Generally, the most effective way to begin your own Wi-Fi application is to select an example which is similar to your own application, and port the useful part into your project. It is not a MUST, but it is strongly recommended that you take some time to read this article first, especially if you want to program a robust Wi-Fi application.
This article is supplementary to the Wi-Fi APIs/Examples. It describes the principles of using the Wi-Fi APIs, the limitations of the current Wi-Fi API implementation, and the most common pitfalls in using Wi-Fi. This article also reveals some design details of the Wi-Fi driver. We recommend you to select an :example:`example <wifi>`.
Generally, it is easy to write code in "sunny-day" scenarios, such as `WIFI_EVENT_STA_START`_ and `WIFI_EVENT_STA_CONNECTED`_. The hard part is to write routines in "rainy-day" scenarios, such as `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_. Good handling of "rainy-day" scenarios is fundamental to robust Wi-Fi applications. Refer to `{IDF_TARGET_NAME} Wi-Fi Event Description`_, `{IDF_TARGET_NAME} Wi-Fi station General Scenario`_, and `{IDF_TARGET_NAME} Wi-Fi AP General Scenario`_. See also the :doc:`overview of the Event Loop Library in ESP-IDF<../api-reference/system/esp_event>`.
Just like the handling of "rainy-day" scenarios, a good error-recovery routine is also fundamental to robust Wi-Fi applications. Refer to `{IDF_TARGET_NAME} Wi-Fi API Error Code`_.
Whether the error is critical or not depends on the API and the application scenario, and it is defined by the API user.
**The primary principle to write a robust application with Wi-Fi API is to always check the error code and write the error-handling code.** Generally, the error-handling code can be used:
- For recoverable errors, in which case you can write a recoverable-error code. For example, when :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_start()` returns :c:macro:`ESP_ERR_NO_MEM`, the recoverable-error code vTaskDelay can be called in order to get a microseconds' delay for another try.
- For non-recoverable and also critical errors, in which case "assert" may be a good method for error handling. For example, if :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_mode()` returns ``ESP_ERR_WIFI_NOT_INIT``, it means that the Wi-Fi driver is not initialized by :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_init()` successfully. You can detect this kind of error very quickly in the application development phase.
In :component_file:`esp_common/include/esp_err.h`, ``ESP_ERROR_CHECK`` checks the return values. It is a rather commonplace error-handling code and can be used as the default error-handling code in the application development phase. However, it is strongly recommended that API users write their own error-handling code.
Initializing or getting the entire structure is very important, because most of the time the value 0 indicates that the default value is used. More fields may be added to the struct in the future and initializing these to zero ensures the application will still work correctly after ESP-IDF is updated to a new release.
The Wi-Fi driver can be considered a black box that knows nothing about high-layer code, such as the TCP/IP stack, application task, and event task. The application task (code) generally calls :doc:`Wi-Fi driver APIs <../api-reference/network/esp_wifi>` to initialize Wi-Fi and handles Wi-Fi events when necessary. Wi-Fi driver receives API calls, handles them, and posts events to the application.
Wi-Fi event handling is based on the :doc:`esp_event library <../api-reference/system/esp_event>`. Events are sent by the Wi-Fi driver to the :ref:`default event loop <esp-event-default-loops>`. Application may handle these events in callbacks registered using :cpp:func:`esp_event_handler_register()`. Wi-Fi events are also handled by :doc:`esp_netif component <../api-reference/network/esp_netif>` to provide a set of default behaviors. For example, when Wi-Fi station connects to an AP, esp_netif will automatically start the DHCP client by default.
The Wi-Fi driver will never generate this event, which, as a result, can be ignored by the application event callback. This event may be removed in future releases.
- The scan is stopped by :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_stop()`.
- The :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_start()` is called before the scan is completed. A new scan will override the current scan and a scan-done event will be generated.
Upon receiving this event, the event task does nothing. The application event callback needs to call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_get_ap_num()` and :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_get_ap_records()` to fetch the scanned AP list and trigger the Wi-Fi driver to free the internal memory which is allocated during the scan **(do not forget to do this!)**.
Refer to `{IDF_TARGET_NAME} Wi-Fi Scan`_ for a more detailed description.
If :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_start()` returns :c:macro:`ESP_OK` and the current Wi-Fi mode is station or station/AP, then this event will arise. Upon receiving this event, the event task will initialize the LwIP network interface (netif). Generally, the application event callback needs to call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()` to connect to the configured AP.
If :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_stop()` returns :c:macro:`ESP_OK` and the current Wi-Fi mode is station or station/AP, then this event will arise. Upon receiving this event, the event task will release the station's IP address, stop the DHCP client, remove TCP/UDP-related connections, and clear the LwIP station netif, etc. The application event callback generally does not need to do anything.
If :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()` returns :c:macro:`ESP_OK` and the station successfully connects to the target AP, the connection event will arise. Upon receiving this event, the event task starts the DHCP client and begins the DHCP process of getting the IP address. Then, the Wi-Fi driver is ready for sending and receiving data. This moment is good for beginning the application work, provided that the application does not depend on LwIP, namely the IP address. However, if the application is LwIP-based, then you need to wait until the *got ip* event comes in.
- When :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_disconnect()` or :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_stop()` is called and the station is already connected to the AP.
- When :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()` is called, but the Wi-Fi driver fails to set up a connection with the AP due to certain reasons, e.g., the scan fails to find the target AP or the authentication times out. If there are more than one AP with the same SSID, the disconnected event will be raised after the station fails to connect all of the found APs.
- When the Wi-Fi connection is disrupted because of specific reasons, e.g., the station continuously loses N beacons, the AP kicks off the station, or the AP's authentication mode is changed.
- Notifying the LwIP task to clear the UDP/TCP connections which cause the wrong status to all sockets. For socket-based applications, the application callback can choose to close all sockets and re-create them, if necessary, upon receiving this event.
The most common event handle code for this event in application is to call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()` to reconnect the Wi-Fi. However, if the event is raised because :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_disconnect()` is called, the application should not call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()` to reconnect. It is the application's responsibility to distinguish whether the event is caused by :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_disconnect()` or other reasons. Sometimes a better reconnection strategy is required. Refer to `Wi-Fi Reconnect`_ and `Scan When Wi-Fi Is Connecting`_.
Another thing that deserves attention is that the default behavior of LwIP is to abort all TCP socket connections on receiving the disconnect. In most cases, it is not a problem. However, for some special applications, this may not be what they want. Consider the following scenarios:
- Due to certain reasons, the Wi-Fi connection is cut off, and the `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ is raised. According to the current implementation, all TCP connections will be removed and the keep-alive socket will be in a wrong status. However, since the application designer believes that the network layer should **ignore** this error at the Wi-Fi layer, the application does not close the socket.
- Five seconds later, the Wi-Fi connection is restored because :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()` is called in the application event callback function. **Moreover, the station connects to the same AP and gets the same IPV4 address as before**.
- Sixty seconds later, when the application sends out data with the keep-alive socket, the socket returns an error and the application closes the socket and re-creates it when necessary.
In above scenarios, ideally, the application sockets and the network layer should not be affected, since the Wi-Fi connection only fails temporarily and recovers very quickly. The application can enable "Keep TCP connections when IP changed" via LwIP menuconfig.
This event arises when the DHCP client successfully gets the IPV4 address from the DHCP server, or when the IPV4 address is changed. The event means that everything is ready and the application can begin its tasks (e.g., creating sockets).
The IPV4 may be changed because of the following reasons:
- The DHCP client fails to renew/rebind the IPV4 address, and the station's IPV4 is reset to 0.
The socket is based on the IPV4 address, which means that, if the IPV4 changes, all sockets relating to this IPV4 will become abnormal. Upon receiving this event, the application needs to close all sockets and recreate the application when the IPV4 changes to a valid one.
This event arises when the IPV6 SLAAC support auto-configures an address for the {IDF_TARGET_NAME}, or when this address changes. The event means that everything is ready and the application can begin its tasks, e.g., creating sockets.
IP_EVENT_STA_LOST_IP does not arise immediately after the Wi-Fi disconnects. Instead, it starts an IPV4 address lost timer. If the IPV4 address is got before ip lost timer expires, IP_EVENT_STA_LOST_IP does not happen. Otherwise, the event arises when the IPV4 address lost timer expires.
Every time a station is connected to {IDF_TARGET_NAME} AP, the `WIFI_EVENT_AP_STACONNECTED`_ will arise. Upon receiving this event, the event task will do nothing, and the application callback can also ignore it. However, you may want to do something, for example, to get the info of the connected STA.
- The application calls :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_disconnect()`, or :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_deauth_sta()`, to manually disconnect the station.
- The Wi-Fi driver kicks off the station, e.g., because the AP has not received any packets in the past five minutes. The time can be modified by :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_inactive_time()`.
