help setting the enviroment up.

Best regards,

Marjeris

[Bhavit Rajput]

Thanks.

In Zigbee FOTA library some limitations are mentioned, one of the limitation is:

• The Zigbee FOTA upgrades are currently only supported on the nRF52840 DK (PCA10056).

So will it work for nRF5340 because we are going to use nRF5340 only?

[Marjeris Romero]

Hi,

Bhavit Rajput said:

So will it work for nRF5340 because we are going to use nRF5340 only?

 I checked and you are right, Zigbee FOTA is currently not supported with nRF5340. It's planned to be done in the future, but unfortunately there is nothing to show yet. I suppose you will see PRs being merge to master when this feature will start approaching, but I unfortunately don't have a timeline for you here.

It's possible to request more information about feature roadmaps if you get in contact with your nordic RSM. You can send me an private message with where in the world you are located to get your Nordic's RSM contact information.

Best regards,

Marjeris

[Bhavit Rajput]

Thanks.

I have mailed query about roadmap of FOTA library but did not get the response from RSM.

Is it possible for us to port Zigbee FOTA library for nRF5340? 

[Marjeris Romero]

Hi,

Sorry for the late reply. I have gotten an answer from our developers about this.

Zigbee FOTA currently is not supported on nRF5340. There are some libs that potentially could be used but there can be some dependencies or difficulties that prevent successfull porting to nRF5340. However you can give it a try.
Useful docs:

• DFU target lib: https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF_Connect_SDK/doc/latest/nrf/include/dfu/dfu_target.html

•  Besides application core, the network core may need to be upgraded. PCD library is used to upgrade: https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF_Connect_SDK/doc/latest/nrf/include/dfu/pcd.html#subsys-pcd.
• There is a sample available demonstrating upgrade of network core firmware with PCD lib: https://developer.nordicsemi.com/nRF_Connect_SDK/doc/latest/nrf/samples/nrf5340/netboot/README.html
  
  

Some things that should be considered:

1. Zigbee samples require 802154_rpmsg zephyr sample in network core. In addition to application core upgrade, in some cases upgrade of network core may be needed, especially if application was compiled from a newer NCS and therefore compatibility with network core firmware was broken. PCD lib may be necessary for this.
2. Two separate images for each core may be needed. It must be analyzed how to distribute them thru Zigbee, how to store it in nRF5340 and how to modify Zigbee FOTA lib to keep compatibility of firmware versions in both cores.
3. We are going to add FOTA support for nRF5340 in future. It may be impossible to move from your solution to the official one without breaking compatibility.

Best regards,

Marjeris