Configuring the Driver in Wi-Fi STA + AP Mode (Wi-Fi Concurrent Mode)#

Wi-Fi STA + AP Mode also known as Wi-Fi Concurrent mode is the mechanism in which Si917 driver can be operated in AP and Client modes simultaneously. You can create two virtual interfaces, one in client mode and the other in AP mode.

The below section provides the steps to configure Wi-Fi STA + AP Mode mode using startup script or manual commands. You can choose any of the following methods.

Startup Script to Run Wi-Fi STA + AP Mode#

Navigate to the rsi folder, and use the script to run the Wi-Fi STA + AP Mode (concurrent mode).

   #./start_SiWT917.sh  AP_STA

See the Startup Script section for more details about startup script file to configure in different operating modes.

Manual Steps to Run Wi-Fi STA + AP Mode#

Below are the manual steps to operate the device in Wi-Fi STA + AP mode (concurrent mode).

  1. Before compiling the driver, make sure you enable the CONFIG_STA_PLUS_AP flag in Makefile.

See the Compilation Steps section for driver compilation.

  1. Navigate to the release folder and insert the driver.

    # cd release
# insmod rsi_91x.ko dev_oper_mode=1 rsi_zone_enabled=0x601
# insmod rsi_sdio.ko

  2. Add new virtual interface upon the base interface wlan0.

    # iw dev wlan0 interface add wlan1 type <IFTYPE>

In this case, IFTYPE : __ap for AP VIF.
              managed for station VIF.

Note: Here, wlan0 should be the SiWT917_STA interface, and wlan1 should be the SiWT917_AP interface.

  1. Currently supporting STA + AP or AP +STA combinations only.

Note: Make sure the third-party AP, and SiWT917_AP should be in same channel.

  1. To bring up the Wi-Fi station, configure the sta_settings.conf file as described in the Configure Station Using WPA Supplicant section, then run the following command to start wpa_supplicant:

    # wpa_supplicant -i wlan0 -c sta_settings.conf -D nl80211 -dddt > slog.txt&

  2. To bring up the access point (AP), configure the ap.conf file as described in the Wi-Fi AP Mode section, then run the following command to start hostapd:

    # hostapd ap_wpa.conf -dddt > hlog.txt&

Note: Make sure you add proper interface name in ap_wpa.conf.

See the SiWT917 RCP Wi-Fi Concurrent Mode Application Note for more details.

Limitations:

  1. More than two virtual interfaces (VIF) are not supported.

  2. Background scan(Bg-scan) and powersave features are not supported for the station mode vap in concurrent mode.Do not enable bgscan_simple in sta_settings.conf file.

  3. Both interfaces should be in the same channel. The channel configured in the hostapd configuration file should be the same as that used by the 3rd party AP.

  4. Bring up RSI-STA first to avoid performance issues caused by continuous scanning.