SILICON LABS Proprietary Flex SDK 3.8.0.0 GA Simplicity SDK Suite 2024.6.0 User Manual

SILICON LABS Proprietary Flex SDK 3.8.0.0 GA Simplicity SDK Suite

2024.6.0

Specifications

• Proprietary Flex SDK Version: 3.8.0.0 GA
• Simplicity SDK Suite Version: 2024.6.0 June 5, 2024
• Supported Wireless Protocols: Silicon Labs RAIL and Silicon Labs Connect (IEEE 802.15.4-based)
• Frequency Bands: Sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz
• Targeted Network Topologies: Simple
• Compiler Compatibility: GCC version 12.2.1

Product Information

The Proprietary Flex SDK is a comprehensive software development suite tailored for proprietary wireless applications. It provides two implementation options:

1. Utilizes Silicon Labs RAIL for customizable radio interface layer supporting both proprietary and standards-based wireless protocols.
2. Employs Silicon Labs Connect, an IEEE 802.15.4-based networking stack for broad-based proprietary wireless solutions in sub-GHz or 2.4 GHz bands.

The Flex SDK includes extensive documentation, sample applications, and source code examples within the SDK.

Product Usage Instructions

Using Proprietary Flex SDK

1. Choose the implementation option based on your wireless application requirements.
2. Refer to the provided documentation for detailed guidance on utilizing RAIL or Connect.
3. Explore the sample applications to understand the implementation of proprietary wireless functionalities.

Compiler Compatibility
Ensure you are using GCC version 12.2.1 provided with Simplicity Studio for compiling your Flex SDK projects.

• The Proprietary Flex SDK is a complete software development suite for proprietary wireless applications. Per its namesake, Flex offers two implementation options.
• The first uses Silicon Labs RAIL (Radio Abstraction Interface Layer), an intuitive and easily customizable radio interface layer designed to support both proprietary and standards-based wireless protocols.
• The second uses Silicon Labs Connect, an IEEE 802.15.4-based networking stack designed for customizable broad-based proprietary wireless networking solutions that require low power consumption and operate in either the sub-GHz or 2.4 GHz frequency bands. The solution is targeted towards simple network topologies.
• The Flex SDK is supplied with extensive documentation and sample applications. All examples are provided in the source code within the Flex SDK sample applications.
• These release notes cover SDK version(s): 3.8.0.0 GA released June 5, 2024.

Compatibility and Use Notices

For information about security updates and notices, see the Security chapter of the Platform Release Notes installed with this SDK or on the TECH DOCS tab at https://www.silabs.com/developers/flex-sdk-connect-net-working-stack. Silicon Labs also strongly recommends that you subscribe to Security Advisories for up-to-date information. For instruc-tions, or if you are new to the Silicon Labs Flex SDK, see Using This Release.

Compatible Compilers:
IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM (IAR-EWARM) version 9.40.1

• Using wine to build with the IarBuild.exe command line utility or IAR Embedded Workbench GUI on macOS or Linux could result in incorrect files being used due to collisions in Wine’s hashing algorithm for generating short file names.
• Customers on macOS or Linux are advised not to build with IAR outside of Simplicity Studio. Customers who do so should carefully verify that the correct files are being used.

GCC (The GNU Compiler Collection) version 12.2.1, provided with Simplicity Studio.

Connect Applications

Simplicity SDK is an embedded software development platform for building IoT products based on our Series 2 and Series 3 wireless and MCU devices. It integrates wireless protocol stacks, middleware, peripheral drivers, a bootloader, and application examples – a solid framework for building power- optimized and secure IoT devices.

The Simplicity SDK offers powerful features such as ultra-low power consumption, strong network reliability, support for a large number of nodes, and abstraction of complex requirements like multiprotocol and pre- certification. Additionally, Silicon Labs provides over-the-air (OTA) software and security updates to remotely update devices, minimize maintenance costs, and enhance the end-user product experience.

Simplicity SDK is a follow-on from our popular Gecko SDK, which will continue to be available providing long-term support for our Series 0 and Series 1 devices. For additional information on the Series 0 and Series 1 devices please reference: Series 0 and Series 1 EFM32/EZR32/EFR32 device (silabs.com).