When this event happens, the event task will do nothing, but the application event callback needs to do something, e.g., close the socket which is related to this station.
If the station does not receive the beacon of the connected AP within the inactive time, the beacon timeout happens, the `WIFI_EVENT_STA_BEACON_TIMEOUT`_ will arise. The application can set inactive time via API :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_inactive_time()`.
The `WIFI_EVENT_CONNECTIONLESS_MODULE_WAKE_INTERVAL_START`_ will arise at the start of connectionless module `Interval`. See :ref:`connectionless module power save <connectionless-module-power-save>`.
- s1.2: The main task calls :cpp:func:`esp_event_loop_create()` to create a system Event task and initialize an application event's callback function. In the scenario above, the application event's callback function does nothing but relaying the event to the application task.
- s1.3: The main task calls :cpp:func:`esp_netif_create_default_wifi_ap()` or :cpp:func:`esp_netif_create_default_wifi_sta()` to create default network interface instance binding station or AP with TCP/IP stack.
Step 1.1 ~ 1.5 is a recommended sequence that initializes a Wi-Fi-/LwIP-based application. However, it is **NOT** a must-follow sequence, which means that you can create the application task in step 1.1 and put all other initialization in the application task. Moreover, you may not want to create the application task in the initialization phase if the application task depends on the sockets. Rather, you can defer the task creation until the IP is obtained.
Once the Wi-Fi driver is initialized, you can start configuring the Wi-Fi driver. In this scenario, the mode is station, so you may need to call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_mode` (WIFI_MODE_STA) to configure the Wi-Fi mode as station. You can call other `esp_wifi_set_xxx` APIs to configure more settings, such as the protocol mode, the country code, and the bandwidth. Refer to `{IDF_TARGET_NAME} Wi-Fi Configuration`_.
Generally, the Wi-Fi driver should be configured before the Wi-Fi connection is set up. But this is **NOT** mandatory, which means that you can configure the Wi-Fi connection anytime, provided that the Wi-Fi driver is initialized successfully. However, if the configuration does not need to change after the Wi-Fi connection is set up, you should configure the Wi-Fi driver at this stage, because the configuration APIs (such as :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_protocol()`) will cause the Wi-Fi to reconnect, which may not be desirable.
If the Wi-Fi NVS flash is enabled by menuconfig, all Wi-Fi configuration in this phase, or later phases, will be stored into flash. When the board powers on/reboots, you do not need to configure the Wi-Fi driver from scratch. You only need to call ``esp_wifi_get_xxx`` APIs to fetch the configuration stored in flash previously. You can also configure the Wi-Fi driver if the previous configuration is not what you want.
- s3.1: Call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_start()` to start the Wi-Fi driver.
- s3.2: The Wi-Fi driver posts `WIFI_EVENT_STA_START`_ to the event task; then, the event task will do some common things and will call the application event callback function.
- s3.3: The application event callback function relays the `WIFI_EVENT_STA_START`_ to the application task. We recommend that you call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()`. However, you can also call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()` in other phrases after the `WIFI_EVENT_STA_START`_ arises.
- s4.2: If the internal scan/connection process is successful, the `WIFI_EVENT_STA_CONNECTED`_ will be generated. In the event task, it starts the DHCP client, which will finally trigger the DHCP process.
- s4.3: In the above-mentioned scenario, the application event callback will relay the event to the application task. Generally, the application needs to do nothing, and you can do whatever you want, e.g., print a log.
In step 4.2, the Wi-Fi connection may fail because, for example, the password is wrong, or the AP is not found. In a case like this, `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ will arise and the reason for such a failure will be provided. For handling events that disrupt Wi-Fi connection, please refer to phase 6.
- s5.2: If the IP address is successfully received from the DHCP server, then `IP_EVENT_STA_GOT_IP`_ will arise and the event task will perform common handling.
- s5.3: In the application event callback, `IP_EVENT_STA_GOT_IP`_ is relayed to the application task. For LwIP-based applications, this event is very special and means that everything is ready for the application to begin its tasks, e.g., creating the TCP/UDP socket. A very common mistake is to initialize the socket before `IP_EVENT_STA_GOT_IP`_ is received. **DO NOT start the socket-related work before the IP is received.**
- s6.1: When the Wi-Fi connection is disrupted, e.g., the AP is powered off or the RSSI is poor, `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ will arise. This event may also arise in phase 3. Here, the event task will notify the LwIP task to clear/remove all UDP/TCP connections. Then, all application sockets will be in a wrong status. In other words, no socket can work properly when this event happens.
- s6.2: In the scenario described above, the application event callback function relays `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ to the application task. The recommended actions are: 1) call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()` to reconnect the Wi-Fi, 2) close all sockets, and 3) re-create them if necessary. For details, please refer to `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_.
- No probe request is sent out. Just switch to the specific channel and wait for a beacon. Application can enable it via the scan_type field of :cpp:type:`wifi_scan_config_t`.
- This scan is applicable when there is no Wi-Fi connection in station mode. Foreground or background scanning is controlled by the Wi-Fi driver and cannot be configured by the application.
* - Background Scan
- This scan is applicable when there is a Wi-Fi connection in station mode or in station/AP mode. Whether it is a foreground scan or background scan depends on the Wi-Fi driver and cannot be configured by the application.
The scan type and other per-scan attributes are configured by :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_start()`. The table below provides a detailed description of :cpp:type:`wifi_scan_config_t`.
- If the SSID is not NULL, it is only the AP with the same SSID that can be scanned.
* - bssid
- If the BSSID is not NULL, it is only the AP with the same BSSID that can be scanned.
* - channel
- If “channel” is 0, there will be an all-channel scan; otherwise, there will be a specific-channel scan.
* - show_hidden
- If “show_hidden” is 0, the scan ignores the AP with a hidden SSID; otherwise, the scan considers the hidden AP a normal one.
* - scan_type
- If “scan_type” is WIFI_SCAN_TYPE_ACTIVE, the scan is “active”; otherwise, it is a “passive” one.
* - scan_time
- This field is used to control how long the scan dwells on each channel.
For passive scans, scan_time.passive designates the dwell time for each channel.
For active scans, dwell times for each channel are listed in the table below. Here, min is short for scan time.active.min and max is short for scan_time.active.max.
- min=0, max=0: scan dwells on each channel for 120 ms.
- min>0, max=0: scan dwells on each channel for 120 ms.
- min=0, max>0: scan dwells on each channel for``max``ms.
- min>0, max>0: the minimum time the scan dwells on each channel is``min``ms. If no AP is found during this time frame, the scan switches to the next channel. Otherwise, the scan dwells on the channel for``max``ms.
The scenario above describes an all-channel, foreground scan. The foreground scan can only occur in station mode where the station does not connect to any AP. Whether it is a foreground or background scan is totally determined by the Wi-Fi driver, and cannot be configured by the application.
- s1.1: Call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_country()` to set the country info if the default country info is not what you want. Refer to `Wi-Fi Country Code`_.
- s1.2: Call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_start()` to configure the scan. To do so, you can refer to `Scan Configuration`_. Since this is an all-channel scan, just set the SSID/BSSID/channel to 0.
- s2.1: The Wi-Fi driver switches to channel 1. In this case, the scan type is WIFI_SCAN_TYPE_ACTIVE, and a probe request is broadcasted. Otherwise, the Wi-Fi will wait for a beacon from the APs. The Wi-Fi driver will stay in channel 1 for some time. The dwell time is configured in min/max time, with the default value being 120 ms.
- s3.2: The application's event callback function notifies the application task that `WIFI_EVENT_SCAN_DONE`_ is received. :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_get_ap_num()` is called to get the number of APs that have been found in this scan. Then, it allocates enough entries and calls :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_get_ap_records()` to get the AP records. Please note that the AP records in the Wi-Fi driver will be freed once :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_get_ap_records()` is called. Do not call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_get_ap_records()` twice for a single scan-done event. If :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_get_ap_records()` is not called when the scan-done event occurs, the AP records allocated by the Wi-Fi driver will not be freed. So, make sure you call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_get_ap_records()`, yet only once.
The scenario above is an all-channel background scan. Compared to `Scan All APs on All Channels (Foreground)`_ , the difference in the all-channel background scan is that the Wi-Fi driver will scan the back-to-home channel for 30 ms before it switches to the next channel to give the Wi-Fi connection a chance to transmit/receive data.
- s2.1 ~ s2.N: Each time the Wi-Fi driver scans an AP, it will check whether it is a target AP or not. If the scan is ``WIFI_FAST_SCAN`` scan and the target AP is found, then the scan-done event will arise and scanning will end; otherwise, the scan will continue. Please note that the first scanned channel may not be channel 1, because the Wi-Fi driver optimizes the scanning sequence.
