Connection Questions

Hi,

I’ve managed to get the WI-ME working and talking over the internet (no custom code) but I’ve got a few questions that need to be clarified.

  1. We’re testing with a php script on our website which returns some characters through the serial port. For a test we killed the internet connection to see what it would return, but we observed no change on the receiving end of the serial port. It would be great if an error character/string was returned so that our device knows there is no connection to the internet. For example the Lantronix Xport returns an ‘N’ if there is no connection.

  2. I’m not 100% sure on how a customer should be expected to set up their device. We can set it up initially so that everything is fine, but if they change their SSID and WPA key then the connection between the wi-me and the router is broken. Since we do not want a wired ethernet option that really only leaves the option of setting it up through the serial port. Is this doable and how do I manage it? Or perhaps there is a way for a laptop to connect directly to the wi-me to change the settings?

Thanks for any help,

Cameron.

For #1 - watch the DTR line in TCP Sockets mode. It will de-assert when the connection is lost, and be asserted when it is connected (you can watch the line on the prototyping board). It really doesn’t make sense to inject data on the serial line - how can you distinguish between a valid N and a device sent N?

For #2 - it depends on how you want to allow people to configure the Wi-ME. For example, you can use RCI over Serial (see the RCI Specification and the Command Reference Guides here: http://www.digi.com/support/productdetl.jsp?pid=2469&osvid=144&tp=3&s=54&tp2=0) to configure the Wi-ME over the serial port. If you want to do it over the air, you can do so, but the Wi-ME has to be connected to something first. You’ll also want to make sure that the end user can factory default it if you only allow updates wirelessly. By default, the Wi-ME will try to connect to an AP with the SSID of Connect, and then an ad hoc network with the SSID of Connect (and then an open AP, and then an open ad hoc network).