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Table of Contents

Product Overview
TI Wi-SUN® FAN Stack - Software Overview

ABSTRACTThe TI Wi-SUN® software overview describes the overall Wi-SUN® FAN software content and supporting
ecosystem from Texas Instruments based on the TI Wi-SUN® FAN 1.0 implementation. The document provides
a high level overview of the features and capabilities of the Wi-SUN® FAN software without specific details.
For further information on APIs and implementation details, see the Wi-SUN® Developers Guide and the
SIMPLELINK-LOWPOWER-F2-SDK.

Table of Contents
1 Acronyms................................................................................................................................................................................ 12 Overview..................................................................................................................................................................................2
3 Reference Examples...............................................................................................................................................................3
4 RF Protocols – Wi-SUN® PHYs.............................................................................................................................................. 4
5 Software Block Diagram........................................................................................................................................................ 4
6 Network Topology and Features........................................................................................................................................... 5
7 Security....................................................................................................................................................................................6
7.1 Certificate Management..................................................................................................................................................... 7
7.2 Key Exchange Process...................................................................................................................................................... 7
8 Performance and Test Data....................................................................................................................................................7
9 Out-of-box Experience........................................................................................................................................................... 9
10 Training..................................................................................................................................................................................9
11 Tools.......................................................................................................................................................................................911.1 Code Composer Studio™ IDE.......................................................................................................................................... 9
11.2 SysConfig......................................................................................................................................................................... 9
11.3 Packet Sniffer................................................................................................................................................................... 9
11.4 TI Wi-SUN® FAN Spinel................................................................................................................................................. 1011.5 TI wfantund – User-Space Network Interface Driver...................................................................................................... 10
12 Known Limitations..............................................................................................................................................................10
13 Revision History..................................................................................................................................................................11

Trademarks
LaunchPad™, and SimpleLink™Code Composer Studio™ are trademarks of Texas Instruments.
Wi-SUN® is a registered trademark of Wi-SUN Alliance.
Microsoft® and Windows® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Linux® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
macOS® is a registered trademark of Apple Inc..
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

1 Acronyms
This product overview uses the following acronyms:
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BR - border routerCA- certificate authority
CLI - command-line interface
CoAP - constrained application protocol
FAN - field area network
GTK - group transient key
IETF - internet engineering task force
IPv6 - internet protocol version 6

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•
•
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NWP - network processor
OAD - over-the-air download
PKI - public key infrastructure
PMK - pairwise master key
PTK - pairwise transient key
RFC - request for comments
RN - router node (also mentioned as embedded router)
RTOS - real time operating system
UDP - user datagram protocol

2 Overview
Wi-SUN® is a standards-based mesh network with frequency hopping. The Wi-SUN® Alliance (wi-sun.org) has
more than 300 members from 46 countries, with 100M+ devices deployed world-wide. Wi-SUN® supports IPv6
protocol suite and standards based multilayer security. The standard supports multiple data rates and frequency
bands to meet different regulatory requirements world-wide. Applications include smart grid and smart city
applications, with certified products enabling multi-vendor interoperability.
TI's Wi-SUN® FAN v1.0.0 design is based on the open source IETF RFC components integrated on top of the
Wi-SUN® compliant TI 15.4 Stack. A Network Interface Model is provided based on an open-source SPINEL
interface. Customers typically develop their application on top of IPv6 using UDP as the transport layer.
TI's Wi-SUN® FAN v1.0.0 design is optimized for a small memory footprint to fit embedded devices, in addition
to optimizations for low-power operation. Integration and testing of the software stack is done in tagged, certified
releases.
Table 1. Software Overview
Component

Version

TI Wi-SUN® release

v1.0.0Distribution

Included in SDK7.10 for CC13x2 and CC13x4 devices as library code

IDE support

CCS v 12.5 for Microsoft® Windows® 10, Linux®, and macOS®

Compiler support

TI Clang 2.1 LTS

RTOS support

TI-RTOS, Free RTOS

Supported devices

Border router: CC1312R7, CC1352P7, CC1314R10, CC1354R10,
CC1354P10
Router nodes: CC1312R, CC1312PSIP, CC1352R, CC1352P,
CC1312R7, CC1352P7, CC1314R10, CC1354R10, CC1354P10