It is a possible situation that there are multiple APs that match the target AP info, e.g., two APs with the SSID of "ap" are scanned. In this case, if the scan is ``WIFI_FAST_SCAN``, then only the first scanned "ap" will be found. If the scan is ``WIFI_ALL_CHANNEL_SCAN``, both "ap" will be found and the station will connect the "ap" according to the configured strategy. Refer to `Station Basic Configuration`_.
When :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()` is called, the Wi-Fi driver will try to scan the configured AP first. The scan in "Wi-Fi Connect" is the same as `Scan for Specific AP On All Channels`_, except that no scan-done event will be generated when the scan is completed. If the target AP is found, the Wi-Fi driver will start the Wi-Fi connection; otherwise, `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ will be generated. Refer to `Scan for Specific AP On All Channels`_.
If the block parameter of :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_start()` is true, then the scan is a blocked one, and the application task will be blocked until the scan is done. The blocked scan is similar to an unblocked one, except that no scan-done event will arise when the blocked scan is completed.
Two application tasks may call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_start()` at the same time, or the same application task calls :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_start()` before it gets a scan-done event. Both scenarios can happen. **However, the Wi-Fi driver does not support multiple concurrent scans adequately. As a result, concurrent scans should be avoided.** Support for concurrent scan will be enhanced in future releases, as the {IDF_TARGET_NAME}'s Wi-Fi functionality improves continuously.
The :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_start()` fails immediately if the Wi-Fi is connecting, because the connecting has higher priority than the scan. If scan fails because of connecting, the recommended strategy is to delay for some time and retry scan again. The scan will succeed once the connecting is completed.
- The station is connecting a non-existing AP or it connects the existing AP with a wrong password, it always raises the event `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_.
- The application calls :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()` to reconnect on receiving the disconnect event.
- Another application task, e.g., the console task, calls :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_start()` to do scan, the scan always fails immediately because the station keeps connecting.
- When scan fails, the application simply delays for some time and retries the scan.
In the above scenarios, the scan will never succeed because the connecting is in process. So if the application supports similar scenario, it needs to implement a better reconnection strategy. For example:
This scenario depicts the case if only one target AP is found in the scan phase. For scenarios where more than one AP with the same SSID is found, refer to `{IDF_TARGET_NAME} Wi-Fi Station Connecting When Multiple APs Are Found`_.
- s1.2: If the scan fails to find the target AP, `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ will arise and the reason code will be ``WIFI_REASON_NO_AP_FOUND``. Refer to `Wi-Fi Reason Code`_.
- s2.2: If the authentication response packet is not received before the authentication timer times out, `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ will arise and the reason code will be ``WIFI_REASON_AUTH_EXPIRE``. Refer to `Wi-Fi Reason Code`_.
- s2.4: The AP rejects authentication in the response and `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ arises, while the reason code is ``WIFI_REASON_AUTH_FAIL`` or the reasons specified by the AP. Refer to `Wi-Fi Reason Code`_.
- s3.2: If the association response is not received before the association timer times out, `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ will arise and the reason code will be ``WIFI_REASON_ASSOC_EXPIRE``. Refer to `Wi-Fi Reason Code`_.
- s3.3: The association response is received and the association timer is stopped.
- s3.4: The AP rejects the association in the response and `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ arises, while the reason code is the one specified in the association response. Refer to `Wi-Fi Reason Code`_.
- s4.1: The handshake timer is enabled, and the 1/4 EAPOL is not received before the handshake timer expires. `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ will arise and the reason code will be ``WIFI_REASON_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT``. Refer to `Wi-Fi Reason Code`_.
- s4.4: If the 3/4 EAPOL is not received before the handshake timer expires, `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ will arise and the reason code will be ``WIFI_REASON_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT``. Refer to `Wi-Fi Reason Code`_.
The table below shows the reason-code defined in {IDF_TARGET_NAME}. The first column is the macro name defined in :component_file:`esp_wifi/include/esp_wifi_types.h`. The common prefix ``WIFI_REASON`` is removed, which means that ``UNSPECIFIED`` actually stands for ``WIFI_REASON_UNSPECIFIED`` and so on. The second column is the value of the reason. The third column is the standard value to which this reason is mapped in section 9.4.1.7 of IEEE 802.11-2020. (For more information, refer to the standard mentioned above.) The last column describes the reason.
- Requested service not authorized in this location.
* - SERVICE_CHANGE_PRECLUDES_TS
- 31
- 31
- TS deleted because QoS AP lacks sufficient bandwidth for this QoS STA due to a change in BSS service characteristics or operational mode (e.g., an HT BSS change from 40 MHz channel to 20 MHz channel).
* - UNSPECIFIED_QOS
- 32
- 32
- Disassociated for unspecified, QoS-related reason.
* - NOT_ENOUGH_BANDWIDTH
- 33
- 33
- Disassociated because QoS AP lacks sufficient bandwidth for this QoS STA.
* - MISSING_ACKS
- 34
- 34
- Disassociated because excessive number of frames need to be acknowledged, but are not acknowledged due to AP transmissions and/or poor channel conditions.
* - EXCEEDED_TXOP
- 35
- 35
- Disassociated because STA is transmitting outside the limits of its TXOPs.
* - STA_LEAVING
- 36
- 36
- Requesting STA is leaving the BSS (or resetting).
* - END_BA
- 37
- 37
- Requesting STA is no longer using the stream or session.
* - UNKNOWN_BA
- 38
- 38
- Requesting STA received frames using a mechanism for which a setup has not been completed.
This scenario is similar as `{IDF_TARGET_NAME} Wi-Fi Station Connecting Scenario`_. The difference is that the station will not raise the event `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_ unless it fails to connect all of the found APs.
The station may disconnect due to many reasons, e.g., the connected AP is restarted. It is the application's responsibility to reconnect. The recommended reconnection strategy is to call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()` on receiving event `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_.
- If the disconnect event is raised because the :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_disconnect()` is called, the application may not want to do the reconnection.
- If the :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_scan_start()` may be called at anytime, a better reconnection strategy is necessary. Refer to `Scan When Wi-Fi Is Connecting`_.
Another thing that need to be considered is that the reconnection may not connect the same AP if there are more than one APs with the same SSID. The reconnection always select current best APs to connect.
The beacon timeout mechanism is used by {IDF_TARGET_NAME} station to detect whether the AP is alive or not. If the station does not receive the beacon of the connected AP within the inactive time, the beacon timeout happens. The application can set inactive time via API :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_inactive_time()`.
After the beacon times out, the station sends 5 probe requests to the AP. If still no probe response or beacon is received from AP, the station disconnects from the AP and raises the event `WIFI_EVENT_STA_DISCONNECTED`_.
It should be considered that the timer used for beacon timeout will be reset during the scanning process. It means that the scan process will affect the triggering of the event `WIFI_EVENT_STA_BEACON_TIMEOUT`_.
- NULL mode: in this mode, the internal data struct is not allocated to the station and the AP, while both the station and AP interfaces are not initialized for RX/TX Wi-Fi data. Generally, this mode is used for Sniffer, or when you only want to stop both the station and the AP without calling:cpp:func:`esp_wifi_deinit()`to unload the whole Wi-Fi driver.
- Station mode: in this mode,:cpp:func:`esp_wifi_start()`will init the internal station data, while the station’s interface is ready for the RX and TX Wi-Fi data. After:cpp:func:`esp_wifi_connect()`, the station will connect to the target AP.
- AP mode: in this mode,:cpp:func:`esp_wifi_start()`will init the internal AP data, while the AP’s interface is ready for RX/TX Wi-Fi data. Then, the Wi-Fi driver starts broad-casting beacons, and the AP is ready to get connected to other stations.
- Station/AP coexistence mode: in this mode,:cpp:func:`esp_wifi_start()`will simultaneously initialize both the station and the AP. This is done in station mode and AP mode. Please note that the channel of the external AP, which the ESP station is connected to, has higher priority over the ESP AP channel.
API :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_config()` can be used to configure the station. And the configuration will be stored in NVS. The table below describes the fields in detail.
- For ``WIFI_FAST_SCAN`` scan, the scan ends when the first matched AP is found. For ``WIFI_ALL_CHANNEL_SCAN``, the scan finds all matched APs on all channels. The default scan is ``WIFI_FAST_SCAN``.
- If bssid_set is 0, the station connects to the AP whose SSID is the same as the field “ssid”, while the field “bssid” is ignored. In all other cases, the station connects to the AP whose SSID is the same as the “ssid” field, while its BSSID is the same the “bssid” field .
* - bssid
- This is valid only when bssid_set is 1; see field “bssid_set”.
