Realtek Wi-Fi SDK for Android O 8.

x
ver. 1.0.1

Contents
Release History ............................................................................................................. 2
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3
1. Copy Necessary Files into SDK .......................................................................... 4
2. Platform Related Files ......................................................................................... 4
2.1. BoardConfig.mk ....................................................................................... 4
2.2. init.xxx.rc .................................................................................................. 6
2.3. Others ........................................................................................................ 8
3. System Resource Configurations ........................................................................ 9
4. wpa_supplicant_8............................................................................................... 11
5. Driver Configurations for Android 8.0 ............................................................ 11
6. FAQ ..................................................................................................................................... 13
6.1. Wi-Fi (STA mode) .................................................................................. 13
6.1.1. Why Wi-Fi can’t enable? ........................................................... 13
6.2. Portable Wi-Fi hotspot (AP mode) ....................................................... 14
6.2.1. Why Portable Wi-Fi hotspot can’t enable? ............................. 14
6.3. Wi-Fi Direct (P2P mode) ....................................................................... 14
6.3.1. There is no Wi-Fi Direct UI shown?......................................... 14
6.3.2. Wi-Fi Direct can’t scan any peer? ............................................ 14

1
Release History
1.0.0 2017/08/25 1. First formal release
1.0.1 2018/02/26 1. Support wifi_hal

2
SDK packages
 hardware/realtek/*
Folder to store private code from Realtek.

Introduction
This document provides a simple guide to help engineers to apply Realtek Wi-Fi
solution onto their Android O 8.0 system. For now, we have supported the following
two scenarios:

 STA/AP – Switch between STA mode and AP mode

 (STA+P2P)/AP – Switch between STA+P2P(Wi-Fi Direct) concurrent
mode and AP mode

To port Realtek Wi-Fi driver onto Android 8.0 platform, you can go through the
following guide with reference codes within our driver package's
realtek_wifi_SDK_for_android_O_8.0_20180227.tar.gz.

Because Android's SDK may differ from platform to platform, our reference
codes may not be applied on every platform without modifications. You should check
if our reference code is suitable for you to use.

In this document, ANDROID_SDK is the path of top folder of the target Android
SDK; this term is used in the following paragraphs.

3
1. Copy Necessary Files into SDK
After unzipping realtek_wifi_SDK_for_android_O_8.0_20180227.tar.gz, copy the
following folder into ANDROID_SDK/hardware/folder:
 hardware/realtek

2. Platform Related Files

2.1. BoardConfig.mk
To apply Realtek Wi-Fi solution onto your Android 8.0 system, you need to
define some compile-time variables in BoardConfig.mk of your platform. In general,
the BoardConfig.mk file is located in:
ANDROID_SDK /device/<soc_vendor_name>/<board_name>/
Take Hikey board for example:
ANDROID_SDK/device/linaro/hikey/BoardConfigCommon.mk

4
 BOARD_WIFI_VENDOR := realtek
ifeq ($(BOARD_WIFI_VENDOR), realtek)
WPA_SUPPLICANT_VERSION := VER_0_8_X
BOARD_WPA_SUPPLICANT_DRIVER := NL80211
BOARD_WPA_SUPPLICANT_PRIVATE_LIB := lib_driver_cmd_rtl
BOARD_HOSTAPD_DRIVER := NL80211
BOARD_HOSTAPD_PRIVATE_LIB := lib_driver_cmd_rtl

BOARD_WLAN_DEVICE := realtek

endif

 BOARD_WIFI_VENDOR := realtek
To distinguish the platform Wi-Fi device from products of other vendors, we
define variable BOARD_WIFI_VENDOR as realtek. This is for compile-time choices
to be applied for Realtek Wi-Fi solutions.

 WPA_SUPPLICANT_VERSION := VER_0_8_X
For Android L, please set WPA_SUPPLICANT_VERSION as VER_0_8_X to

5
use wpa_supplicant_8.

 BOARD_WPA_SUPPLICANT_DRIVER := NL80211
 BOARD_WPA_SUPPLICANT_PRIVATE_LIB := lib_driver_cmd_rtl
 BOARD_HOSTAPD_DRIVER := NL80211
 BOARD_HOSTAPD_PRIVATE_LIB := lib_driver_cmd_rtl
We use NL80211 as the driver interface for wpa_supplicant and hostapd to
communicate with driver and provide lib_driver_cmd_rtl as the private library.

 BOARD_WLAN_DEVICE
In Android 8.X, BOARD_WLAN_DEVICE is used to choose which vendor
wifi_hal should be applied. You have to set BOARD_WLAN_DEVICE := realtek to
use realtek’s wifi_hal.