Recommended development kits Border router: Personal Computer (PC) host + CC1352P7
LaunchPad™ Development Kit or CC1354P10 LaunchPad™
Router nodes: CC1352P LaunchPad™
or CC1354P10 LaunchPad™

TI has certified multiple FAN profiles with the Wi-SUN® Alliance to be used on CC13x2x as well as CC13x4x10
devices. Not every devices support all of the FAN profiles due to constraints of the internal memory of thedevice. Table 2 lists the Wi-SUN® FAN profiles with the corresponding certificate and the certificate for the PHYs
that can be used with the respective device.
Table 2. Wi-SUN® Certifications for FAN Profiles and PHYs

2

Wi-SUN® Certificate

FAN profile

Corresponding PHYs

WSA0272

FAN profile (router) for CC13x2R orCC13x2P

WSA0260
WSA0262 (800MHz)

WSA0273

FAN profile (router) for CC13x2R7 or
CC13x2P7

WSA0261
WSA0263 (800MHz)

WSA0278

FAN profile (border router) for
CC13x2R7 or CC13x2P7

WSA0261
WSA0263 (800MHz)

WSA0313

FAN profile (router) for CC13x4R10 orCC13x4P10

WSA0311
WSA0312

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Reference Examples

Table 2. Wi-SUN® Certifications for FAN Profiles and PHYs (continued)
Wi-SUN® Certificate

FAN profile

Corresponding PHYs

WSA0314

FAN profile (border router) for
CC13x4R10 or CC13x4P10

WSA0311
WSA0312

3 Reference Examples
The SimpleLink™ SDK incorporates a number of examples for the different roles in a Wi-SUN® FAN. Not everyrole and example is available for every device. This is due to the memory requirements of some roles. Lower
memory devices are therefore not be able to be used as a border router role. A list of examples with thecorresponding capable devices is listed in Table 3 and Table 4.
Table 3. Code Examples Included in the SDK
Application

Usage

Python interface module for
NWP

Reference code to control a NWP from a Linux or Microsoft® Windows®
10 PC. Public on TI GitHub

Border router in NWP
configuration

Border router controlled over UART with TI-defined API (based on
SPINEL interface layer).

Router in NWP configuration

Router node controlled over UART with TI defined API (based on
SPINEL interface layer).

Embedded router example

Single chip router example with embedded CoAP server

Embedded router with off-chip
OAD capability

Single chip router example with embedded CoAP server
and off-chip over-the-air-download capability (for CC13x2x7 devices)

Embedded router with on-chip
OAD capability

Single chip router example with embedded CoAP server
and on-chip over-the-air-download capability (for CC13x4x10 devices)

Table 4. Available Memory With Reference Examples Running on Select TI Devices
Code Example and WirelessMCU

SDK Example Designation

Available FLASH

Available RAM

NWP border router on CC1312R7
or CC1352P7

ns_br

309kB
(44%)

21kB
(15%)

NWP border router onCC1314R10 or CC1354R10

ns_br

633kB
(61%)

134kB
(52%)

NWP router on CC1312R or
CC1352P

ns_node15kB(1)(5%)

14kB(1)(19%)

Embedded router on CC1312R7
or CC1352P7 (CoAP based)

ns_coap_node

380kB
(54%)

88kB
(61%)

—

Embedded router on CC1314R10
or CC1354R10 (CoAP based)

ns_coap_node

704kB
(32%)

201kB
(77%)

—

OAD off-chip on CC1312R7 or
CC1352P7 (CoAP based)

ns_coap_oad_offchip

380kB
(54%)

88kB
(61%)

—

OAD on-chip on CC1314R10 orCC1354R10 (CoAP based)

ns_coap_oad_onchip

364kB
(34%)

201kB
(77%)

352kB flash memory
reserved for OAD image(1)

Comments

The user is not expectedto add code to the NWP
image. Only board-level
configuration is done byuser.

Expected available FLASH and RAM in future release

The memory footprint is based on using the TIRTOS7 and TICLANG compiler. It is possible that the footprint
varies when using FreeRTOS or another compiler.

