UM2567
User manual
Getting started with the X-CUBE-CELLULAR cellular connectivity
Expansion Package for STM32Cube
Introduction
The X-CUBE-CELLULAR Expansion Package enables connectivity over cellular networks. The network access technology depends on the cellular modem used. It can be LTE Cat M or NB-IoT, with possible 2G fallback.
This user manual provides:
• A brief content description of the X-CUBE-CELLULAR Expansion Package for STM32Cube
• Instructions to start the hardware composed of a board based on an STM32 microcontroller associated with a modem, and to exchange data through a cellular network by means of X-CUBE-CELLULAR firmware
UM2567 - Rev 4 - May 2021
For further information contact your local STMicroelectronics sales office.
www.st.com
1
Note:
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Acronyms
Acronyms
Table 1
presents the definitions of the acronyms that are relevant for a better contextual understanding of this document.
ICC
IDE
IP
MCU
PC
RN
SIM
UM
CLI
DB eSIM
FAQ
FW
HW
Acronym
Table 1. Acronyms
Definition
Command-line interface
Data brief (STMicroelectronics document type)
Embedded SIM
Frequently asked questions
Firmware
Hardware
International circuit card
Integrated development environment
Internet protocol
Microcontroller unit
Personal computer
Release note (STMicroelectronics document type)
Subscriber identity module
User manual (STMicroelectronics document type)
The X-CUBE-CELLULAR Expansion Package runs on the STM32L4 32-bit microcontrollers based on the
Arm ® Cortex ® -M4 processor.
Arm is a registered trademark of Arm Limited (or its subsidiaries) in the US and/or elsewhere.
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Note:
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Overview of available documents
Overview of available documents
Table 2
lists the main documents useful for getting X-CUBE-CELLULAR started.
Table 2. References
ID
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
Description
Release note:
The main RN is available at the root of the X-CUBE-CELLULAR Expansion Package. The main RN provides a link to the Cellular RN
, which contains all information about the current delivery (1)
.
Data brief:
Cellular connectivity software expansion for STM32Cube data brief ( DB3582 ).
The DB summarizes X-CUBE-CELLULAR features and presents the main license terms associated with the
Expansion Package. It is available from STMicroelectronics web site at www.st.com
.
User manual:
X-CUBE-CELLULAR cellular connectivity Expansion Package for STM32Cube user manual ( UM2426 ).
The UM provides the detailed information needed to use X-CUBE-CELLULAR and adapt it to users' needs. It is available from STMicroelectronics web site at www.st.com
.
Wiki:
Cellular LTE CatM / NBIoT overview .
This page contains application examples, document references, and links to regularly updated STM32 cellular material. It is available from STMicroelectronics wiki at wiki.st.com
.
1. Read carefully the associated RNs as they provide important information about the “Cellular” delivery. The “Cellular framework RN” contains a FAQ, which is regularly updated.
An STMicroelectronics video is available on YouTube ™ to help users to start with their cellular-to-cloud kits.
Reach this video through C2C pages on www.st.com
or directly at https://youtu.be/b2-37F7wcaI on YouTube ™ .
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3
3.1
3.2
3.3
Note:
Note:
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Hardware and firmware setup
Hardware and firmware setup
Connect hardware
•
•
To start using X-CUBE-CELLULAR , the user needs:
• A PC
A Type-A to Micro-B USB cable
An STM32L4-based master hardware combined to, or associated with a cellular modem
(refer to
[2] , [3]
or
[4] for possible solutions)
The PC is used to power HW, program FW, and display STM32 FW traces and results onto a serial terminal.
The ST-LINK USB driver, available as STSW-LINK009 on STMicroelectronics web site at www.st.com
, is mandatory and must be installed on the PC. It is needed to program FW onto the STM32 microcontroller.
Follow the next five steps to connect the HW:
1.
If the STM32 microcontroller and modem are on separate boards, connect these boards together.
Note: On the modem board, the modem module is on the upper side.
2.
Connect the antenna.
3.
