Introduction

In this lab, we will use the Network Terminal example in the SimpleLink™ Wi-Fi® CC32xx Software Development Kit as a tool to learn the flow of a basic Wi-Fi application before we dig into the code. The Network Terminal example demonstrates the various range of networking capabilities which the SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC32xx/CC31xx device family provides.

The purpose of this lab is to familiarize users with Wi-Fi and tools such as Code Composer Studio, by importing existing examples into the IDE and utilizing the debugger. The lab contains several tasks:

Task 1: Building and loading the Network terminal example

Task 2: Get familiar with the Network Terminal commands

Task 3: Use commands to demonstrate basic Wi-Fi applications

Prerequisites

Software

Code Composer Studio v9.1 or newer
- SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC32xx Wireless MCUs support installed
- Make sure that CCS is using the latest updates: Help → Check for Updates
CC32xx SDK v3.20.00.06 or newer OR
SimpleLink SDK Wi-Fi Plugin v2.40.00.22 (if you are using a CC31xx BoosterPack)
UniFlash v5.0.0 or newer
Terminal emulator program such as TeraTerm or PuTTY

Hardware

2x CC32xx LaunchPads
- CC3235S LaunchPad (LAUNCHXL-CC3235S)
- CC3235SF LaunchPad (LAUNCHXL-CC3235SF)
- CC3220S LaunchPad (CC3220S-LAUNCHXL)
- CC3220SF LaunchPad (CC3220SF-LAUNCHXL)
2x Micro-USB cable (included with LaunchPad)
802.11b/g/n Wireless Access Point (AP)

Instead of using a CC32xx LaunchPad, the following hardware can also be used:

2x CC31xx BoosterPacks (BOOSTXL-CC3135 or CC3120-BOOST)
2x LaunchPads of supported host devices including any combination of the following:
- MSP432P401R LaunchPad (MSP-EXP432P401R)
- MSP432P4111 LaunchPad (MSP-MSP432P4111)
- MSP432E401Y LaunchPad (MSP-MSP432E401Y)
- CC26X2R1 LaunchPad ([LAUNCHXL-CC26X2R1](http://www.ti.com/tool/LAUNCHXL-CC26X2R

Note

Some exercises in this lab require two SimpleLink Wi-Fi LaunchPads or BoosterPacks. A subset can be completed with one LP/BP.

Task 1: Building and loading the Network Terminal example

CC31xx Hardware Setup

If you are setting up a CC31xx BoosterPack for the first time, see the Out of Box Experience for the CC3135 or CC3120.

In CCS, open the TI Resource Explorer (View → Resource Explorer)
Follow the steps below to import the network_terminal example depending on which device you are using.
- Be sure you select your desired project "flavor" (CC3235S-LAUNCHXL, MSP_EXP432P401R, TI-RTOS, Free-RTOS, CCS, GCC, etc.).
- The image below shows the CC3220 TI-RTOS CCS example for this lab: network_terminal_CC3220SF_LAUNCHXL_tirtos_ccs
  - CC32xx
  - CC31xx
  Expand the folders under the SimpleLink CC32xx SDK as shown to select the network_terminal example, then click the Import to IDE icon at the top-right
  
  Expand the folders under the SimpleLink SDK Wi-Fi Plugin as shown to select the network_terminal example, then click the Import to IDE icon at the top-right
Build the project by selecting Build Project from the Project menu or right-clicking the name of the project. It may take a couple minutes to build.
You'll need two devices for some of the lab exercises, so you can grab a partner with a LaunchPad or run both terminals yourself.

If you're working with a partner:
Using CCS Debugger: Start a Debug session by clicking the green bug in the top menu. Your LaunchPad will need to be plugged in to your PC and flashed in development mode.

If you're flying solo:
- CC32xx
- CC31xx
Flash using UniFlash ImageCreator: Flash the latest service pack and MCU image to the LaunchPad with UniFlash ImageCreator.

Load the application: Load the code to the first device in CCS by clicking the green bug in the top menu. Once it is complete, you can unplug the first LaunchPad and repeat with the second LaunchPad. Once the application is loaded, simply connect both LaunchPads to your computer.
Open a UART terminal (or two) on your device's COM port. We want to use the XSD110 Class Application/User UART port with the following parameters:

UART Configuration
Baud rate: 115200
Data: 8 bit
Parity: None
Stop: 1 bit
Flow control: None
If you are using the CCS debugger, click the green arrow in the top menu to start executing your code. If you have flashed the application to the LaunchPads, reset the boards to start executing your code.

Task 2: Get familiar with the Network Terminal commands

For simplicity, we divide the application's functionality into four different silos. Each silo contains several commands accessible by the user via command line interface.

Silo	Description
WLAN	Contains link layer functions like scan, connect, etc.
Socket	Shows variety of socket API and responsible for sending and receiving data.
NetApp	Demonstrates the usage of networking applications.
Transceiver	Gives the user a direct interface to the NWP radio for RF tests, raw sockets (L1) and more.

Available commands

You can type help into the terminal at any time to see a complete list of available commands.