• New Items
  Added in release 3.8.0.0
  Support for EFR32xG22E Devices

• Improvements
  Changed in release 3.8.0.0
  None.

• Fixed Issues
  Fixed in release 3.8.0.0
  None.

Known Issues in the Current Release
Issues in bold were added since the previous release. If you have missed a release, recent release notes are available on the TECH DOCS tab on https://www.silabs.com/developers/flex-sdk-connect-networking-stack.

Deprecated Items
Deprecated in release 3.8.0.0 None.

Removed Items
Removed in release 3.8.0.0 None.

Connect Stack

New Items
Added in release 3.8.0.0

• Added a new API emberSetUnencryptedPacketsAcceptance()that can be called to enable the filtering of unencrypted data packets. If enabled, all unencrypted data will be ignored by the stack and won’t be visible from the application layer.

Improvements
Changed in release 3.8.0.0
None.

Fixed Issues
Fixed in release 3.8.0.0

standard malloc. Current dynamic memory allocation could cause memory corruption.

Known Issues in the Current Release
Issues in bold were added since the previous release. If you have missed a release, recent release notes are available on the TECH DOCS tab at https://www.silabs.com/developers/gecko-software-development-kit.

DMP Connect+BLE), IR Calibration is not performed because of a known issue in the RAIL Multiprotocol Library. As a result, there is an RX sensitivity loss in the order of 3 or 4 dBm.|
501561| In the Legacy HAL component, the PA configuration is hard-coded regardless of the user or board settings.| Until this is changed to properly pull from the configuration header, the file ember-phy. c in the user’s project will need to be modified by hand to reflect the desired PA mode, voltage, and ramp time.
711804| Connecting multiple devices simultaneously may fail with a timeout error.|

Deprecated Items
Deprecated in release 3.8.0.0 None

Removed Items
Removed in release 3.8.0.0 None

RAIL Applications

New Items
Added in release 3.8.0.0

• Support for EFR32xG22E Devices
• RAIL – SoC Wireless M-bus Meter:
  • CLI support
  • Three different sensors can be used:
  • Wireless M-bus virtual water meter sensor
  • Wireless M-bus thermometer sensor
  • Wireless M-bus button pulse counter
  • DK2600 7-segment LCD support

Improvements
Changed in release 3.8.0.0

• RAIL – SoC Range Test BLE and IEEE802.15.4: Channels number can be set in real-time both for the BLE and the 15.4 PHYs according to standard.
• RAIL – SoC Mode Switch: The mode switch can be triggered by BTN1.

Fixed Issues
Fixed in release 3.8.0.0
None.

Known Issues in the Current Release

1268208

1268301

| The power consumption of DK2600 can’t be optimized if configuration time for EM2 if UART is used, as the value of _SL_IOSTREAMUSART{instance}BAUDRATE doesn’t take effect. The default value used instead is 115200 bps . The typical use case is the RAIL – SoC Wireless M-bus Meter with DK2600 board.| Update UART baud rate to 9600 bps at Simplicity Studio Admin Console. This is necessary for EM2.

Deprecated Items
Deprecated in release 3.8.0.0 None.

Removed Items
Removed in release 3.8.0.0 None.

RAIL Library

New Items
Added in release 3.8.0.0

• Added support of collision detection for concurrent PHYs on the EFR32xG25 parts.
• Added support for additional Coex TX and RX metrics events to the “RAIL Utility, Coexistence” component.

Improvements
Changed in release 3.8.0.0

• Updated a few APIs to return RAIL_Status_t which were previously returning void.
• Updated RAIL_IEEE802154_WriteEnhAck and RAIL_WriteAutoAckFifo() which formerly took the uint8_t ackDataLen parameter now take the uint16_t ackDataLen parameter.
• Added missing runtime equivalent API RAIL_SupportsPathDiversity() of RAIL_SUPPORTS_PATH_DIVERSITY.