- If the channel is 0, the station scans the channel 1 ~ N to search for the target AP; otherwise, the station starts by scanning the channel whose value is the same as that of the “channel” field, and then scans the channel 1 ~ N but skip the specific channel to find the target AP. For example, if the channel is 3, the scan order will be 3, 1, 2, 4,..., N. If you do not know which channel the target AP is running on, set it to 0.
If the sort_method is ``WIFI_CONNECT_AP_BY_SIGNAL``, all matched APs are sorted by signal, and the AP with the best signal will be connected firstly. For example, the station wants to connect an AP whose SSID is “apxx”. If the scan finds two APs whose SSID equals to “apxx”, and the first AP’s signal is -90 dBm while the second AP’s signal is -30 dBm, the station connects the second AP firstly, and it would not connect the first one unless it fails to connect the second one.
If the sort_method is ``WIFI_CONNECT_AP_BY_SECURITY``, all matched APs are sorted by security. For example, the station wants to connect an AP whose SSID is “apxx”. If the scan finds two APs whose SSID is “apxx”, and the security of the first found AP is open while the second one is WPA2, the station connects to the second AP firstly, and it would not connect the first one unless it fails to connect the second one.
If the RSSI is set to 0, it means the default threshold and the default RSSI threshold are -127 dBm. If the authmode threshold is set to 0, it means the default threshold and the default authmode threshold are open.
WEP/WPA security modes are deprecated in IEEE 802.11-2016 specifications and are recommended not to be used. These modes can be rejected using authmode threshold by setting threshold as WPA2 by threshold.authmode as ``WIFI_AUTH_WPA2_PSK``.
API :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_config()` can be used to configure the AP. And the configuration will be stored in NVS. The table below describes the fields in detail.
- SSID of AP; if the ssid[0] is 0xFF and ssid[1] is 0xFF, the AP defaults the SSID to ``ESP_aabbcc``, where “aabbcc” is the last three bytes of the AP MAC.
- Length of SSID; if ssid_len is 0, check the SSID until there is a termination character. If ssid_len > 32, change it to 32; otherwise, set the SSID length according to ssid_len.
- Channel of AP; if the channel is out of range, the Wi-Fi driver defaults to channel 1. So, please make sure the channel is within the required range. For more details, refer to`Wi-Fi Country Code`_.
- The max number of stations allowed to connect in, the default value is 10. ESP Wi-Fi supports up to {IDF_TARGET_MAX_CONN_STA_NUM} (``ESP_WIFI_MAX_CONN_NUM``) Wi-Fi connections. Please note that ESP AP and ESP-NOW share the same encryption hardware keys, so the max_connection parameter will be affected by the :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_ESPNOW_MAX_ENCRYPT_NUM`. The total number of encryption hardware keys is 17, if :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_ESPNOW_MAX_ENCRYPT_NUM` <= {IDF_TARGET_SUB_MAX_NUM_FROM_KEYS}, the max_connection can be set up to {IDF_TARGET_MAX_CONN_STA_NUM}, otherwise the max_connection can be set up to (17 - :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_ESPNOW_MAX_ENCRYPT_NUM`).
- SSID of AP; if the ssid[0] is 0xFF and ssid[1] is 0xFF, the AP defaults the SSID to ``ESP_aabbcc``, where “aabbcc” is the last three bytes of the AP MAC.
- Length of SSID; if ssid_len is 0, check the SSID until there is a termination character. If ssid_len > 32, change it to 32; otherwise, set the SSID length according to ssid_len.
- Channel of AP; if the channel is out of range, the Wi-Fi driver defaults to channel 1. So, please make sure the channel is within the required range. For more details, refer to`Wi-Fi Country Code`_.
- The max number of stations allowed to connect in, the default value is 2. ESP Wi-Fi supports up to {IDF_TARGET_MAX_CONN_STA_NUM} (``ESP_WIFI_MAX_CONN_NUM``) Wi-Fi connections. Please note that ESP AP and ESP-NOW share the same encryption hardware keys, so the max_connection parameter will be affected by the :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_ESPNOW_MAX_ENCRYPT_NUM`. The total number of encryption hardware keys is {IDF_TARGET_MAX_CONN_STA_NUM}, the max_connection can be set up to ({IDF_TARGET_MAX_CONN_STA_NUM} - :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_ESPNOW_MAX_ENCRYPT_NUM`).
- Call ``esp_wifi_set_protocol(ifx, WIFI_PROTOCOL_11B|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11G)`` and esp_wifi_config_11b_rate(ifx, true) to set the station/AP to 802.11g mode.
- Call ``esp_wifi_set_protocol(ifx, WIFI_PROTOCOL_11B|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11G|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11N)`` and esp_wifi_config_11b_rate(ifx, true) to set the station/AP to 802.11gn mode.
- Call ``esp_wifi_set_protocol(ifx, WIFI_PROTOCOL_11B| WIFI_PROTOCOL_11G|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11N|WIFI_PROTOCOL_LR)`` to set the station/AP to BGN and the LR mode.
**This mode is an Espressif-patented mode which can achieve a one-kilometer line of sight range. Please make sure both the station and the AP are connected to an ESP device.**
- Call ``esp_wifi_set_protocol(ifx, WIFI_PROTOCOL_11B|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11G)`` and ``esp_wifi_config_11b_rate(ifx, true)`` to set the station/AP to 802.11g mode.
- Call ``esp_wifi_set_protocol(ifx, WIFI_PROTOCOL_11B|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11G|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11N)`` and esp_wifi_config_11b_rate(ifx, true) to set the station/AP to 802.11gn mode.
- Call ``esp_wifi_set_protocol(ifx, WIFI_PROTOCOL_11B| WIFI_PROTOCOL_11G|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11N|WIFI_PROTOCOL_LR)`` to set the station/AP to BGN and the LR mode.
- Call ``esp_wifi_set_protocol(ifx, WIFI_PROTOCOL_11B| WIFI_PROTOCOL_11G|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11N|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11AX)`` to set the station/ AP to 802.11bgnax mode.
- Call ``esp_wifi_set_protocol(ifx, WIFI_PROTOCOL_11B| WIFI_PROTOCOL_11G|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11N|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11AX|WIFI_PROTOCOL_LR)`` to set the station/ AP to 802.11bgnax and LR mode.
**This mode is an Espressif-patented mode which can achieve a one-kilometer line of sight range. Please make sure both the station and the AP are connected to an ESP device.**
- Call ``esp_wifi_set_protocol(ifx, WIFI_PROTOCOL_11B|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11G) and esp_wifi_config_11b_rate(ifx, true)`` to set the station/AP to 802.11g mode.
- Call ``esp_wifi_set_protocol(ifx, WIFI_PROTOCOL_11B|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11G|WIFI_PROTOCOL_11N)`` and ``esp_wifi_config_11b_rate(ifx, true)`` to set the station/AP to 802.11gn mode.
Long Range (LR) mode is an Espressif-patented Wi-Fi mode which can achieve a one-kilometer line of sight range. Compared to the traditional 802.11b mode, it has better reception sensitivity, stronger anti-interference ability, and longer transmission distance.
Since LR is Espressif-unique Wi-Fi mode, only ESP32 chip series devices (except ESP32-C2) can transmit and receive the LR data. In other words, the ESP32 chip series devices (except ESP32-C2) should NOT transmit the data in LR data rate if the connected device does not support LR. The application can achieve this by configuring a suitable Wi-Fi mode. If the negotiated mode supports LR, the ESP32 chip series devices (except ESP32-C2) may transmit data in LR rate. Otherwise, ESP32 chip series devices (except ESP32-C2) will transmit all data in the traditional Wi-Fi data rate.
In the above table, the row is the Wi-Fi mode of AP and the column is the Wi-Fi mode of station. The "-" indicates Wi-Fi mode of the AP and station are not compatible.
If the negotiated Wi-Fi mode supports both traditional 802.11 mode and LR mode, it is the Wi-Fi driver's responsibility to automatically select the best data rate in different Wi-Fi modes and the application can ignore it.
The data transmission in LR rate has no impacts on the traditional Wi-Fi device because:
- The CCA and backoff process in LR mode are consistent with 802.11 specification.
- The traditional Wi-Fi device can detect the LR signal via CCA and do backoff.
In other words, the transmission impact in LR mode is similar to that in 802.11b mode.
LR Transmission Distance
*************************
The reception sensitivity gain of LR is about 4 dB larger than that of the traditional 802.11b mode. Theoretically, the transmission distance is about 2 to 2.5 times the distance of 11B.
LR Throughput
*************************
The LR rate has very limited throughput, because the raw PHY data rate LR is 1/2 Mbps and 1/4 Mbps.
When to Use LR
*************************
The general conditions for using LR are:
- Both the AP and station are Espressif devices.
- Long distance Wi-Fi connection and data transmission is required.
- Data throughput requirements are very small, such as remote device control.