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RF Protocols – Wi-SUN® PHYs

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4 RF Protocols – Wi-SUN® PHYs
Wi-SUN® supports a number of frequencies and data rates to enable world-wide coverage and address different
application needs. Major frequency bands used are 902 to 928 MHz for North America, 863 to 876 MHz forEurope and 920 to 928 MHz for Japan. Further details and information about frequency plan and channels isavailable to Wi-SUN® alliance members.
Table 5. Wi-SUN® PHYs and TI Support Overview
Symbol Rate(ksymbol/s)
50

100

150

200

300

Regulatory ComplianceTargets

Modulation Index

Wi-SUN® Mode

0.5

#1a

EU

EN300 220

1.0

#1b

NA,
BZ, JP

FCC 15.247

0.5

#2a

EU

EN300 220
FCC 15.247

1.0

#2b

NA, BZ, JP

ARIB STD-108

0.5

#3

EU, NA, BZ, JP

FCC 15.247
ARIB STD-T108

0.5

#4a

NA,
BZ

FCC15.247

1.0

#4b

JP

ARIB STD-T108

0.5

#5

NA, BZ, JP

FCC15.247
ARIB STD-T108

Frequency Bands

5 Software Block Diagram
Table 6. Overview of Software Layers and TI Implementation
Layer

Wi-SUN® FAN

TI Router and Border Router

NWP

Not Defined

Based on open source SPINEL interface.

Security

EAP-TLS, 802.11i, 802.1X

Based on open source components.

Transport Layer

UDP

Network Layer

IPv6
ICMPv6RPL
6LoWPAN

Data Link Layer

Frequency hopping MAC

Based on TI 15.4 Stack.

PHY Layer

IEEE 802.15.4g

Based on TI 15.4 Stack.

The Wi-SUN® FAN protocol is defined up to the Transport Layer and the TI stack supports UDP as the transportlayer.

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Network Topology and Features

6 Network Topology and Features
TI's Wi-SUN® FAN v1.0.0 flow supports the following device types and designs:•••

Border router– Based on TI CC13x2x7 series (704KB) and CC13x4x10 series (1MB) memory devices in Network
Processor (NWP) mode requiring a Host Processor for providing backhaul connectivity– Supports UART communication through a TI defined NWP interface (based on SPINEL interface layer)
Router device in NWP mode
– Supported in both TI CC13x2xx series (352 KB), CC13x2x7 series (704 KB) and CC13x4x10 series (1MB)
devices– Supports UART communication through a TI defined NWP interface (based on SPINEL interface layer)
Embedded Router– Based on TI CC13x2x7 series (704KB) and CC13x4x10 series (1MB) memory devices– Provides an example implementation based on CoAP Application– Over-the-Air Download (OAD) functionality with off-chip memory for CC13x2x7 series (704KB) and onchip memory for CC13x4x10 series (1MB)

A network can consist of a variety of the aforementioned devices and roles in a Wi-SUN® FAN. One possible
network architecture that displays all of the roles is visualized in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Available Network Architectures With Border Router and Routers Using NWP Implementationand Embedded Routers
The network associated with a border router is called a PAN. Multiple PANs can be connected through a WAN
Backhaul to extend the network coverage. This backhaul is not part of the Wi-SUN® FAN specification.

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Figure 2. Wi-SUN® Network Topology Consisting of Two PANs

7 Security
TI's Wi-SUN® FAN v1.0.0 solution supports best-in-class network security based on the IEEE 802.1x
specification:
Table 7. Security Enablers in TI Wi-SUN® FAN v1.0.0
Category
Wi-SUN® FAN v1.0.0 security specification

Security Enabler
IEEE 802.11i key WAN Management
IEEE 802.1x for authentication and encryption
AES-128 encryption
ECC based key exchange and signature verification
True random number generation for security protocols
IEEE802.1AR defined X.509 certificates

Figure 3 summarizes key aspect of the key exchange mechanism:

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Security

Figure 3. Security Key Exchange Mechanism in Wi-SUN®

7.1 Certificate Management
TI recommends obtaining a unique certificate for each device. Customers can either use their own PKI
infrastructure or work with Global Sign (a Wi-SUN® Alliance Partner - wi-sun.org/cyber-security-certificates).

