Microchip Technology ATWINC15x0 Series Supplement

ATWINC15x0
ATWINC15x0 Throughput Measurement using iPerf
Introduction
This application note demonstrates execution of the demo iPerf application available for the SAM4S
Xplained Pro evaluation kit and ATWINC15x0. The iPerf application is a tool which is used for measuring
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) bandwidth performance. This
iPerf tool is built on a client/server model and can be used to measure maximum UDP and TCP
throughput between the client and the server station.
Prerequisites
The following are the hardware and software prerequisites to test the TCP and UDP throughput using the
iPerf application for the ATWINC15x0.
Hardware Prerequisites
• ATSAM4S XPRO Board
• ATWINC15x0
• Access Point (AP)
• PC/Laptop
Software Prerequisites
• iPerf application 2.0.5 for iPerf client running on PC/Laptop
• Serial console software (Tera Term)
• ATWINC1500 iPerf Example
© 2018 Microchip Technology Inc. Application Note DS00002879A-page 1

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................1
Prerequisites....................................................................................................................1
1. ATWINC15x0 iPerf Setup ......................................................................................... 3
1.1. SAM4S Xplained Pro....................................................................................................................3
1.2. Hardware Setup........................................................................................................................... 4
2. Creating ATWINC15x0 iPerf Project in Atmel Studio.................................................5
3. Configuring and Loading the iPerf Application.......................................................... 7
4. Installing iPerf Application ........................................................................................ 9
4.1. iPerf Commands...........................................................................................................................9
5. Executing iPerf Application .....................................................................................10
6. Test Setup................................................................................................................12
6.1. Throughput Test Result Dependency Parameters .................................................................... 13
7. Test Results............................................................................................................. 15
8. Appendix - Updating Firmware................................................................................ 17
9. Document Revision History..................................................................................... 18
The Microchip Web Site................................................................................................ 19
Customer Change Notification Service..........................................................................19
Customer Support......................................................................................................... 19
Microchip Devices Code Protection Feature................................................................. 19
Legal Notice...................................................................................................................20
Trademarks................................................................................................................... 20
Quality Management System Certified by DNV.............................................................21
Worldwide Sales and Service........................................................................................22
ATWINC15x0
© 2018 Microchip Technology Inc. Application Note DS00002879A-page 2

1. ATWINC15x0 iPerf Setup
The user can run the iPerf application using the command prompt on a computer and the customized
iPerf implementation on the wireless board to measure the throughput performance. The iPerf application
contains both client and server functionality. Typically, one acts as server and the other as client, where
the iPerf application in the client side launches the test session.
The iPerf application running in the ATSAM4S XPRO board operates in the Server mode and waits to
accept the client’s connection before it initiates the bandwidth test.
1.1 SAM4S Xplained Pro
The SAM4S Xplained Pro evaluation kit is a hardware platform to evaluate the ATSAM4SD32C
microcontroller, supported by the Atmel Studio integrated development platform. The SAM4S Xplained
Pro evaluation kit is ideal for evaluation and prototyping with the SAM4S Cortex®-M4 processor-based
microcontroller. The Xplained Pro MCU series evaluation kits include an on-board Embedded Debugger,
and no external tools are necessary to program or debug the SAM4SD32C. The Xplained Pro extension
series evaluation kit offers additional peripherals to extend the features of the board and ease the
development of custom designs.
ATWINC15x0
ATWINC15x0 iPerf Setup
© 2018 Microchip Technology Inc. Application Note DS00002879A-page 3

Figure 1-1. SAM4S Xplained Pro Evaluation Kit
1.2 Hardware Setup
Perform the following steps to create the iPerf setup.
1. Plug the ATWINC15x0 module to the EXT1 of the SAM4S Xplained Pro evaluation kit.
2. Power-up the SAM4S Xplained Pro evaluation kit by connecting the USB cable to the DEBUG USB
port.
ATWINC15x0
ATWINC15x0 iPerf Setup
© 2018 Microchip Technology Inc. Application Note DS00002879A-page 4

2. Creating ATWINC15x0 iPerf Project in Atmel Studio
The demo iPerf application for the SAM4S Xplained Pro with the ATWINC15x0 is available in ASF
Version 3.42 and all upcoming versions. Before creating a new iPerf project, verify the version of both the
ATWINC1500 driver and firmware being used. The ATWINC1500 firmware version needs to be equal or
higher to its driver version. The firmware upgrade details are detailed in the Appendix.
This section explains the steps for demonstrating ATWINC15x0 projects using Atmel Studio ASF example
applications.
Note: The iPerf application for SAM4S, SAMG55, SAMG53, and SAMD21 is available in ASF. In this
Application Note, iPerf application for the SAM4S is used as a reference.
1. Open Atmel Studio 7.
2. Navigate to File>New>Example Projects.
3. Search for iperf sample application for other MCU's.
4. Select the WINC1500 Iperf Example – SAM4S Xplained Pro.
Figure 2-1. Atmel Studio ATWINC1500 Project Creation
The directory structure for iPerf application is illustrated in following figure.
ATWINC15x0
Creating ATWINC15x0 iPerf Project in Atmel Studio
© 2018 Microchip Technology Inc. Application Note DS00002879A-page 5