Call :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_country()` to set the country info. The table below describes the fields in detail. Please consult local 2.4 GHz RF operating regulations before configuring these fields.
- Country code string. This attribute identifies the country or noncountry entity in which the station/AP is operating. If it is a country, the first two octets of this string is the two-character country info as described in the document ISO/IEC3166-1. The third octet is one of the following:
- an ASCII space character, which means the regulations under which the station/AP is operating encompass all environments for the current frequency band in the country.
- an ASCII ‘O’ character, which means the regulations under which the station/AP is operating are for an outdoor environment only.
- an ASCII ‘I’ character, which means the regulations under which the station/AP is operating are for an indoor environment only.
- an ASCII ‘X’ character, which means the station/AP is operating under a noncountry entity. The first two octets of the noncountry entity is two ASCII ‘XX’ characters.
- Country policy. This field controls which country info will be used if the configured country info is in conflict with the connected AP’s. For more details on related policies, see the following section.
If the Wi-Fi Mode is station/AP coexist mode, they share the same configured country info. Sometimes, the country info of AP, to which the station is connected, is different from the country info of configured. For example, the configured station has country info::
The following table depicts which country info is used in different Wi-Fi modes and different country policies, and it also describes the impact on active scan.
Always keep in mind that if an AP with hidden SSID and station is set to a passive scan channel, the passive scan will not find it. In other words, if the application hopes to find the AP with hidden SSID in every channel, the policy of country info should be configured to WIFI_COUNTRY_POLICY_MANUAL.
- Station: Same as station mode with policy WIFI_COUNTRY_POLICY_AUTO.
AP: If the station does not connect to any external AP, the AP uses the configured country info. If the station connects to an external AP, the AP has the same country info as the station.
In AP mode, the home channel is defined as the AP channel. In station mode, home channel is defined as the channel of AP which the station is connected to. In station/AP-coexistence mode, the home channel of AP and station must be the same, and if they are different, the station's home channel is always in priority. For example, assume that the AP is on channel 6, and the station connects to an AP whose channel is 9. Since the station's home channel has higher priority, the AP needs to switch its channel from 6 to 9 to make sure that it has the same home channel as the station. While switching channel, the {IDF_TARGET_NAME} in AP mode will notify the connected stations about the channel migration using a Channel Switch Announcement (CSA). Station that supports channel switching will transit without disconnecting and reconnecting to the AP.
By default, all Wi-Fi management frames are processed by the Wi-Fi driver, and the application can ignore them. However, some applications may have to handle the beacon, probe request, probe response, and other management frames. For example, if you insert some vendor-specific IE into the management frames, it is only the management frames which contain this vendor-specific IE that will be processed. In {IDF_TARGET_NAME}, :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_vendor_ie()` and :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_vendor_ie_cb()` are responsible for this kind of tasks.
Wi-Fi Easy Connect\ :sup:`TM` (or Device Provisioning Protocol) is a secure and standardized provisioning protocol for configuring Wi-Fi devices. More information can be found in :doc:`esp_dpp <../api-reference/network/esp_dpp>`.
WPA2-Enterprise is the secure authentication mechanism for enterprise wireless networks. It uses RADIUS server for authentication of network users before connecting to the Access Point. The authentication process is based on 802.1X policy and comes with different Extended Authentication Protocol (EAP) methods such as TLS, TTLS, and PEAP. RADIUS server authenticates the users based on their credentials (username and password), digital certificates, or both. When {IDF_TARGET_NAME} in station mode tries to connect an AP in enterprise mode, it sends authentication request to AP which is sent to RADIUS server by AP for authenticating the station. Based on different EAP methods, the parameters can be set in configuration which can be opened using ``idf.py menuconfig``. WPA2_Enterprise is supported by {IDF_TARGET_NAME} only in station mode.
For establishing a secure connection, AP and station negotiate and agree on the best possible cipher suite to be used. {IDF_TARGET_NAME} supports 802.1X/EAP (WPA) method of AKM and Advanced encryption standard with Counter Mode Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication protocol (AES-CCM) cipher suite. It also supports the cipher suites supported by mbedtls if `USE_MBEDTLS_CRYPTO` flag is set.
- EAP-TLS: This is a certificate-based method and only requires SSID and EAP-IDF.
- PEAP: This is a Protected EAP method. Username and Password are mandatory.
- EAP-TTLS: This is a credential-based method. Only server authentication is mandatory while user authentication is optional. Username and Password are mandatory. It supports different Phase2 methods, such as:
- EAP-FAST: This is an authentication method based on Protected Access Credentials (PAC) which also uses identity and password. Currently, USE_MBEDTLS_CRYPTO flag should be disabled to use this feature.
Detailed information on creating certificates and how to run wpa2_enterprise example on {IDF_TARGET_NAME} can be found in :example:`wifi/wifi_enterprise`.
Wireless Network Management allows client devices to exchange information about the network topology, including information related to RF environment. This makes each client network-aware, facilitating overall improvement in the performance of the wireless network. It is part of 802.11v specification. It also enables the client to support Network assisted Roaming.
- Network assisted Roaming: Enables WLAN to send messages to associated clients, resulting clients to associate with APs with better link metrics. This is useful for both load balancing and in directing poorly connected clients.
Current implementation of 802.11v includes support for BSS transition management frames.
Radio Resource Measurement (802.11k) is intended to improve the way traffic is distributed within a network. In a WLAN, each device normally connects to the access point (AP) that provides the strongest signal. Depending on the number and geographic locations of the subscribers, this arrangement can sometimes lead to excessive demand on one AP and underutilization of others, resulting in degradation of overall network performance. In a network conforming to 802.11k, if the AP having the strongest signal is loaded to its full capacity, a wireless device can be moved to one of the underutilized APs. Even though the signal may be weaker, the overall throughput is greater because more efficient use is made of the network resources.
Refer ESP-IDF example :idf_file:`examples/wifi/roaming/README.md` to set up and use these APIs. Example code only demonstrates how these APIs can be used, and the application should define its own algorithm and cases as required.
Wi-Fi Location will improve the accuracy of a device's location data beyond the Access Point, which will enable creation of new and feature-rich applications and services such as geo-fencing, network management, and navigation. One of the protocols used to determine the device location with respect to the Access Point is Fine Timing Measurement which calculates Time-of-Flight of a Wi-Fi frame.
FTM is used to measure Wi-Fi Round Trip Time (Wi-Fi RTT) which is the time a Wi-Fi signal takes to travel from a device to another device and back again. Using Wi-Fi RTT, the distance between the devices can be calculated with a simple formula of `RTT * c / 2`, where c is the speed of light.
FTM uses timestamps given by Wi-Fi interface hardware at the time of arrival or departure of frames exchanged between a pair of devices. One entity called FTM Initiator (mostly a station device) discovers the FTM Responder (can be a station or an Access Point) and negotiates to start an FTM procedure. The procedure uses multiple Action frames sent in bursts and its ACK's to gather the timestamps data. FTM Initiator gathers the data in the end to calculate an average Round-Trip-Time.
Distance measurement using RTT is not accurate, and factors such as RF interference, multi-path travel, antenna orientation, and lack of calibration increase these inaccuracies. For better results, it is suggested to perform FTM between two ESP32 chip series devices (except ESP32-C2) as station and AP.
Currently, {IDF_TARGET_NAME} Wi-Fi supports the Modem-sleep mode which refers to the legacy power-saving mode in the IEEE 802.11 protocol. Modem-sleep mode works in station-only mode and the station must connect to the AP first. If the Modem-sleep mode is enabled, station will switch between active and sleep state periodically. In sleep state, RF, PHY and BB are turned off in order to reduce power consumption. Station can keep connection with AP in modem-sleep mode.
Modem-sleep mode includes minimum and maximum power-saving modes. In minimum power-saving mode, station wakes up every DTIM to receive beacon. Broadcast data will not be lost because it is transmitted after DTIM. However, it cannot save much more power if DTIM is short for DTIM is determined by AP.
In maximum power-saving mode, station wakes up in every listen interval to receive beacon. This listen interval can be set to be longer than the AP DTIM period. Broadcast data may be lost because station may be in sleep state at DTIM time. If listen interval is longer, more power is saved, but broadcast data is more easy to lose. Listen interval can be configured by calling API :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_config()` before connecting to AP.
Call ``esp_wifi_set_ps(WIFI_PS_MIN_MODEM)`` to enable Modem-sleep minimum power-saving mode or ``esp_wifi_set_ps(WIFI_PS_MAX_MODEM)`` to enable Modem-sleep maximum power-saving mode after calling :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_init()`. When station connects to AP, Modem-sleep will start. When station disconnects from AP, Modem-sleep will stop.