7.2 Key Exchange Process
The following list is an overview of the security key exchange process:
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A unique Pairwise Master Key (PMK) and Pairwise Transient Key (PTK) is established between Device andBorder Router
A PTK is used to securely install a GTK (Group Transient Key) to individual devices
A GTK is used by devices to encrypt MAC payload packets using AES-128 CCM* as defined in IEEE
802.15.4
Network management defines the lifetime for different keys and performs key management
Lifetime of PMK, PTK , and GTK are typically in descending order (default value: 4, 2 and 1 monthrespectively)

This stack release supports default certificates (compiled into code for field trials).

8 Performance and Test Data
For this revision, a test with a 100-node mesh network and a 5-hop network topology was carried out. The
border router pings each device periodically one by one. The ping packet size is 50 bytes; ping interval is 5
seconds with a ping response timeout of 30 s. The test is run for 24 hours.
Table 8. 100-Node Mesh Network Test Data
Test ParameterEnd-to-end delay

Average packet error rate (PER)
Average network join delay

ResultHop 1: 373 ms
Hop 2: 471 ms
Hop 3: 574 ms
Hop 4: 760 ms
Hop 5: 899 ms
Overall average: 583 ms
0.001%
48.3 minutes

Looking at the average join delay, the designer must consider that this is tested with a 100-node network with the
5-hop architecture as shown in Figure 4. Every hop incorporates a different number of router nodes. Table 9 lists
a differentiation of join delay per hop. The average join delay per hop is defined by the average time it takes frompowering up the devices until 100% of the nodes in one hop have joined the network.

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An out-of-the-box network with 2-3 nodes joins in 3 to 5 minutes after powering up. The exact join time isdependent on multiple timing factors and the desired data rate. Configure these settings in SysConfig.

Figure 4. Network Topology for the 100-Node Mesh Network Test
Table 9. 100-Node Mesh Network: Join Delay per
Hop
Hop

Number of Routersper Hop

Average Join Delay(Minutes)

Hop 1

32

37.3

Hop 2

16

27.2

Hop 3

12

58.8

Hop 4

20

60.5

Hop 5

16

68

Table 10. TI Wi-SUN® FAN 1.0 Performance Data
Performance Data

ResultMaximum network hops

Wi-SUN® FAN 1.0 standard supports up to 24 hops

Maximum network size

Network size is limited by border router's RAM, in addition to application use-case details. TI
recommends using up to approximately 100 nodes per border router for devices with 144KB RAM.
Multiple border routers can be used to scale the network. TI devices with larger memory can support
larger networks.

PHY certification results

Wi-SUN® FAN 1.0 PHY for:••FAN certification results

US and BZ regions
EU1, EU2, IN, and SG regions

Wi-SUN® FAN 1.0 certified router stack

The OAD tests were conducted with an image size of 352256 Bytes using different block sizes. The results varydepending on the number of hops that the data has to travel to the destination. OAD was tested for a maximum
hop count of 2. Consider these values to be taken in a mostly noise-free environment. Heavy traffic leads torepeating packets, which increases the total download duration.

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Out-of-box Experience

Table 11. Wi-SUN® OAD Performance
Number of Hops

Block Size (B)Download Duration (Minutes)

1

128

8:30

1

512

3:31

1

1024

3:01

2

128

15:56

2

1024

4:34

9 Out-of-box Experience
This stack release is intended for initial development of a Wi-SUN® network. This release provides the following
out-of-box experience:
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•
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•

Setup a border router by using PCs communicating with a NWP border router over a CC1352x7 orCC1354x10 series device (a reference implementation is provided)
Compile router notes (even in a NWP model) as a self contained solution that can join a network whenpowered on and respond to an IPv6 ping
Perform field testing by pinging individual devices without building a customer application
Build customer applications on a separate host and communicate with a router over a NWP interface using
UART
Host a simple CoAP server over a router device through an embedded router node example based on
CC13x2x7 and CC13x4x10 series devices
Reference Python scripts that provide examples for interacting with out-of-box CoAP server resources
Develop single-chip custom applications over Wi-SUN® stack using the embedded router node example asreferenceStart by going to the CC1352P7 Product Folder.