Fixed Issues

Fixed in release 3.8.0.0

on the EFR32xG24 and EFR32xG25 parts, along with an issue where Power Amplifier calibrations were not properly disabled when SL_RAIL_UTIL_PA_CALIBRATION_ENABLE was disabled.
1255524| Fixed a dynamic multiprotocol issue where RAIL_BLE_Init() was called (which implicitly establishes the BLE 1Mbps PHY), but after a protocol switch returns to BLE, its RAIL_BLE_ConfigChannelRadioParams() settings were not being properly reapplied.
1256045| Fixed an issue where Signal Identifier options were being errantly displayed in Simplicity Studio for the “RAIL Utility, Coexistence” component on platforms that don’t support the Signal Identifier feature.
1265376| Fixed an issue in the UC components where the RAIL power manager support could be initialized after the radio was started in certain example applications. This would lead to radio state and power mode requirements being improperly tracked, as you must initialize power manager support before any radio operations.
1266003| Fixed an issue where RAIL_BLE_ConfigChannelRadioParams() was improperly overriding the BLE Quuppa PHY whitening configuration.

Known Issues in the Current Release
Issues in bold were added since the previous release.

specifically set radio configuration that is not yet supported by the radio configurator. For these requirements, reach out to technical support who could provide that configuration based on your specification|
641705| Infinite receive operations where the frame’s fixed length is set to 0 are not working correctly on the EFR32xG23 series chips.|
ID #| Description| Workaround
---|---|---
732659| On EFR32xG23:

Wi-SUN FSK mode 1a exhibits a PER floor with frequency offsets around ± 8 to 10 KHz

Wi-SUN FSK mode 1b exhibits a PER floor with frequency offsets around ± 18 to 20 KHz

|

Deprecated Items

• The RAIL 2. x API is planned for deprecation in the 24Q4-GA release (December 2024). At that time, the new RAIL 3.0 API will be released for all supported chips along with a RAIL 2. x compatibility layer and the migration guide.
  • The goal of this new API is to get rid of some unused features, add better support for concurrent listening use cases, and simplify channel and PA configurations.
  • The migration is intended to be straightforward for the majority of customers. However, in some cases, manual help might be required to ease this transition.

Removed Items
None.

Using This Release

This release contains the following:

• Radio Abstraction Interface Layer (RAIL) stack library
• Connect Stack Library
• RAIL and Connect Sample Applications
• RAIL and Connect Components and Application Framework

This SDK depends on the Simplicity Platform. The Simplicity Platform code provides functionality that supports protocol plugins and APIs in the form of drivers and other lower-layer features that interact directly with Silicon Labs chips and modules. Simplicity Platform components include EMLIB, EMDRV, RAIL Library, NVM3, and mbedTLS. Simplicity Platform release notes are available through Simplicity Studio’s Documentation tab.

For more information about the Flex SDK v3.x see UG103.13: RAIL Fundamentals and UG103.12: Silicon Labs Connect Fundamentals. If you are a first-time user, see QSG168: Proprietary Flex SDK v3.x Quick Start Guide.

Installation and Use
The Proprietary Flex SDK is provided as part of the Simplicity SDK, the suite of Silicon Labs SDKs. To quickly get started with the Simplicity SDK, install Simplicity Studio 5, which will set up your development environment and walk you through Simplicity SDK installa- tion. Simplicity Studio 5 includes everything needed for IoT product development with Silicon Labs devices, including a resource and project launcher, software configuration tools, full IDE with GNU toolchain, and analysis tools. Installation instructions are provided in the online Simplicity Studio 5 User’s Guide.

Alternatively, Simplicity SDK may be installed manually by downloading or cloning the latest from GitHub. See https://github.com/Sili- conLabs/simplicity_sdk for more information.

Simplicity Studio installs the GSDK by default in:

• (Windows): C:\Users\\SimplicityStudio\SDKs\simplicity_sdk
• (MacOS): / Users//SimplicityStudio/SDKs/simplicity_sdk

Documentation specific to the SDK version is installed with the SDK. Additional information can often be found in the knowledge base articles (KBAs). API references and other information about this and earlier releases are available at https://docs.silabs.com/.

Security Information

Secure Vault Integration
When deployed to Secure Vault High devices, sensitive keys are protected using the Secure Vault Key Management functionality. The following table shows the protected keys and their storage protection characteristics.

• Wrapped keys that are marked as “Non-Exportable” can be used but cannot be viewed or shared at runtime.
• Wrapped keys that are marked as “Exportable” can be used or shared at runtime but remain encrypted while stored in Flash.
• For more information on Secure Vault Key Management functionality, see AN1271: Secure Key Storage.

