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Hi Inderjit Bains

only the ti-WL1271 driver is supported in 03.20.00.14.

The WL12XX mac80211 driver ( open source driver)  won't be a part of the latest PSP that supposed to be released soon 03.21.00.03.

However this driver is going to be supported through the ti-SDK for AM-18 which suppose to be release by the beginning of Q2-2011.

PSP-03.21.00.03 is based on Linux kernel 2.6.37 and for that reason contains some very basic support in WL12XX MAC80211 driver.

Since 2.6.37 Linux kernel version the WL12XX driver had a major progress, so these changes will available through ti-SDK when it will be released (using compat).

Nisim 

Can you clarify the following:

1.  What are the difference between the ti-WL1271 driver vs. the WL12XX mac80211 driver?

2.  What are the differences between PSP-03.21.00.03 and the ti-SDK for AM-18 (I've only used the PSP-xx).

We are already at the beginning of Q2-2011.

1. The ti-WL1271 driver is a proprietary ti driver which were in use till today for TI-127X wireless chip. The  WL12xx-mac80211 driver is totally new driver. It is an open source driver which is actually embedded in the linux kernel since Linux 2.6.37.

2. PSP contains only the drivers for the board while ti-SDK is a software development kit which supply a platform to develop applications for the AM18. Except being a developers platform the SDK contains some tools, drivers which are not include in the PSP, for example GUI. 

Regarding the release date -- The SDK is planned to be release at the beginning of H2-2011 (Q3-2011) - sorry for my previous mistake.  

Nisim,

The WL1271 module should be capable of being an End Point as well as an Access Point for WiFi.  Which driver/PSP/SDK is best suited for an embedded board without a display (no GUI required)?

Host AP (Access point) will be supported only in the MAC80211 driver.

It's not very clear what's being stated in the 04-12-2011 8:20 AM post.  One line says that the MAC80211 driver won't be part of PSP 03.21.00.03 (which seems to have been released already).  Another line says that since PSP 03.21.00.03 is based on Linux Kernel 2.6.37, it has basic support for the MAC80211 driver.  Is there a Wiki page that explains all the different development paths and what is supported?

Hi,

I don't know about any wiki that explain this, but let me try and make things more clear.

The MAC80211 driver is an open embedded driver which is part of the kernel Linux version -- that means that linux kernel includes TI WLAN driver inside its driver's list.

The following link can give a better info about the "MAC80211 world": http://linuxwireless.org/en/developers/Documentation/mac80211

Since linux version 2.6.37 was the first version to have the TI-driver MAC80211 it includes quite an immature driver comparing to the development done by now for this driver. Most of the development that was done since 2.6.37 release and now is aimed for 2.6.39 version. Since the PSP 03.21.00.03 root base is linux kernel 2.6.37 it includes only the initial driver we had back then.

In the SDK release that I mentioned before we intend to build the latest MAC80211 ti-driver ( with all recent driver development ). We will build the latest driver and apply it on PSP 03.21.00.03 using Compat. That way you will have the latest driver development working on PSP 03.21.00.03.

Hope this make things more clear for you.

Nisim,

Thank you very much for the clarifications.  But of course there are more questions:

1.  Where does Bluetooth fit in with the MAC80211 open-source driver?  One of the reasons the WL1271 was chosen was for WiFi & Bluetooth, with co-existence built-in.

2.  If BT is not supported by the MAC80211, what are TI's plans for the BT section of the WL1271, and which interfaces will be supported?  UART is a must, but what about the AUDIO (McBSP) port?

Hi Inderjit Bains,

Mac802.11 is open source for WLAN support only, however in our platforms we are going to add BlueZ and Open OBEX to support the open source Bluetooth support.

The interface for WLAN is SDIO (MMC2 usually) and for Bluetooth is UART, however as you mentioned the in some platforms like the OMAPL138 the Bluetooth will not be supported since it share same hardware for the Audio

Regards,

Eyal

For Bluetooth, the WL1271 has two interfaces:  UART and PCM Audio.  PCM Audio is usually connected to a McBSP port on the CPU.  The question:  which ports on the CPU will be supported by the Bluetooth driver?  UART, McBSP, or both?

Hi,

currently we don’t have schedule to support PCM Audio over Bluetooth, only profiles like A2DP, OPP, FTP, HID, SPP which used the UART only.

Could you please elaborate more on the PCM Audio scenario opportunity? Would you like to have someone from the Marketing to discuss that with him?

Regards,

Eyal

If the current plan is to not support PCM Audio, this should have been made clear early in the thread.  If A2DP will cover most audio requirements, there isn't any point in connecting the PCM interface to the AM1808.  It would have been useful information before the hardware design was done.

How are things progressing with the software release date?  The start of Q3 is just two weeks away.

Hi,

According to the marketing the dates of releases are published in the following link:

http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/OMAP35xx_Wireless_Connectivity

Currently I don’t know of any change in plans, but I will try to check the accurate dates.

If you wish to take the current driver (NOT-open source) you can get it from the following link:

http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/ARM_Processor_Wireless_Connectivity_Downloads

For AM-18 à SW-0007

For AM-omapl138 à SW-0008

Let's make this simple.  Will the open source driver ever be part of a PSP_03.20.00.xx release?  If yes, when will a stable version be ready?  The following page seems to indicate that the AM18x SDK 5.03 Beta (set to be released on Sept. 30th, 2011, not sure how this is related to the PSP_03.20.00.xx releases) will be based on Kernel 2.6.38, not 2.6.39 as stated in your response on April 13, 2011.