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3 u-connectXpress software

3.1 Software architecture

u-connectXpress software for u-blox short range stand-alone modules makes it easy to integrate Bluetooth and Wi Fi connectivity into both new and existing products. In several high-end modules, u-connectXpress software contains separate stacks for the Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), wireless Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and wireless Internet Protocol (IP). The necessary Wi-Fi drivers are also included. Other module variants support different combinations of these stacks. The figure below shows the logical components for high-end (NORA-W36) modules.

3.2 Operating modes

NORA-W36 operates in the following modes:

AT mode (default): AT commands and data can be send at the same time. Data is sent and received in AT commands and events - in string or binary mode
Transparent Mode (TM): All data sent and received on the UART is connected to the remote device
Transparent Mode Persistent (TMP): Same as TM, but the connection is established at startup or when the connection is dropped

Additionally, the module supports various low-power modes, which optimize power consumption regardless of the operating mode. See also Low power modes and Power consumption optimization. Deep sleep is supported with the command AT+UPMDS, see AT command manual and Data sheet for more information.

3.2.1 Changing operating modes

u-blox modules can be configured to start in any operating mode. Once up and running, the modules can be switched between most modes. The modes are changed with a command or escape sequence sent to the module:

Switch from Command mode to Transparent mode using an AT command
Switch from Transparent mode to command mode with an escape sequence.

The module is controlled using AT commands in (default) Command mode. In this mode, the host sends control and configuration commands and indicates when data is to be sent over the UART interface.

3.3 NORA-W36 capabilities

u-connectXpress Features	Capability in 2.0.0
Chipset	Realtek RTL8720DF
Multiradio	Bluetooth Low Energy 5.3 Wi-Fi 4 dual band 2,4 and 5 GHz
Wi-Fi capabilities	802.11a/b/g/n WPA2 Personal and WPA3 Personal Wi-Fi Multimedia WMM/WME/QoS (802.11e) Protected Management Frames (802.11w) Roaming using Fast BSS Transition (802.11r), Radio Measurement (802.11k), and Wireless Network Management (802.11v)
Wi-Fi Alliance certified	Certification ID: WFA112253 Date of Certification: 2021-06-07
Bluetooth Qualification	Declaration ID: D065864 QDID: 194774 Qualification date: 2022-02-26 NORA-W36 listing date: 2024-02-19
Wi-Fi Access Point	5 Stations connected
TCP/UDP sockets	6 Simultaneous sockets (Note that a listening socket requires 2 sockets)
MQTT Connections	1 Connection (client)
BLE Central connections	3 Peripherals connected
BLE Peripheral connections	1 Central connected
BLE Scatternet connections (C+P)	Central with 1 Peripheral connected, advertising and allow incoming connection as Peripheral
BLE Link key storage	30 Devices. The keys that are the least used are removed first when storage is full
Coexistence Wi-Fi, BLE and TLS	Max 1 TLS client, 1 BLE, 2 TCP Client
Data transfer modes	- Buffer Mode (event and read data) - Direct Mode (data in event) - Transparent mode (like serial port cable replacement) Buffer Mode is Default, Transparent mode only supports one link. Transparent Mode has highest throughput, then Direct Mode and then Buffer Mode
SPS MTU size	244 bytes, 1000 bytes can be sent in AT command
TCP MTU size	1460 bytes, 1000 bytes can be sent in AT command
UDP MTU size	1460 bytes, 1000 bytes can be sent in AT command

u-connectXpress software components	Versions in 2.0.0
Realtek SDK including Bluetooth stack and Wi-Fi drivers	6.2 + 6.2_patch_integrated_241111_f5eb173c https://online.realtek.com/Home/Login
lwIP TCP/IP stack	2.0.2 https://savannah.nongnu.org/news/?group_id=3159
Mbed TLS cryptographic algorithms	3.6.0 https://github.com/Mbed-TLS/mbedtls/releases

u-connectXpress MQTT client	Versions in 2.0.0
MQTT version	3.1.1
MQTT capabilities	Publish, Subscribe, TLS, QoS, Testament and Last will
MQTT maximum packets size	730 bytes for Publish and Subscribe packets

u-connectXpress Enterprise security	Capability in 2.0.0
PEAP Authentication method	PEAPv0 with EAP-MSCHAPv2
EAP Authentication method	EAP Transport Layer Security (EAP-TLS)
EAP-TLS certificate key size supported	2048 bits (4096 bits can exceed memory limitations)

u-connectXpress TLS feature	TLS capability in 2.0.0
TLS version	Only TLS1.2 (TLS 1.3 is planned for future versions)
TLS max number of connections	1
TLS extensions enabled by default	Server Name Indication (SNI), Maximum Fragment Length Negotiation
TLS Encryption keys	Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Data Encryption Standard (DES), Rivest Cipher 4 (RC4), and the Camellia cipher are not supported.
X.509 security certificate formats supported	PEM (DER not supported)
TLS over TCP certificate key size supported	4096 bits
TLS certificates	Up to 8 certifications (or certificate chains) can be stored. Certificates can be maximum 15360 bytes.
TLS Cipher Suites (28suites)	TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384 (0xc024) TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384 (0xc028) TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256 (0x006b) TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA (0xc00a) TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA (0xc014) TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA (0x0039) TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256 (0xc023) TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256 (0xc027) TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256 (0x0067) TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA (0xc009) TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA (0xc013) TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA (0x0033) TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256 (0x003d) TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA (0x0035) TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384 (0xc02a) TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA (0xc00f) TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384 (0xc026) TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA (0xc005) TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256 (0x003c) TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA (0x002f) TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256 (0xc029) TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA (0xc00e) TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256 (0xc025) TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA (0xc004) TLS_RSA_PSK_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384 (0x00b7) TLS_RSA_PSK_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA (0x0095) TLS_RSA_PSK_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256 (0x00b6) TLS_RSA_PSK_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA (0x0094)
TLS Signature Hash Algorithms Supported	MD2, MD4, MD5, SHA1, SHA224, SHA256, SHA384, SHA512, RIPEMD160
TLS Signature Hash Algorithms (10 algorithms)	ecdsa_secp521r1_sha512 (0x0603) rsa_pkcs1_sha512 (0x0601) ecdsa_secp384r1_sha384 (0x0503) rsa_pkcs1_sha384 (0x0501) ecdsa_secp256r1_sha256 (0x0403) rsa_pkcs1_sha256 (0x0401) SHA224 ECDSA (0x0303) SHA224 RSA (0x0301) ecdsa_sha1 (0x0203) rsa_pkcs1_sha1 (0x0201)
TLS Extensions	Server name (SNI) Max fragment length: 4096 (4)