This document provides an overview of the u-connectXpress software for u-blox short range modules
and describes how the products can be configured for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy use cases.
Document information
Title | NORA-W36 series u-connectXpress |
---|---|
Subtitle | Stand-alone multiradio modules |
Document type | User guide |
Document number | UBX-23008692 |
Revision and date | R02, 18-Oct-2024 |
Disclosure restriction | C1-Public |
This document applies to the following products
Product name | Software version |
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NORA-W36 series | 1.2.0 |
Disclaimer
u-blox or third parties may hold intellectual property rights in the products, names, logos, and designs included in this document. Copying, reproduction, or modification of this document or any part thereof is only permitted with the express written permission of u-blox. Disclosure to third parties is permitted for clearly public documents only.
The information contained herein is provided “as is” and u-blox assumes no liability for its use. No warranty, either express or implied, is given, including but not limited to, with respect to the accuracy, correctness, reliability, and fitness for a particular purpose of the information. This document may be revised by u-blox at any time without notice. For the most recent documents, visit www.u-blox.com.
Copyright © u-blox AG
This document describes how to set up and use u-blox short range stand-alone modules with u-connectXpress software for NORA-W36. It explains the functionality of different u-blox short range stand-alone modules and includes examples that describe how to use the software in different environments with AT commands. The document is applicable for Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE), multiradio, and Wi-Fi modules.
Several u-blox short range stand-alone modules support open software variants. For more information about the available options, see the corresponding system integration manuals for u-blox short range stand-alone modules.
For older generation modules like ODIN-W2, NINA-W15 and ANNA-B1, u-connectXpress user guide describe the functionality of these modules.
Downloading and installing
u-blox modules are developed for integration into a vast range of devices that demand a high level of reliability, such as those that are typically used in industrial and medical applications.
These professional grade modules operate over an extended temperature range and are approved for radio type application products in many countries. By choosing to use u-blox short range stand-alone modules, the cost and work involved in developing wireless communication solutions is significantly reduced.
Concept | Definition |
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Host | In this document, a host refers to the device connected to a u-blox short range stand-alone module through any of the available physical interfaces. In a real application, the host is typically a microcontroller Unit (MCU) running a customer specific application. |
Module | In this document, module refers to a u-blox stand-alone module. A module can also refer to a self-contained unit or item that is linked with similar units of a larger system that performs a defined task. |
Remote | device A remote device in a wireless network connecting over the Bluetooth Low Energy or Wi-Fi interfaces supported in the module. |
u-blox compact and powerful stand-alone, multiradio modules are designed for the development of Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications. NORA-W36 modules include an embedded Bluetooth stack, Wi-Fi driver, IP stack, and an application for wireless data transfer. The wireless support includes Bluetooth v5.3 (Low Energy) and dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz bands).
The modules support point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations and can accommodate concurrent Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections. The software provides support for micro Access Point.
They are delivered with u-connectXpress software that provides support for u-blox Bluetooth LE Serial Port Service, Generic Attribute Profile (GATT) client and server, Bluetooth beacons, simultaneous Peripheral and Central roles – all configurable from a host by means of AT commands.
The possibility of replacing serial cables with simple wireless connections is a key feature of u-blox modules. It allows system hosts to transfer data to one another over wireless Bluetooth connections that are established between u-blox modules in Central/Peripheral configuration.
Depending on the module capabilities, data from each host is transferred to local u-blox modules over a serial UART interface.
u-blox modules can be configured to automatically establish new connections and/or accept incoming connections using AT commands. For connected hosts, this means that physical serial cables can be replaced with more convenient wireless solutions.
NORA-W36 can function as either a Central or Peripheral unit, connecting to devices such as laptops, cellular phones, and tablets using the Generic Attribut Profile (GATT).
NORA-W36 can function as either a Central or Peripheral unit, connecting to devices such as laptops, cellular phones, and tablets via the u-blox Serial Port Service (SPS).
NORA-W36 can operate as a Station connecting to an Access Point.
NORA-W36 can operate as an Access Point connecting to other devices that operate as Stations.
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.
NORA-W36 operates in the following modes:
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.
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:
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.
u-connectXpress features | Capability in 1.2.0 |
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Multiradio | Bluetooth Low Energy 5.3 and Wi-Fi 4 dual band 2,4 and 5 GHz |
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 1.2.0 |
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Realtek SDK including Bluetooth stack and Wi-Fi drivers | 6.2 + patches eb65546, 03911c3, 6dfd87c, bf52a1f, 1bcc6de, 373f322, 0a63ad1 |
lwIP TCP/IP stack | 2.0.3 |
Mbed TLS cryptographic algorithms | 2.4.0 |
u-connectXpress MQTT client | Versions in 1.2.0 |
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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 1.2.0 |
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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 1.2.0 |
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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) |
More information about the AT commands used in this use cases can be found in the NORA-W36 AT command manual.
The following Bluetooth Low Energy use case, show some functionality to get started with GATT client, GATT server and SPS.
u-connectXpress BLE default values | 1.2.0 |
---|---|
BLE Mode default | ON, Central and Peripheral (3) |
BLE Advertising default | OFF, enable with AT+UBTA=1 |
The following examples use the MAC address below, this must be replaced by the real MAC address of the devices that are used.
This use case configures NORA-W36 as a Central device that operates as a GATT client and receives data.
This use case configuration is used in combination with Bluetooth GATT server.
Nr | Instructions | AT command | AT event |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Check that Bluetooth Central is enabled. 1: Central or 3: Central and Peripheral. If so jump to step 6. | AT+UBTM? | +UBTM:1 or +UBTM:3 |
2 | Enable Bluetooth 1: Central or 3: Central and Peripheral | AT+UBTM=1 or AT+UBTM=3 | |
3 | Store command | AT&W |