www.rovingnetworks.com
Version 1.0r 9/21/2012
42
RN -W IFLYCR -U M
ADVANCED FEATURES & SETTINGS
This chapter describes the WiFly module’s advanced features, including techniques to put the module to sleep, wake up,
and methods to open a TCP connection when awake. It also describes the UART flow control, alternative GPIO functions,
and the real-time clock.
ACCESS POINT (AP) MODE
Roving Networks WiFly modules support several methods for accessing Wi-Fi networks. In addition to infrastructure mode
and ad hoc mode, with firmware version 2.45 the modules support access point (AP) mode. You implement AP mode
using special firmware. In the future, AP mode will be released as part of the standard firmware and will replace ad hoc
mode.
AP mode provides several advantages over ad hoc mode. In AP mode:
•
The module creates a soft AP network to which Android devices (smartphones and tablets) can join. (Android
devices do not support ad hoc networking.)
•
The module runs a DHCP server and issues IP addresses to seven clients, which is much faster than automatic
IP in ad hoc mode.
•
The WiFly module will support security in future releases, unlike ad hoc, which is an open mode.
•
The module supports routing between clients.
Before enabling AP mode, you must load the firmware that supports it. By default, Roving Networks modules are shipped
with firmware version 2.36. You must change the boot image to version 2.45 to use AP mode. You change the module’s
firmware image using the
boot image
<
value
> command. After you change the boot image, you MUST reset the module
back to the factory defaults using the
factory RESET
and
reboot
commands. You can obtain the firmware images from
Roving Networks FTP site. See “Upgrading Firmware Via FTP” on page 71 for instructions on how to download and install
the firmware.
•
Wifly_EZX-236.img
—Ad hoc mode firmware for RN-171
Wifly_GSX-236.img
—Ad hoc mode firmware for RN-131
•
Wifly_EZX-245.img
—Soft AP mode for RN-171
Wifly_GSX-245.img
—Soft AP mode for RN-131
NOTE:
In firmware version 2.36 (ad hoc mode), the auto join feature is enabled to maintain backwards compatibility.
In version 2.45 (AP mode), auto join is disabled and you must explicitly enable auto join mode using the
set
wlan join 1
command.
The following sections describe how to use AP mode with WiFly products, including configuring the module to act as an
AP, enabling AP mode in hardware and software, and sending data to the module from a remote host.