Call ``esp_wifi_set_ps(WIFI_PS_NONE)`` to disable Modem-sleep mode entirely. Disabling it increases power consumption, but minimizes the delay in receiving Wi-Fi data in real time. When Modem-sleep mode is enabled, the delay in receiving Wi-Fi data may be the same as the DTIM cycle (minimum power-saving mode) or the listening interval (maximum power-saving mode).
..only:: SOC_SUPPORT_COEXISTENCE
Note that in coexist mode, Wi-Fi will remain active only during Wi-Fi time slice, and sleep during non Wi-Fi time slice even if ``esp_wifi_set_ps(WIFI_PS_NONE)`` is called. Please refer to :ref:`coexist policy <coexist_policy>`.
Currently, {IDF_TARGET_NAME} AP does not support all of the power-saving feature defined in Wi-Fi specification. To be specific, the AP only caches unicast data for the stations connect to this AP, but does not cache the multicast data for the stations. If stations connected to the {IDF_TARGET_NAME} AP are power-saving enabled, they may experience multicast packet loss.
Disconnected state is the duration without Wi-Fi connection between :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_start` to :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_stop`.
Currently, {IDF_TARGET_NAME} Wi-Fi supports sleep mode in disconnected state if running at station mode. This feature could be configured by Menuconfig choice :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_STA_DISCONNECTED_PM_ENABLE`.
If :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_STA_DISCONNECTED_PM_ENABLE` is enabled, RF, PHY and BB would be turned off in disconnected state when IDLE. The current would be same with current at modem-sleep.
The choice :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_STA_DISCONNECTED_PM_ENABLE` would be selected by default, while it would be selected forcefully in Menuconfig at coexistence mode.
Connectionless modules are those Wi-Fi modules not relying on Wi-Fi connection, e.g ESP-NOW, DPP, FTM. These modules start from :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_start`, working until :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_stop`.
Currently, if ESP-NOW works at station mode, its supported to sleep at both connected state and disconnected state.
Connectionless Modules TX
*******************************
For each connectionless module, its supported to TX at any sleeping time without any extra configuration.
Meanwhile, :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_80211_tx` is supported at sleep as well.
Connectionless Modules RX
*******************************
For each connectionless module, two parameters shall be configured to RX at sleep, which are `Window` and `Interval`.
At the start of `Interval` time, RF, PHY, BB would be turned on and kept for `Window` time. Connectionless Module could RX in the duration.
**Interval**
- There is only one `Interval`. Its configured by :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_connectionless_interval`. The unit is milliseconds.
- The default value of `Interval` is `ESP_WIFI_CONNECTIONLESS_INTERVAL_DEFAULT_MODE`.
- Event `WIFI_EVENT_CONNECTIONLESS_MODULE_WAKE_INTERVAL_START`_ would be posted at the start of `Interval`. Since `Window` also starts at that moment, its recommended to TX in that event.
If `Interval` is ``ESP_WIFI_CONNECTIONLESS_INTERVAL_DEFAULT_MODE`` with non-zero `Window`, Connectionless Modules Power-saving would work in default mode.
In default mode, RF, PHY, BB would be kept on if no coexistence with non-Wi-Fi protocol.
With coexistence, RF, PHY, BB resources are allocated by coexistence module to Wi-Fi connectionless module and non-Wi-Fi module， using time-division method. In default mode, Wi-Fi connectionless module is allowed to use RF, BB, PHY periodically under a stable performance.
Its recommended to configure Connectionless Modules Power-saving to default mode if there is Wi-Fi connectionless module coexists with non-Wi-Fi module.
- Either ``esp_wifi_set_promiscuous(true)``, or :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_start()`, or both of these APIs return :c:macro:`ESP_OK`. This is because Wi-Fi hardware must be initialized before :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_80211_tx()` is called. In {IDF_TARGET_NAME}, both ``esp_wifi_set_promiscuous(true)`` and :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_start()` can trigger the initialization of Wi-Fi hardware.
Theoretically, if the side-effects the API imposes on the Wi-Fi driver or other stations/APs are not considered, a raw 802.11 packet can be sent over the air with any destination MAC, any source MAC, any BSSID, or any other types of packet. However, robust or useful applications should avoid such side-effects. The table below provides some tips and recommendations on how to avoid the side-effects of :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_80211_tx()` in different scenarios.
- In this scenario, no Wi-Fi connection is set up, so there are no side-effects on the Wi-Fi driver. If ``en_sys_seq==true``, the Wi-Fi driver is responsible for the sequence control. If ``en_sys_seq==false``, the application needs to ensure that the buffer has the correct sequence.
Side-effect example#1 The application calls :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_80211_tx()` to send a beacon with BSSID == mac_x in AP mode, but the mac_x is not the MAC of the AP interface. Moreover, there is another AP, e.g., “other-AP”, whose BSSID is mac_x. If this happens, an “unexpected behavior” may occur, because the stations which connect to the “other-AP” cannot figure out whether the beacon is from the “other-AP” or the :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_80211_tx()`.
- If :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_80211_tx` is called in station mode, the first MAC should be a multicast MAC or the exact target-device’s MAC, while the second MAC should be that of the station interface.
- If :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_80211_tx` is called in AP mode, the first MAC should be a multicast MAC or the exact target-device’s MAC, while the second MAC should be that of the AP interface.
- When the Wi-Fi connection is already set up, and the sequence is controlled by the application, the latter may impact the sequence control of the Wi-Fi connection as a whole. So, the ``en_sys_seq`` need to be true, otherwise ``ESP_ERR_WIFI_ARG`` is returned.
If the Wi-Fi mode is station mode, the MAC address1 is the MAC of AP to which the station is connected, and the MAC address2 is the MAC of station interface, it is said that the packet is sent from the station to AP. Otherwise, if the Wi-Fi is in AP mode, the MAC address1 is the MAC of the station that connects to this AP, and the MAC address2 is the MAC of AP interface, it is said that the packet is sent from the AP to station. To avoid conflicting with Wi-Fi connections, the following checks are applied:
- If the packet type is data and is sent from the station to AP, the ToDS bit in IEEE 80211 frame control should be 1 and the FromDS bit should be 0. Otherwise, the packet will be discarded by Wi-Fi driver.
- If the packet type is data and is sent from the AP to station, the ToDS bit in IEEE 80211 frame control should be 0 and the FromDS bit should be 1. Otherwise, the packet will be discarded by Wi-Fi driver.
- If the packet is sent from station to AP or from AP to station, the Power Management, More Data, and Re-Transmission bits should be 0. Otherwise, the packet will be discarded by Wi-Fi driver.
The Wi-Fi sniffer mode can be enabled by :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_promiscuous`. If the sniffer mode is enabled, the following packets **can** be dumped to the application:
For frames that the sniffer **can** dump, the application can additionally decide which specific type of packets can be filtered to the application by using :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_promiscuous_filter()` and :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_promiscuous_ctrl_filter()`. By default, it will filter all 802.11 data and management frames to the application.
The Wi-Fi sniffer mode can be enabled in the Wi-Fi mode of :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_MODE_NULL`, :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_MODE_STA`, :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_MODE_AP`, or :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_MODE_APSTA`. In other words, the sniffer mode is active when the station is connected to the AP, or when the AP has a Wi-Fi connection. Please note that the sniffer has a **great impact** on the throughput of the station or AP Wi-Fi connection. Generally, the sniffer should be enabled **only if** the station/AP Wi-Fi connection does not experience heavy traffic.
Another noteworthy issue about the sniffer is the callback :cpp:type:`wifi_promiscuous_cb_t`. The callback will be called directly in the Wi-Fi driver task, so if the application has a lot of work to do for each filtered packet, the recommendation is to post an event to the application task in the callback and defer the real work to the application task.
{IDF_TARGET_NAME} supports up to sixteen antennas through external antenna switch. The antenna switch can be controlled by up to four address pins - antenna_select[0:3]. Different input value of antenna_select[0:3] means selecting different antenna. For example, the value '0b1011' means the antenna 11 is selected. The default value of antenna_select[3:0] is '0b0000', which means the antenna 0 is selected by default.
Up to four GPIOs are connected to the four active high antenna_select pins. {IDF_TARGET_NAME} can select the antenna by control the GPIO[0:3]. The API :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_ant_gpio()` is used to configure which GPIOs are connected to antenna_selects. If GPIO[x] is connected to antenna_select[x], then gpio_config->gpio_cfg[x].gpio_select should be set to 1 and gpio_config->gpio_cfg[x].gpio_num should be provided.
For the specific implementation of the antenna switch, there may be illegal values in `antenna_select[0:3]`. It means that {IDF_TARGET_NAME} may support less than sixteen antennas through the switch. For example, ESP32-WROOM-DA which uses RTC6603SP as the antenna switch, supports two antennas. Two GPIOs are connected to two active high antenna selection inputs. The value '0b01' means the antenna 0 is selected, the value '0b10' means the antenna 1 is selected. Values '0b00' and '0b11' are illegal.
