BELK-AN-012: Using an external USB to Wifi adapter

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Applies to BORA Application Notes

Applies to BORA Xpress Application Notes

Applies to BORA Lite Application Notes

This application note was validated against specific versions of the kit only. It may not work with other versions. Supported versions are listed in the History section.

History[edit | edit source]

Date	BELK version	Notes
2023/09/11	BELK 4.1.4	First release
2023/12/13	BELK 4.1.4	Update build info

Introduction[edit | edit source]

BORA, BORA Xpress and BORA Lite Evaluation Kit maybe used with an external USB to wifi adpater for easily connect to a Wifi network.

As an example, we will show how to add the support for the LM007 wifi to USB network adapter which uses a well known Realtek RTL8188EUS chipset.

This one has been selected by many companies for building this kind of adapter for the large market. In particular, the LM Technologies version has a good temperature range (-20°C to +85°C) and is well supported by lwfinger wifi drivers.

This application note shows, for instance, how to configure the Linux driver for managing the USB to Wifi adapter.

Linux driver[edit | edit source]

It is possible to enable the driver for using the adapter in the following way:

firstly you have to download the lwfinger driver cloning the related git repo

 cd drivers/net/wireless/realtek
 git clone https://github.com/lwfinger/rtl8188eu.git

then, you have to add the drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtl8188eu/Kconfig file for get a built-in driver

config RTL8188EU
        tristate "Realtek 8188EU USB support"
        depends on USB
        ---help---
          Help message of RTL8188EU

and enable the driver building in the drivers/net/wireless/realtek/Makefile

obj-$(CONFIG_RTL8188EU)      += rtl8188eu/

now, you have to enable the kernel driver selecting the various kernel options (some of them required for the driver kernel error-free compilation)

> Networking support > Wireless > cfg80211 - wireless configuration API
> Networking support > Wireless > cfg80211 wireless extensions compatibility
> Device Drivers > Network device support > Wireless LAN > Realtek 8188EU USB support
> Device Drivers > Network device support > Wireless LAN > USB ZD1201 based Wireless device support

i.e.

CONFIG_CFG80211=y
CONFIG_CFG80211_WEXT=y 
CONFIG_RTL8188EU=y
CONFIG_USB_ZD1201=y

the last one has been just added for enabling CONFIG_WEXT_PRIV

Build the kernel[edit | edit source]

The kernel has to be built for enabling the built-in driver:

make UIMAGE_LOADADDR=0x8000 uImage

Once built, copy the kernel uImage in the target:

scp arch/arm/boot/uImage root@192.168.0.90:/home/root

and then move the uImage in the SD card first partition.

Configuring the root file system[edit | edit source]

It is useful to add the wireless-tools utilities for the wifi management: this can be done using the smart package manager (as depicted here)

smart install wireless-tools

The wifi adapter requires its own firmware already present in the cloned repository. Then, copy the rtl8188eufw.bin firmware in the proper path in the root file system (i.e. /lib/firmware/rtlwifi/rtl8188eufw.bin)

scp drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtl8188eu/rtl8188eufw.bin root@192.168.0.90:/lib/firmware/rtlwifi

Using the wifi adapter[edit | edit source]

Once the system has been configured, boot the EVK with the wifi adpater inserted: the adapter is recognized by the kernel

…
INIT: version 2.88 booting
[    1.547217] Chip Version Info: CHIP_8188E_Normal_Chip_TSMC_D_CUT_1T1R_RomVer(0)
[    1.587575] EEPROM ID = 0x8129
Starting udev
…

Now, it is possible to start the wlan0 interface:

bora login: root
root@bora:~# ifconfig wlan0 up
[   83.061633] R8188EU: Firmware Version 11, SubVersion 1, Signature 0x88e1
[   83.465308] MAC Address = 34:c9:f0:88:ec:dd
[   83.474283] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
root@bora:~#

and - using the wireless tool - scan the wifi networks available:

root@bora:~# iwlist wlan0 scan
wlan0     Scan completed :
          Cell 01 - Address: D0:21:F9:34:8E:88
                    ESSID:"daveguest"
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 02 - Address: D0:21:F9:34:87:E8
                    ESSID:"daveguest"
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 03 - Address: D2:21:F9:34:8E:88
                    ESSID:"davesrl"
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 04 - Address: D2:21:F9:34:87:E8
                    ESSID:"davesrl"
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 05 - Address: E2:21:F9:34:87:E8
                    ESSID:""
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 06 - Address: E2:21:F9:34:8E:88
                    ESSID:""
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 07 - Address: D2:21:F9:34:8E:79
                    ESSID:"davesrl"
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 08 - Address: D2:21:F9:34:87:82
                    ESSID:"davesrl"
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 09 - Address: F2:21:F9:34:8E:88
                    ESSID:""
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality=0/100  Signal level=100/100
          Cell 10 - Address: D0:21:F9:34:8E:79
                    ESSID:"daveguest"
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 11 - Address: D0:21:F9:34:87:82
                    ESSID:"daveguest"
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 12 - Address: F2:21:F9:34:87:E8
                    ESSID:""
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.412 GHz (Channel 1)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality=0/100  Signal level=68/100
          Cell 13 - Address: FE:3F:DB:B9:B9:C9
                    ESSID:"DIRECT-C9-HP PageWide Pro 477dw"
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11gn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:108 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020c00
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    IE: Unknown: DD9E0050F204104A0001101044000102103B00010310470010802575266702757DCA107EFC225144A81021000248501023001948502050616765576964652050726F203437376477204D4650102400064433513230421042000A434E37313646583036321054000800030050F204000110110001201008000240081049000600372A0001201049001700013710060010802575266702757DCA107EFC225144A8
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 14 - Address: E2:80:C3:75:50:02
                    ESSID:"Mi 10T Lite"
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:300 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020c00
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 15 - Address: D2:21:F9:34:8E:8D
                    ESSID:"davesrl"
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 16 - Address: D0:21:F9:34:8E:8D
                    ESSID:"daveguest"
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Cell 17 - Address: F2:21:F9:34:8E:8D
                    ESSID:""
                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11bgn
                    Mode:Master
                    Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11)
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:144 Mb/s
                    Extra:rsn_ie =30140100000fac040100000fac040100000fac020000
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : CCMP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Quality=0/100  Signal level=64/100

root@bora:~#

HOME	SOMs	SBCs	ToloMEO Embedded Assistant	GET A QUOTE	ONLINE HELPDESK
	Roadmap		IoT Services			ML/AI services	Embedded Design Services

BELK-AN-012: Using an external USB to Wifi adapter

Contents

History[edit | edit source]

Introduction[edit | edit source]

Linux driver[edit | edit source]

Build the kernel[edit | edit source]

Configuring the root file system[edit | edit source]

Using the wifi adapter[edit | edit source]

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