NetHubQuickBringup

NetHub Quick Start

This document is for customers using NetHub for the first time. The goal is to get you to the current default interface as quickly as possible.

1. Current Support Matrix

Item	Current status
Default interface	SDIO
USB profile	device-side backend implemented with USB ECM + USB ACM
SPI profile	not implemented
USER virtual channel	default interface is SDIO
Optional AT control solution	available, but not mandatory
Low power	currently BL618DG only

Read this table literally:

• if you want the shortest successful path today, choose SDIO
• if you are evaluating the USB backend, focus on the device profile and USB descriptors first
• do not plan on SPI bring-up yet

2. Main Configuration Switches

For most users, the main configuration changes are these:

CONFIG_NETHUB_CTRLCHANNEL_USE_ATMODULE =y
CONFIG_NETHUB_LOWPOWER_ENABLE          =y
CONFIG_NETHUB_PROFILE_USB              =n
CONFIG_NETHUB_PROFILE_SDIO             =y

Notes:

• set CONFIG_NETHUB_PROFILE_SDIO=y for the current default interface
• set CONFIG_NETHUB_PROFILE_USB=y only when you want to evaluate the USB profile
• CONFIG_NETHUB_CTRLCHANNEL_USE_ATMODULE=n means ATModule will not participate in the build
• CONFIG_NETHUB_LOWPOWER_ENABLE=y is currently meaningful only on BL618DG

Additional current default facts in examples/wifi/nethub/defconfig:

• CONFIG_MR_VIRTUALCHAN=y
• CONFIG_NETHUB_AT_USE_VCHAN=n
• CONFIG_MR_TTY=n

3. Wi-Fi Backend Selection

Default configuration:

• CONFIG_WL80211 disabled
• fhost selected

If you want wl80211, enable this in examples/wifi/nethub/defconfig:

CONFIG_WL80211=y

Notes:

• fhost and wl80211 are mutually exclusive
• current NetHub supports both device-side Wi-Fi backends

4. Device Build and Flash

Build:

cd examples/wifi/nethub

# BL616
make CHIP=bl616 BOARD=bl616dk

# BL616CL
make CHIP=bl616cl BOARD=bl616cldk

# BL618DG
make CHIP=bl618dg BOARD=bl618dgdk CPU_ID=ap

Flash example:

cd examples/wifi/nethub
make flash CHIP=bl618dg COMX=/dev/ttyUSB0

5. Hardware Interface Pins

The pin tables below are the current default mappings used by the in-tree BSP board helpers.

Reference sources in the repository:

• bsp/board/bl616dk/board_gpio.c
• bsp/board/bl616cldk/board_gpio.c
• bsp/board/bl618dgdk/board_gpio.c

5.1 Default SDIO Pins

These are the current board_sdh_gpio_init() mappings used by the BSP.

Pin Function	BL616 / BL618 (bl616dk)	BL618DG (bl618dgdk)	BL616CL (bl616cldk)
SDIO_DAT2	GPIO10	GPIO43	GPIO6
SDIO_DAT3	GPIO11	GPIO44	GPIO7
SDIO_CMD	GPIO12	GPIO45	GPIO8
SDIO_CLK	GPIO13	GPIO46	GPIO9
SDIO_DAT0	GPIO14	GPIO47	GPIO10
SDIO_DAT1	GPIO15	GPIO48	GPIO11

Notes:

• this table shows the current default 4-bit SDIO wiring used by the NetHub SDIO data-path
• 1-line mode is also supported; if you use 1-line mode, keep CMD, CLK, and DAT0 first
• the BSP configures these pins with GPIO_FUNC_SDH | GPIO_ALTERNATE | GPIO_PULLUP | GPIO_SMT_EN | GPIO_DRV_1

5.2 Default USB Pins

The current USB profile uses the board's default USB differential pair.

Chip / Board family	Default USB pins in current BSP	Current BSP behavior	Notes
BL616 / BL618 (bl616dk)	board default USB port path	current BSP enables USB clock in board.c, but does not expose a dedicated board_usb_gpio_init() helper	treat this as the board's fixed default USB routing in the current example
BL616CL (bl616cldk)	GPIO32, GPIO33	board_usb_gpio_init() configures the pair as analog pins	current BSP documents the pair, not separate DP / DM labels
BL618DG (bl618dgdk)	GPIO40, GPIO41	board_usb_gpio_init() configures the pair as analog pins	current BSP documents the pair, not separate DP / DM labels

Notes:

• for BL616CL and BL618DG, the BSP helper only tells us the USB pair used by the board, not which pin is D+ and which pin is D-
• if you are wiring a custom board and need explicit DP / DM polarity, confirm it from the board schematic or chip or package documentation

6. Host Bring-Up Guidance

For the current in-tree host Linux reference stack, use:

• bsp/common/msg_router/linux_host/userspace/nethub/README.md

Today that host stack is primarily the SDIO reference flow.

For USB projects, keep expectations aligned with current code status:

• device-side ECM + ACM backend exists
• host-side transport flattening into the same nethub_vchan behavior as SDIO is not fully documented or aligned in-tree yet

7. USER Virtual Channel

If you need private application messages between host and device, read:

• NetHubVirtualChannel.md

Current reality:

• the current in-tree end-to-end USER virtual channel follows the default SDIO interface
• the public device API is transport-neutral by design
• the in-tree implementation behind it is still SDIO-backed today

8. Low-Power Note

Low power is currently supported only on BL618DG.

If you build for other chips, examples/wifi/nethub/defconfig automatically turns CONFIG_NETHUB_LOWPOWER_ENABLE off. In practice, you usually only need to keep this option enabled when building for BL618DG.

9. Where to Go Next

• overall entry: NetHub.md
• architecture: NetHubArchitecture.md
• USER virtual channel: NetHubVirtualChannel.md