Although up to sixteen antennas are supported, only one or two antennas can be simultaneously enabled for RX/TX. The API :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_ant()` is used to configure which antennas are enabled.
The enabled antennas selecting algorithm is also configured by :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_ant()`. The RX/TX antenna mode can be :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_ANT0`, :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_ANT1`, or :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_AUTO`. If the antenna mode is :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_ANT0`, the enabled antenna 0 is selected for RX/TX data. If the antenna mode is :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_ANT1`, the enabled antenna 1 is selected for RX/TX data. Otherwise, Wi-Fi automatically selects the enabled antenna that has better signal.
If the RX antenna mode is :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_AUTO`, the default antenna mode also needs to be set, because the RX antenna switching only happens when some conditions are met. For example, the RX antenna starts to switch if the RSSI is lower than -65 dBm or another antenna has better signal. RX uses the default antenna if the conditions are not met. If the default antenna mode is :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_ANT1`, the enabled antenna 1 is used as the default RX antenna, otherwise the enabled antenna 0 is used.
- The TX antenna can be set to :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_AUTO` only if the RX antenna mode is :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_AUTO`, because TX antenna selecting algorithm is based on RX antenna in :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_AUTO` type.
- Currently, Bluetooth® does not support the multiple antennas feature, so please do not use multiple antennas related APIs.
- In Wi-Fi mode :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_MODE_STA`, both RX/TX antenna modes are configured to :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_AUTO`. The Wi-Fi driver selects the better RX/TX antenna automatically.
- - The RX antenna mode is configured to :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_AUTO`. The TX antenna mode is configured to :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_ANT0` or :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_ANT_MODE_ANT1`. The applications can choose to always select a specified antenna for TX, or implement their own TX antenna selecting algorithm, e.g., selecting the TX antenna mode based on the channel switch information.
- Configure which GPIOs are connected to the antenna_selects. For example, if four antennas are supported and GPIO20/GPIO21 are connected to antenna_select[0]/antenna_select[1], the configurations look like:
- Configure which antennas are enabled and how RX/TX use the enabled antennas. For example, if antenna1 and antenna3 are enabled, the RX needs to select the better antenna automatically and uses antenna1 as its default antenna, the TX always selects the antenna3. The configuration looks like:
Channel state information (CSI) refers to the channel information of a Wi-Fi connection. In {IDF_TARGET_NAME}, this information consists of channel frequency responses of sub-carriers and is estimated when packets are received from the transmitter. Each channel frequency response of sub-carrier is recorded by two bytes of signed characters. The first one is imaginary part and the second one is real part. There are up to three fields of channel frequency responses according to the type of received packet. They are legacy long training field (LLTF), high throughput LTF (HT-LTF), and space time block code HT-LTF (STBC-HT-LTF). For different types of packets which are received on channels with different state, the sub-carrier index and total bytes of signed characters of CSI are shown in the following table.
All of the information in the table can be found in the structure wifi_csi_info_t.
- Secondary channel refers to secondary_channel field of rx_ctrl field.
- Signal mode of packet refers to sig_mode field of rx_ctrl field.
- Channel bandwidth refers to cwb field of rx_ctrl field.
- STBC refers to stbc field of rx_ctrl field.
- Total bytes refers to len field.
- The CSI data corresponding to each Long Training Field (LTF) type is stored in a buffer starting from the buf field. Each item is stored as two bytes: imaginary part followed by real part. The order of each item is the same as the sub-carrier in the table. The order of LTF is: LLTF, HT-LTF, STBC-HT-LTF. However, all 3 LTFs may not be present, depending on the channel and packet information (see above).
- If first_word_invalid field of :cpp:type:`wifi_csi_info_t` is true, it means that the first four bytes of CSI data is invalid due to a hardware limitation in {IDF_TARGET_NAME}.
- For STBC packet, CSI is provided for every space-time stream without CSD (cyclic shift delay). As each cyclic shift on the additional chains shall be -200 ns, only the CSD angle of first space-time stream is recorded in sub-carrier 0 of HT-LTF and STBC-HT-LTF for there is no channel frequency response in sub-carrier 0. CSD[10:0] is 11 bits, ranging from -pi to pi.
- If LLTF, HT-LTF, or STBC-HT-LTF is not enabled by calling API :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_csi_config()`, the total bytes of CSI data will be fewer than that in the table. For example, if LLTF and HT-LTF is not enabled and STBC-HT-LTF is enabled, when a packet is received with the condition above/HT/40MHz/STBC, the total bytes of CSI data is 244 ((61 + 60) * 2 + 2 = 244. The result is aligned to four bytes, and the last two bytes are invalid).
Wi-Fi Channel State Information Configure
-------------------------------------------
To use Wi-Fi CSI, the following steps need to be done.
- Select Wi-Fi CSI in menuconfig. Go to ``Menuconfig`` > ``Components config`` > ``Wi-Fi`` > ``Wi-Fi CSI (Channel State Information)``.
- Set CSI receiving callback function by calling API :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_csi_rx_cb()`.
- Configure CSI by calling API :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_csi_config()`.
- Enable CSI by calling API :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_csi()`.
The CSI receiving callback function runs from Wi-Fi task. So, do not do lengthy operations in the callback function. Instead, post necessary data to a queue and handle it from a lower priority task. Because station does not receive any packet when it is disconnected and only receives packets from AP when it is connected, it is suggested to enable sniffer mode to receive more CSI data by calling :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_promiscuous()`.
{IDF_TARGET_NAME} supports Wi-Fi bandwidth HT20 or HT40 and does not support HT20/40 coexist. :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_set_bandwidth()` can be used to change the default bandwidth of station or AP. The default bandwidth for {IDF_TARGET_NAME} station and AP is HT40.
In station mode, the actual bandwidth is firstly negotiated during the Wi-Fi connection. It is HT40 only if both the station and the connected AP support HT40, otherwise it is HT20. If the bandwidth of connected AP is changes, the actual bandwidth is negotiated again without Wi-Fi disconnecting.
Similarly, in AP mode, the actual bandwidth is negotiated between AP and the stations that connect to the AP. It is HT40 if the AP and one of the stations support HT40, otherwise it is HT20.
In station/AP coexist mode, the station/AP can configure HT20/40 seperately. If both station and AP are negotiated to HT40, the HT40 channel should be the channel of station because the station always has higher priority than AP in {IDF_TARGET_NAME}. For example, the configured bandwidth of AP is HT40, the configured primary channel is 6, and the configured secondary channel is 10. The station is connected to an router whose primary channel is 6 and secondary channel is 2, then the actual channel of AP is changed to primary 6 and secondary 2 automatically.
Theoretically, the HT40 can gain better throughput because the maximum raw physicial (PHY) data rate for HT40 is 150 Mbps while it is 72 Mbps for HT20. However, if the device is used in some special environment, e.g., there are too many other Wi-Fi devices around the {IDF_TARGET_NAME} device, the performance of HT40 may be degraded. So if the applications need to support same or similar scenarios, it is recommended that the bandwidth is always configured to HT20.
Four ACs (Access Category) are defined in Wi-Fi specification, and each AC has its own priority to access the Wi-Fi channel. Moreover, a map rule is defined to map the QoS priority of other protocol, e.g., 802.11D or TCP/IP precedence is mapped to Wi-Fi AC.
The table below describes how the IP Precedences are mapped to Wi-Fi ACs in {IDF_TARGET_NAME}. It also indicates whether the AMPDU is supported for this AC. The table is sorted from high to low priority. That is to say, the AC_VO has the highest priority.
The application can make use of the QoS feature by configuring the IP precedence via socket option IP_TOS. Here is an example to make the socket to use VI queue::
const int ip_precedence_vi = 4;
const int ip_precedence_offset = 5;
int priority = (ip_precedence_vi << ip_precedence_offset);
Theoretically, the higher priority AC has better performance than the lower priority AC. However, it is not always true. Here are some suggestions about how to use the Wi-Fi QoS:
- Some really important application traffic can be put into the AC_VO queue. But avoid using the AC_VO queue for heavy traffic, as it may impact the management frames which also use this queue. Eventually, it is worth noting that the AC_VO queue does not support AMPDU, and its performance with heavy traffic is no better than other queues.
- Avoid using more than two precedences supported by different AMPDUs, e.g., when socket A uses precedence 0, socket B uses precedence 1, and socket C uses precedence 2. This can be a bad design because it may need much more memory. To be specific, the Wi-Fi driver may generate a Block Ack session for each precedence and it needs more memory if the Block Ack session is set up.