All the boards compatible with X-CUBE-CELLULAR provide a SIM slot, which makes it possible to use a plastic SIM instead of an eSIM. If this option is selected, insert the SIM card.
4.
Connect the STLink port of the STM32 board with the PC by means of the USB cable.
5.
See that a new drive corresponding to the STM32 board is available on the PC, resulting from the previous installation of the ST-LINK USB driver.
Activate the eSIM (optional)
Refer to
[4] and the related pages for the latest information.
Program firmware into the STM32 microcontroller
This section explains how to select binary firmware and program it into the STM32 microcontroller.
Binary FW is delivered as part of the X-CUBE-CELLULAR Expansion Package, for each supported IDE:
STMicroelectronics STM32CubeIDE , IAR Systems ® IAR Embedded Workbench ® or Keil ® MDK-ARM.
For a given board, the binaries are located in Projects\<Board-Name>\Demonstrations\Cellular .
The IP mode (LwIP or modem-socket) used in the binary is part of the file name. See for instance two binaries produced for the BG96 modem:
•
• iar_bg96_lwip_v<x.y.z>.bin
for the LwIP mode iar_bg96_socket_v<x.y.z>.bin
for the modem-socket mode
See as another example the two binaries for the Type 1SC modem:
•
• iar_t1sc_lwip_v<x.y.z>.bin
for the LwIP mode iar_t1sc_socket_v<x.y.z>.bin
for the modem-socket mode
There are two configuration modes concerning the location of the IP stack:
• Either the IP stack runs on the STM32 microcontroller (LwIP mode)
• Or the IP stack used is located in the modem (modem-socket mode)
Only the LwIP mode is available when the modem does not include an IP stack or no AT command is available to expose the socket interface.
The main interests of the modem-socket mode is to reduce the STM32 memory footprint and make STM32 exchanges with the modem simpler. The main drawback of the modem-socket mode is lower performance.
Refer to the Cellular RN in [1]
, which presents STM32 FW size figures (Flash memory and RAM) for both IP modes.
STM32 FW for STM32L496 devices (“L496”) can be used on the 32L496GDISCOVERY Discovery board (with screen) as well as host board of the P-L496G-CELL02 Discovery kit (screenless).
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Note:
3.4
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Modem firmware version
When HW and PC are connected by means of the USB cable, the related drive is available on the PC. Drag and drop the chosen FW into that drive. Wait a few seconds that the FW file disappears from the file manager: this indicates that FW is programmed into the STM32 MCU.
The X-CUBE-CELLULAR Expansion Package provides all the source files needed to build FW for the various supported IDEs.
Modem firmware version
The modem factory FW version in user's HW may not be compliant any longer with the latest X-CUBE-
CELLULAR version.
The Cellular RN
indicates which modem FW version must be used (refer to [1]
). The modem FW version must be checked in the serial terminal trace and updated if needed.
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4
4.1
4.2
4.3
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Run X-CUBE-CELLULAR firmware
Run X-CUBE-CELLULAR firmware
Functional content of the X-CUBE-CELLULAR Expansion Package
X-CUBE-CELLULAR provides one application called Cellular App that allows user to send and receive data over the TCP or UDP protocols with an Echo server. It also allows the use of a ping command to ping remote hosts. It provides the throughput at the application level (not at the air interface).
•
•
Set the serial terminal configuration for X-CUBE-CELLULAR firmware
Start Tera Term, select the proper connection (featuring the STMicroelectronics name), and set the parameters
(the baud rate is different from the one referred to in Section 3.2 Activate the eSIM (optional) ):
Terminal
– [ New line ]
◦
◦
[ Receive ]: AUTO
[ Transmit ]: CR
– [ Local echo ] selected
Serial
– [ Baud rate ]: 115200
– [ Data ]: 8 bit
– [ Parity ]: none
– [ Stop ]: 1 bit
– [ Flow control ]: none
– [ Transmit delay ]: 10 ms each
Start X-CUBE-CELLULAR firmware
Restart the board by pressing the black reset button.