Figure 2-2. iPerf Application Directory Structure
ATWINC15x0
Creating ATWINC15x0 iPerf Project in Atmel Studio
© 2018 Microchip Technology Inc. Application Note DS00002879A-page 6

3. Configuring and Loading the iPerf Application
To connect to the access point, the Station mode requires the Wi-Fi credentials, such as SSID and
Security type. For this demo, WPA-PSK is used as an example. The following are the steps to configure
and load the iPerf application.
1. Open the WINC1500_IPERF_SERVER_EXAMPLE1 project.
2. Configure the AP credentials; SSID and password in the iperf.h file.
Configure the AP based on the supported security methods.
To set a security type, in the iperf.h file configure IPERF_WIFI_M2M_WLAN_AUTH macro as
mentioned. The corresponding AP's SSID must be filled with IPERF_WIFI_M2M_WLAN_SSID
macro as given.
/* AP configuration parameters*/
#define IPERF_WIFI_M2M_WLAN_SSID "DEMO_APP"/**< Destination SSID */
#define IPERF_WIFI_M2M_WLAN_AUTH M2M_WIFI_SEC_WPA_PSK /**< Security manner */
#define IPERF_WIFI_M2M_WLAN_PSK "12345678"/**< Password for Destination SSID */
3. Save the project.
4. Compile and download the image into the SAM4S board.
5. Open the serial port terminal application, and set the COM port configuration as follows:
– Set Baudrate as 115200
– Set Data Bits as 8 bit
– Set Parity as none
– Set Stop Bits as 1 bit
– Set Flow control as none
6. Run the application. The serial port terminal displays the following log output.
ATWINC15x0
Configuring and Loading the iPerf Applicat...
© 2018 Microchip Technology Inc. Application Note DS00002879A-page 7

Figure 3-1. iPerf Serial Console Initial Log Output
Note: iPerf initializes as UDP/TCP iPerf server.
The IP address assigned to the ATWINC15x0 is available in the serial terminal.
ATWINC15x0
Configuring and Loading the iPerf Applicat...
© 2018 Microchip Technology Inc. Application Note DS00002879A-page 8

4. Installing iPerf Application
The iPerf application is available as an open source or executable binaries for many operating systems.
The following are the steps to install the iPerf application.
1. Download the iPerf 2.0.5 application from https://iperf.fr/ and save in the desired location.
2. Unzip the downloaded file to get the executable file.
3. Open command prompt in the folder path where this executable file is located.
4.1 iPerf Commands
By default, iPerf clients open a connection with the iPerf server which is typically listening at port 5001 at
specified destination. The commonly used iPerf commands are listed in the following table. For additional
commands, see https://iperf.fr/iperf-doc.php.
Table 4-1. iPerf Commands
Command Description
-f Format to report; Kbits, Mbits, KBytes, and
MBytes.
-i Interval between periodic bandwidth reports in
seconds.
-s Runs in the Server mode.
-u Runs in the single threaded UDP mode and
specific to client.
-b Bandwidth to send in bits/sec.
-u indicates the default value as 1 Mbit/sec.
-c Runs in the client mode, connecting to host.
-r Individual bidirectional test.
-t Time in seconds to transmit. The default value is
10 secs.
ATWINC15x0
Installing iPerf Application
© 2018 Microchip Technology Inc. Application Note DS00002879A-page 9

5. Executing iPerf Application
The iPerf application can be executed by configuring one system as client and the other as server. The
iPerf application in ASF can work both as server and client. The demo application running in the SAM4S
Xplained Pro evaluation kit works in the Server mode and waits to accept the client’s connection before
initiating the bandwidth test. The client needs to know the IP address of the target server and
communicates with the iPerf server located at the specified IP address.
For example, the server with IP address 192.168.1.100 can be run with the TCP test, using the following
command:
iperf -c 192.168.1.100 -t 20 -i 1 -r
•-t is time in seconds to transmit (default 10 secs)
•-i is the interval between periodic bandwidth reports in seconds
•-r on the client’s command line instructs iPerf to measure bi-directional throughput sequentially,
that is, upstream and downstream
Figure 5-1. Log Output
To run the UDP test, add two additional arguments as shown in the following:
iperf -c 192.168.1.100 -t 20 -i 1 -u -b 1G
•u indicates single_udp run in single threaded UDP mode
•b indicates bandwidth to send in bits/sec
ATWINC15x0
Executing iPerf Application
© 2018 Microchip Technology Inc. Application Note DS00002879A-page 10