{IDF_TARGET_NAME} supports receiving and transmitting AMSDU. AMSDU TX is disabled by default, since enable AMSDU TX need more memory. Select :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_AMSDU_TX_ENABLED` to enable AMSDU Tx feature, it depends on :ref:`CONFIG_SPIRAM`.
{IDF_TARGET_NAME} supports WPS enrollee feature in Wi-Fi mode :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_MODE_STA` or :cpp:enumerator:`WIFI_MODE_APSTA`. Currently, {IDF_TARGET_NAME} supports WPS enrollee type PBC and PIN.
- currently, the default type of buffer in LwIP and Wi-Fi drivers is "dynamic", **which means that both the LwIP and Wi-Fi share memory with the application**. Programmers should always keep this in mind; otherwise, they will face a memory issue, such as "running out of heap memory".
- it is very dangerous to run out of heap memory, as this will cause {IDF_TARGET_NAME} an "undefined behavior". Thus, enough heap memory should be reserved for the application, so that it never runs out of it.
- the Wi-Fi throughput heavily depends on memory-related configurations, such as the TCP window size and Wi-Fi RX/TX dynamic buffer number.
- the peak heap memory that the {IDF_TARGET_NAME} LwIP/Wi-Fi may consume depends on a number of factors, such as the maximum TCP/UDP connections that the application may have.
Due to these reasons, there is not a good-for-all application configuration. Rather, it is recommended to consider memory configurations separately for every different application.
The default type of buffer in Wi-Fi drivers is "dynamic". Most of the time the dynamic buffer can significantly save memory. However, it makes the application programming a little more difficult, because in this case the application needs to consider memory usage in Wi-Fi.
lwIP also allocates buffers at the TCP/IP layer, and this buffer allocation is also dynamic. See :ref:`lwIP documentation section about memory use and performance <lwip-performance>`.
The Wi-Fi driver supports several types of buffer (refer to `Wi-Fi Buffer Configure`_). However, this section is about the usage of the dynamic Wi-Fi buffer only.
The peak heap memory that Wi-Fi consumes is the **theoretically-maximum memory** that the Wi-Fi driver consumes. Generally, the peak memory depends on:
Generally, the dynamic TX long buffers and dynamic TX long long buffers can be ignored, because they are management frames which only have a small impact on the system.
The performance of {IDF_TARGET_NAME} Wi-Fi is affected by many parameters, and there are mutual constraints between each parameter. A proper configuration cannot only improve performance, but also increase available memory for applications and improve stability.
This section briefly explains the operating mode of the Wi-Fi/LwIP protocol stack and the role of each parameter. It also gives several recommended configuration ranks to help choose the appropriate rank according to the usage scenario.
- During receiving, hardware puts the received packet into DMA buffer, and then transfers it into the RX buffer of Wi-Fi and LwIP in turn for related protocol processing, and finally to the application layer. The Wi-Fi RX buffer and the LwIP RX buffer shares the same buffer by default. In other words, the Wi-Fi forwards the packet to LwIP by reference by default.
- During sending, the application copies the messages to be sent into the TX buffer of the LwIP layer for TCP/IP encapsulation. The messages will then be passed to the TX buffer of the Wi-Fi layer for MAC encapsulation and wait to be sent.
Increasing the size or number of the buffers mentioned above properly can improve Wi-Fi performance. Meanwhile, it will reduce available memory to the application. The following is an introduction to the parameters that users need to configure:
This parameter indicates the number of DMA buffer at the hardware layer. Increasing this parameter will increase the sender's one-time receiving throughput, thereby improving the Wi-Fi protocol stack ability to handle burst traffic.
This parameter indicates the number of RX buffer in the Wi-Fi layer. Increasing this parameter will improve the performance of packet reception. This parameter needs to match the RX buffer size of the LwIP layer.
This parameter indicates the size of the AMPDU BA Window at the receiving end. This parameter should be configured to the smaller value between twice of :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_STATIC_RX_BUFFER_NUM` and :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_DYNAMIC_RX_BUFFER_NUM`.
This parameter represents the RX buffer size of the LwIP layer for each TCP stream. Its value should be configured to the value of WIFI_DYNAMIC_RX_BUFFER_NUM (KB) to reach a high and stable performance. Meanwhile, in case of multiple streams, this value needs to be reduced proportionally.
This parameter indicates the number of TX buffer on the Wi-Fi layer. Increasing this parameter will improve the performance of packet sending. The parameter value needs to match the TX buffer size of the LwIP layer.
This parameter represents the TX buffer size of the LwIP layer for each TCP stream. Its value should be configured to the value of WIFI_DYNAMIC_TX_BUFFER_NUM (KB) to reach a high and stable performance. In case of multiple streams, this value needs to be reduced proportionally.
Here, several configuration ranks are given. In most cases, the user should select a suitable rank for parameter configuration according to the size of the memory occupied by the application.
The {IDF_TARGET_NAME}'s high-performance configuration rank, suitable for scenarios where the application occupies less memory and has high-performance requirements. In this rank, users can choose to use the RX prior rank or the TX prior rank according to the usage scenario.
This rank is suitable for scenarios where the application requires a large amount of memory, and the transceiver performance will be reduced in this rank.
This is the minimum configuration rank of {IDF_TARGET_NAME}. The protocol stack only uses the necessary memory for running. It is suitable for scenarios where there is no requirement for performance and the application requires lots of space.
The {IDF_TARGET_NAME}'s high-performance configuration rank, suitable for scenarios where the application occupies less memory and has high-performance requirements.
This rank is suitable for scenarios where the application requires a large amount of memory, and the transceiver performance will be reduced in this rank.
This is the minimum configuration rank of {IDF_TARGET_NAME}. The protocol stack only uses the necessary memory for running. It is suitable for scenarios where there is no requirement for performance and the application requires lots of space.
This is the minimum configuration rank of {IDF_TARGET_NAME}. The protocol stack only uses the necessary memory for running. It is suitable for scenarios where there is no requirement for performance and the application requires lots of space.
PSRAM is generally used when the application takes up a lot of memory. In this mode, the :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_TX_BUFFER` is forced to be static. :ref:`CONFIG_ESP_WIFI_STATIC_TX_BUFFER_NUM` indicates the number of DMA buffers at the hardware layer, and increasing this parameter can improve performance.
If you are going to modify the default number or type of buffer, it would be helpful to also have an overview of how the buffer is allocated/freed in the data path. The following diagram shows this process in the TX direction:
- The application allocates the data which needs to be sent out.
- The application calls TCPIP-/Socket-related APIs to send the user data. These APIs will allocate a PBUF used in LwIP, and make a copy of the user data.
- When LwIP calls a Wi-Fi API to send the PBUF, the Wi-Fi API will allocate a "Dynamic Tx Buffer" or "Static Tx Buffer", make a copy of the LwIP PBUF, and finally send the data.
- This is a kind of DMA memory. It is initialized in :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_init()`and freed in:cpp:func:`esp_wifi_deinit()`. The ‘Static Rx Buffer’ forms the hardware receiving list. Upon receiving a frame over the air, hardware writes the frame into the buffer and raises an interrupt to the CPU. Then, the Wi-Fi driver reads the content from the buffer and returns the buffer back to the list.
If needs be, the application can reduce the memory statically allocated by Wi-Fi. It can reduce this value from 10 to 6 to save 6400 Bytes of memory. It is not recommended to reduce the configuration to a value less than 6 unless the AMPDU feature is disabled.
- The buffer length is variable and it depends on the received frames’ length. When the Wi-Fi driver receives a frame from the ‘Hardware Rx Buffer’, the ‘Dynamic Rx Buffer’ needs to be allocated from the heap. The number of the Dynamic Rx Buffer, configured in the menuconfig, is used to limit the total un-freed Dynamic Rx Buffer number.
- This is a kind of DMA memory. It is allocated to the heap. When the upper-layer (LwIP) sends packets to the Wi-Fi driver, it firstly allocates a ‘Dynamic TX Buffer’ and makes a copy of the upper-layer buffer.
The Dynamic and Static TX Buffers are mutually exclusive.
* - Static TX Buffer
- Static
- 16 * 1600Bytes
- Yes
- This is a kind of DMA memory. It is initialized in :cpp:func:`esp_wifi_init()`and freed in:cpp:func:`esp_wifi_deinit()`. When the upper-layer (LwIP) sends packets to the Wi-Fi driver, it firstly allocates a ‘Static TX Buffer’ and makes a copy of the upper-layer buffer.
The Dynamic and Static TX Buffer are mutually exclusive.
If the Wi-Fi NVS flash is enabled, all Wi-Fi configurations set via the Wi-Fi APIs will be stored into flash, and the Wi-Fi driver will start up with these configurations the next time it powers on/reboots. However, the application can choose to disable the Wi-Fi NVS flash if it does not need to store the configurations into persistent memory, or has its own persistent storage, or simply due to debugging reasons, etc.