Traces are displayed on the serial terminal.
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4.4
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Run-time configuration
Run-time configuration
During firmware execution, the command-line interface (CLI) is entered by pressing the [ return ] key. For example, the help command lists all available components.
Table 3
lists the available commands.
Command help cellularapp echoclient ping trace csp comlib cst atcmd modem
Table 3. Cellular App available commands
Help command
Cellular App commands
Echo client commands
Ping commands
Trace management
Power management
Com library commands
Cellular service task management
Send an AT command
Modem configuration management
Command examples:
• cst info : provides information about cellular network
•
• trace off : stops the trace echo off : stops the Echo application
The CLI and traces are displayed on the same terminal.
Object
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5
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Deep dive in X-CUBE-CELLULAR
Deep dive in X-CUBE-CELLULAR
Refer to
[3]
to know more about the possibilities of the X-CUBE-CELLULAR Expansion Package.
Connect to
[4] and the related wiki pages for regularly updated additional information.
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Revision history
Date
22-May-2019
22-Jul-2019
9-Apr-2020
2-May-2021
2
3
4
Table 4. Document revision history
Version
1
Changes
Initial release.
Introduced STM32CubeIDE support. Reorganized document structure and updated Section 2 Overview of available documents , Section 3.2 Activate the eSIM (optional) , Section 3.3 Program firmware into the STM32microcontroller , and Section 3.4 Modem firmware version .
•
•
Added the MQTT Client and COM Client demonstrations:
Added Section 4.6 MQTT Client demonstration
Client demonstration
and Section 4.7 COM
Updated Section 4.1 Functional content of the X-CUBE-CELLULAR
Expansion Package
•
•
•
Focused X-CUBE-CELLULAR on LTE Cat M or NB ‑ IoT cellular communication with the Cellular App application:
Updated Introduction
Updated Functional content of the X-CUBE-CELLULAR Expansion
Package
Removed PING Client demonstration , HTTP Client demonstration ,
MQTT Client demonstration and COM Client demonstration
•
•
•
Simplified the document and referred to the X-CUBE-CELLULAR wiki pages for regularly updated information:
Updated Overview of available documents
and
Deep dive in X-CUBE-CELLULAR
,
Activate the eSIM (optional)
Updated Program firmware into the STM32 microcontroller
,
Modem firmware version ,
Start X-CUBE-CELLULAR firmware and
Run-time configuration
Removed Troubleshooting
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Contents
Contents
1 Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
2 Overview of available documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
3 Hardware and firmware setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
3.1
Connect hardware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2
Activate the eSIM (optional). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.3
Program firmware into the STM32 microcontroller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.4
Modem firmware version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4 Run X-CUBE-CELLULAR firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
4.1
Functional content of the X-CUBE-CELLULAR Expansion Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.2
Set the serial terminal configuration for X-CUBE-CELLULAR firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.3
Start X-CUBE-CELLULAR firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.4
Run-time configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5 Deep dive in X-CUBE-CELLULAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
List of tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
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List of tables
List of tables
Table 1. Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Table 2. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Table 3. Cellular App available commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Table 4. Document revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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IMPORTANT NOTICE – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
STMicroelectronics NV and its subsidiaries (“ST”) reserve the right to make changes, corrections, enhancements, modifications, and improvements to ST products and/or to this document at any time without notice. Purchasers should obtain the latest relevant information on ST products before placing orders. ST products are sold pursuant to ST’s terms and conditions of sale in place at the time of order acknowledgement.
Purchasers are solely responsible for the choice, selection, and use of ST products and ST assumes no liability for application assistance or the design of
Purchasers’ products.
No license, express or implied, to any intellectual property right is granted by ST herein.
Resale of ST products with provisions different from the information set forth herein shall void any warranty granted by ST for such product.
ST and the ST logo are trademarks of ST. For additional information about ST trademarks, please refer to www.st.com/trademarks . All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
Information in this document supersedes and replaces information previously supplied in any prior versions of this document.
© 2021 STMicroelectronics – All rights reserved
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