10 Training
As part of the SimpleLink™ Academy TI provides training material for the Wi-SUN® FAN implementation
including hands-on examples using the CC13x2R7 and CC13x4R10 LaunchPads. The examples are split into
three parts:
1. Fundamentals to Wi-SUN® FAN: This training guides the user on how to create a simple Wi-SUN® FAN
using one border router connected to a host PC running PySpinel CLI to control the network. Basic serialcommands to start the network and ping connected nodes are explained.
2. Over-the-Air Download: This training explains the concept of OAD using Wi-SUN®, the memory layout
necessary for saving multiple images and how to setup the OAD environment and perform the download.
3. CoAP Messaging: This training is intended to introduce fully embedded router nodes to transmit CoAP
messages between the BR and RN. Examples are given for confirmable and non-confirmable CoAP
messages. An example for an EV charger application sending status information to the BR is given.
Find these trainings through the links above or on dev.ti.com.

11 Tools
11.1 Code Composer Studio™ IDE
Latest release per October 2023 is v12.5.0. Link to Code Composer Studio™: www.ti.com/tool/CCSTUDIO.

11.2 SysConfig
The SysConfig Utility is a software tool which provides a Graphical User Interface for configuring pins,
peripherals, radios, subsystems, and other components for TI devices. Results output as C header and code
files that can be imported into software development kits (SDKs) or used to configure custom software.

11.3 Packet Sniffer
Latest release per October 2023 is v2.18.1. Link to Packet Sniffer: www.ti.com/tool/PACKET-SNIFFER.
••

Wi-SUN® PHY modes supported: #1a, #1b, #2a, #2b, #3, #4a, and #4b
Packet sniffer is single channel only, but multiple boards can be used to sniff multiple channels

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11.4 TI Wi-SUN® FAN Spinel
The TI Wi-SUN® FAN Spinel CLI exposes the configuration and management APIs running on a TI Wi-SUN®
FAN Network Processor (NWP) via a command line interface. This tool is primarily suitable for manualexperimentation with controlling TI Wi-SUN® FAN NWP instances and is not meant for expanding into production
grade driver software for TI Wi-SUN® FAN NWP devices. A detailed guide on how to use the TI Wi-SUN® FAN
NWP Interface can be found here: NWP Interface Guide.
This tool is helpful for the following purposes:
1. As a path for automated testing and performing field trials with TI Wi-SUN® FAN NWP running on TI
SimpleLink™ devices.
2. As a simple debugging tool for NWP builds of TI Wi-SUN® FAN stack.
Public on TI GitHub

11.5 TI wfantund – User-Space Network Interface Driver
The wfantund provides a native IPv6 network interface to a connected TI Wi-SUN® FAN border router that is
operating in NWP mode. The repository (public on TI GitHub) provides software to run on a Linux host with a
Wi-SUN® FAN NWP connected over UART. wfantund also offers the possibility to visualize the network topology
graphically with the use of a webapp as shown in Figure 5. This webapp is also part of the wfantund GitHub
repository.
Reference cross compilation support is provided for the TI AM64x platform as well as the BeaglePlay board.

Figure 5. FAN Visualization in wfantund Webapp

12 Known Limitations
This version is tested with a 100-node network.

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Revision History

13 Revision History
NOTE: Page numbers for previous revisions may differ from page numbers in the current version.
Changes from Revision * (July 2021) to Revision A (November 2023)
Page• Added terms to the Acronyms section................................................................................................................1• Updated the Overview section............................................................................................................................2• Updated contents in Reference Examples ........................................................................................................ 3• Updated Table 5 ................................................................................................................................................ 4• Added text to Section 5 ..................................................................................................................................... 4• Updated Section 6 ............................................................................................................................................. 5• Updated Section 8 ............................................................................................................................................. 7• Added the Training section................................................................................................................................. 9• Updated Code Composer Studio .......................................................................................................................9• Updated the Packet Sniffer section.................................................................................................................... 9• Added TI wfantund – User-Space Network Interface Driver ............................................................................10• Updated Known Limitations..............................................................................................................................10

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