NetHubQuickBringup

NetHub Quick Start

This document is for customers using NetHub for the first time. The goal is to get you to the currently supported bring-up path as quickly as possible.

1. Start with the Current Support Matrix

Item	Current status
Recommended end-to-end reference path	SDIO
USB profile	device-side backend implemented with USB ECM + USB ACM
SPI profile	not implemented
USER virtual channel	current in-tree end-to-end path is SDIO
Optional AT control solution	available, but not required for data-only use cases
Low power	currently BL618DG only

Read this table literally:

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

2. Decide Whether You Need Only Data or Data Plus Control

NetHub core always focuses on the data plane first.

• data-only products
  • keep nethub
  • do not depend on ATModule
  • host users simply use the exposed netdev path
• data plus AT-style control products
  • optionally enable the example composition built around ATModule + bflbwifid + bflbwifictrl

The important boundary is:

• nethub core does not directly depend on ATModule
• ATModule is an optional example control consumer of the NetHub control-path facade

3. Choose the Host-Link Profile

The profile is selected at build time through exactly one CONFIG_NETHUB_PROFILE_* option.

3.1 SDIO

Recommended today.

What you get:

• current in-tree reference data path
• current in-tree host Linux stack
• current in-tree USER virtual-channel path

3.2 USB

Use this when you specifically want the device-side USB backend.

Current device-side behavior:

• data path through USB CDC ECM
• control transport plumbing through USB CDC ACM

Current limitation:

• the in-tree host Linux docs and nethub_vchan wrapper are still centered on the SDIO reference path

3.3 SPI

Not implemented yet.

4. Choose the Wi-Fi Backend

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

5. 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

6. Important Configuration Switches

Main configuration file:

• examples/wifi/nethub/defconfig

Important switches:

• CONFIG_NETHUB=y
• CONFIG_NETHUB_PROFILE_SDIO=y
• CONFIG_NETHUB_PROFILE_USB=y
• CONFIG_NETHUB_PROFILE_SPI=y
  • choose exactly one profile per build
• CONFIG_NETHUB_CTRLCHANNEL_USE_ATMODULE=y
  • enable the optional example AT control solution
• CONFIG_MR_VIRTUALCHAN=y
  • required for the current in-tree SDIO virtual-channel path
• CONFIG_NETHUB_LOWPOWER_ENABLE=y
  • currently meaningful only on BL618DG

About CONFIG_NETHUB_AT_USE_VCHAN:

• it still exists in the example configuration
• it is best treated as an example or legacy SDIO control-path switch
• do not document it as the core selector for all NetHub interfaces

Current default example facts:

• CONFIG_NETHUB_PROFILE_SDIO=y
• CONFIG_NETHUB_PROFILE_USB=n
• CONFIG_NETHUB_CTRLCHANNEL_USE_ATMODULE=y
• CONFIG_MR_VIRTUALCHAN=y
• CONFIG_NETHUB_AT_USE_VCHAN=n
• CONFIG_MR_TTY=n

7. 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:

• SDIO/USB pins
  • bsp/board/bl616dk/board_gpio.c
  • bsp/board/bl616cldk/board_gpio.c
  • bsp/board/bl618dgdk/board_gpio.c

7.1 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 is the current 4-bit SDIO reference wiring used by the NetHub SDIO path
• the BSP configures these pins with `GPIO_FUNC_SDH | GPIO_ALTERNATE | GPIO_PULLUP | GPIO_SMT_EN | GPIO_DRV_1`
• if you are doing first bring-up, use this exact mapping first before trying a custom board layout

7.2 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/package documentation
• for the current in-tree NetHub reference flow, USB is device-side bring-up work, while the full host reference stack is still centered on SDIO

8. 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

9. USER Virtual Channel Guidance

If you need private application messages between host and device:

• device API: components/net/nethub/include/nethub_vchan.h
• host API: bsp/common/msg_router/linux_host/userspace/nethub/virtualchan/nethub_vchan.h

Current reality:

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

10. Low-Power Note

CONFIG_NETHUB_LOWPOWER_ENABLE is currently supported only on BL618DG. The example configuration automatically disables it on other chips.

11. Where to Go Next

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