Security Advisories
To subscribe to Security Advisories, log in to the Silicon Labs customer portal, then select Account Home. Click HOME to go to the portal home page and then click the Manage Notifications tile. Make sure that ‘Software/Security Advisory Notices & Product Change Notices (PCNs)’ is checked, and that you are subscribed at minimum for your platform and protocol. Click Save to save any changes.

Support
Development Kit customers are eligible for training and technical support. Use the Silicon Labs Flex web page to obtain information about all Silicon Labs Thread products and services, and to sign up for product support.
You can contact Silicon Laboratories support at http://www.silabs.com/support.

Simplicity Studio
One-click access to MCU and wireless tools, documentation, software, source code libraries & more. Available for Windows, Mac and Linux!

• IoT Portfolio
  www.silabs.com/IoT

• SW/HW
  www.silabs.com/simplicity

• Quality
  www.silabs.com/quality

• Support & Community
  www.silabs.com/community

Disclaimer
Silicon Labs intends to provide customers with the latest, accurate, and in- depth documentation of all peripherals and modules available for system and software implementers using or intending to use the Silicon Labs products. Characterization data, available modules and peripherals, memory sizes and memory addresses refer to each specific device, and “Typical” parameters provided can and do vary in different applications. Application examples described herein are for illustrative purposes only. Silicon Labs reserves the right to make changes without further notice to the product information, specifications, and descriptions herein, and does not give warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of the included information. Without prior notification, Silicon Labs may update product firmware during the manufacturing process for security or reliability reasons. Such changes will not alter the specifications or the performance of the product. Silicon Labs shall have no liability for the consequences of the use of the infor-mation supplied in this document. This document does not imply or expressly grant any license to design or fabricate any integrated circuits. The products are not designed or authorized to be used within any FDA Class III devices, applications for which FDA premarket approval is required or Life Support Systems without the specific written consent of Silicon Labs. A “Life Support System” is any product or system intended to support or sustain life and/or health, which, if it fails, can be reasonably expected to result in significant personal injury or death. Silicon Labs products are not designed or authorized for military applications. Silicon Labs products shall under no circumstances be used in weapons of mass destruction including (but not limited to) nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, or missiles capable of delivering such weapons. Silicon Labs disclaims all express and implied warranties and shall not be responsible or liable for any injuries or damages related to the use of a Silicon Labs product in such unauthorized applications.

Note: This content may contain offensive terminology that is now obsolete. Silicon Labs is replacing these terms with inclusive language wherever possible. For more information, visit www.silabs.com/about-us /inclusive-lexicon-project

Trademark Information
Silicon Laboratories Inc.®, Silicon Laboratories®, Silicon Labs®, SiLabs® and the Silicon Labs logo®, Bluegiga®, Bluegiga Logo®, EFM®, EFM32®, EFR, Ember®, Energy Micro, Energy Micro logo and combinations thereof, “the world’s most energy friendly microcontrollers”, Redpine Signals®, WiSeConnect, n-Link, EZLink®, EZRadio®, EZRadioPRO®, Gecko®, Gecko OS, Gecko OS Studio, Precision32®, Simplicity Studio®, Telegesis, the Telegesis Logo®, USBXpress®, Zentri, the Zentri logo and Zentri DMS, Z-Wave®, and others are trademarks or registered trademarks of Silicon Labs. ARM, CORTEX, Cortex-M3 and THUMB are trademarks or registered trademarks of ARM Holdings. Keil is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other products or brand names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective holders.

MORE INFORMATION

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Copyright © 2024 by Silicon Laboratories

FAQ

• Q: What are the key features of the RAIL Apps and Library?
  • A: The RAIL Apps and Library offer intuitive and customizable radio interface layer functionalities to support both proprietary and standards-based wireless protocols.
• Q: What are the main features of the Connect Apps and Stack?
  • A: The Connect Apps and Stack provides an IEEE 802.15.4-based networking stack for customizable proprietary wireless networking solutions operating in sub-GHz or 2.4 GHz frequency bands, targeted towards simple network topologies.

References

• Silicon Labs
• Silicon Labs
• About Us - Silicon Labs
• Silicon Labs Community
• Internet of Things (IoT) - Silicon Labs
• Simplicity Studio - Silicon Labs
• Technical Support - Silicon Labs

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