WLAN commands

scan: Retrieves scan results from network processor’s (NWP) scan cache
setpolicy: Defines the device’s scan behavior and starts background scans
wlanconnect: Connects device to an AP
wlandisconnect: Disconnect from AP
wlan_ap_start: Configures the device to operate in AP mode
wlan_ap_stop: Set device in Station mode
createfilter: Creates an RX filter. RX filters are a set of rules and actions imposed on each packet received from the air
enablefilter: Enables all defined filters
disablefilter: Disables all defined filters
deletefilter: Deletes all defined filters
enablewowlan: Defines a pattern-based filter, then sends host MCU to Low Power Deep Sleep (LPDS). Once the pattern filter triggers, the NWP would wake the host MCU from LPDS using host IRQ as a wake up source.
p2pstart: Sets the NWP in discoverable Peer to Peer mode and connects to another visible P2P device

Socket commands

send: Demonstrates opening a TCP or UDP socket, sending data in packets, and closing socket
recv: Demonstrates opening a listening socket, receiving data in packets, and closing socket

NetApp commands

ping: Pings specific host name or IP, and prints statistics to terminal
mdnsadvertise: Advertises a service over mDNS
mdnsquery: Runs mDNS query for services over local LAN

Transceiver commands

radiotool: Starts the Radio Tool. This allows users to run several radio-related tests for RX and TX operations

Learn more about the commands

You can learn more about any command and see an example of usage by typing [command] -help into the terminal or see the network_terminal README.

Task 3: Use commands to demonstrate basic Wi-Fi applications

In these exercises, you can grab a partner or flash the same application to both LaunchPads using UniFlash ImageCreator. We will refer to the partners or devices as User 1 and 2.

Backspaces

This terminal application does not support backspaces. If you mistype a command, you will have to retry it.

Exercise 1

User 1: Set up your device as an open Access Point. Once a Station connects and pings you, send a number of packets to the station and wait for them to be received by the Station. Once the Station has completed and disconnected, set the device to Station mode.
User 2: You are acting as a Station. Scan for an AP, and connect to User 1's AP. Ping the AP, then listen for incoming packets. Once completed, disconnect from the AP.

Hint: When communicating using sockets, the server must be set up before the client.

If you get stuck, see the Exercise 1 commands here!

User 1: wlan_ap_start -s "demoAP" -t OPEN
User 2: scan -n 20
User 2: wlanconnect -s "demoAP" -t OPEN
User 2: ping -h <server IP address>
User 1: send -s -p 5001
User 2: recv -c <server IP address> -p 5001
User 2: wlandisconnect
User 1: wlan_ap_stop

Congratulations! You just set up your first Wi-Fi Access Point and communicated with a Station.

Exercise 2

Try the same exercise as above, but make User 1's AP a secured network!

Exercise 2 commands

User 1: wlan_ap_start -s "demoAP" -t WPA/WPA2 -p "password"
User 2: scan -n 20
User 2: wlanconnect -s "demoAP" -t WPA/WPA2 -p "password"
User 2: ping -h <server IP address>
User 1: send -s -p 5001
User 2: recv -c <server IP address> -p 5001
User 2: wlandisconnect
User 1: wlan_ap_stop

Exercise 3

As a station, connect to an AP with internet access (a hotspot or router, for example). Ping a popular website, such as google.com or ti.com. Send 5 Echo-request packets with a 2 second delay interval.

Exercise 3 commands

scan -n 20
wlanconnect -s "demoAP" -t WPA/WPA2 -p "password"
ping -h www.ti.com -c 5 -i 2
wlandisconnect

Use your own AP's SSID and password in the wlanconnect command

Exercise 4

Start the Radio tool by calling the radiotool command and run the RX task on any channel. RX testing is used for gathering Wi-Fi statistics for a specified channel.

Take a look at the RX statistics breaking down the traffic the SimpleLink device sees broadcasting on the specific channel (example below). This traffic comes from broadcasting Wi-Fi networks in the area. The RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) histogram shows the power present in a received radio signal, and the rate histogram shows the data rate in Mbps.

For more details on the radio tool in this example, see the network_terminal README.

*********************************Rx Statistics**********************************
Received Packets: 20266
Average RSSI for management: -74 Average RSSI for other packets: -83

    -----------------------   RSSI Histogram   -----------------------

-40dBm to -87dBm (below and above RSSI will appear in the first and last cells)

           10   20   30   40   50   60   70   80   90   100
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
  -40dBm                                                    (0.06%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
  -49dBm                                                  (1.59%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
  -58dBm                                                  (0.52%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
  -68dBm***************                                   (30.60%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
  -77dBm***********************                           (46.09%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
  -87dBm**********                                        (21.14%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
              10   20   30   40   50   60   70   80   90   100

    -----------------------   Rate Histogram   -----------------------

           10   20   30   40   50   60   70   80   90   100
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
0          *                                                 (3.09%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
1                                                            (0.03%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
2                                                            (0.03%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
3                                                            (0.03%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
4          **********************************************    (93.70%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
5                                                            (0.86%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
6                                                            (0.03%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
7                                                            (0.06%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
8          *                                                 (2.13%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
9                                                            (0.00%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
10                                                           (0.00%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
11                                                           (0.00%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
12                                                           (0.04%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
13                                                           (0.00%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
14                                                           (0.00%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
15                                                           (0.00%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
16                                                           (0.00%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
17                                                           (0.00%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
18                                                           (0.00%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
19                                                           (0.00%)
         |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
              10   20   30   40   50   60   70   80   90   100

                     The data was sampled during 97337mSec
*******************************End Rx Statistics********************************

Technical support

For any questions you might have, please search on the TI SimpleLink Wi-Fi E2E Forum.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.