6
2.2. init.xxx.rc
For Wi-Fi to operate properly, we need some actions and daemons to be defined
as service inside init.xxx.rc. In general, the init.xxx.rc file is located in:
ANDROID_SDK/device/<soc_vendor_name>/<board_name>/
Take Hikey board for example:
ANDROID_SDK/linaro/hikey /init.common.rc

Please add the service definitions below:

 insmod
Please select one of action definitions below according to your requirement.
Meanwhile, please make sure your wlan.ko has right seclabel and mode as

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root u:object_r:vendor_file:s0 3429448 1970-01-01 00:19 wlan.ko

You can use command “ls -alZ” to check seclabel of wlan.ko.

(For concurrent mode)

on boot

exec u:r:vendor_modprobe:s0 root root -- /vendor/bin/toybox_vendor insmod

/vendor/modules/wlan.ko ifname=wlan0 if2name=p2p0

(For STA only)

on boot

exec u:r:vendor_modprobe:s0 root root -- /vendor/bin/toybox_vendor insmod

/vendor/modules/wlan.ko ifname=wlan0

7
 wpa_supplicant
Please select one of service definitions below according to your requirement.
(For concurrent mode)

service wpa_supplicant /system/vendor/bin/hw/wpa_supplicant \

-ip2p0 -Dnl80211 -c/data/misc/wifi/p2p_supplicant.conf \

-e/data/misc/wifi/entropy.bin -N \

-iwlan0 -Dnl80211 -c/data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf \

-O/data/misc/wifi/sockets \

-g@android:wpa_wlan0

socket wpa_wlan0 dgram 660 wifi wifi

class main

disabled

oneshot

(For STA only)

service wpa_supplicant /system/vendor/bin/hw/wpa_supplicant \

-iwlan0 -Dnl80211 -c/data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf \

-O/data/misc/wifi/sockets \

-e/data/misc/wifi/entropy.bin -g@android:wpa_wlan0

socket wpa_wlan0 dgram 660 wifi wifi

class main

disabled

oneshot

8
 2.3. Others
For topics mentioned here, you can add the following code segments in any .mk
file which your platform will use. Take Hikey board for example:
ANDROID_SDK /device/linaro/hikey/device-common.mk.

 Add wifi related packages

These packages are needed for Wifi support in Android O, please make sure these
packages are added in .mk
PRODUCT_PACKAGES += \
libwpa_client wpa_supplicant hostapd wificond wifilogd wpa_supplicant.conf
hostapd.conf libwifi-hal android.hardware.wifi.supplicant@1.0-service
android.hardware.wifi@1.0-service

 Add android.hardware.wifi.xml
To claim Wi-Fi support for your device, please add the rule in the
PRODUCT_COPY_FILES variable to copy the permission definition file of Wi-Fi to
the /system/etc/permissions/ folder of your system image.

PRODUCT_COPY_FILES += \

frameworks/native/data/etc/android.hardware.wifi.xml:system/etc/permissions/android.hardware.wifi.xml

 Add android.hardware.wifi.direct.xml
To claim Wi-Fi Direct (P2P) support for your device, please add the rule in the
PRODUCT_COPY_FILES variable to copy the permission definition file of Wi-Fi
Direct to the /system/etc/permissions/ folder of your system image.
PRODUCT_COPY_FILES += \
frameworks/native/data/etc/android.hardware.wifi.direct.xml:system/etc/permissions/android.hardware.wifi.direct.xml

Make sure your driver is configured for STA+P2P concurrent mode or you may
encounter error when you open the Wi-Fi. Please refer to “5. Driver Configurations
for Android 8.x”

9
  Set wifi.interface
To specify the wifi interface name in Android, a system property named
“wifi.interface” is used. For Realtek Wi-Fi driver, Wi-Fi interface name is assigned
with “wlan%d”. In general, you should set wifi.interface as “wlan0”.

PRODUCT_PROPERTY_OVERRIDES += \
wifi.interface=wlan0

 Set wifi.direct.interface
If you require p2p support, you have to set wifi.direct.interface as “p2p0”

PRODUCT_PROPERTY_OVERRIDES += \
wifi.direct.interface=p2p0

 Toybox_vendor
In android 8.x, we need toybox_vendor to insmod. If you do not set the config in device.mk
PRODUCT_SHIPPING_API_LEVEL := 26

You should modify $ANDROID_SDK/external/toybox/Android.mk as below to build

toybox_vendor

#ifeq ($(PRODUCT_FULL_TREBLE),true)
############################################
# static version to be installed in /vendor
#
….
LOCAL_MODULE := toybox_vendor
….
include $(BUILD_EXECUTABLE)
#endif

 wifi_hal
To support wifi_hal, you have to patch
$ANDROID_SDK/frameworks/opt/net/wifi/libwifi_hal/Android.mk as below.

# Pick a vendor provided HAL implementation library.

# ============================================================
LIB_WIFI_HAL := libwifi-hal-fallback
….
else ifeq ($(BOARD_WLAN_DEVICE), realtek)
# support RTK WIFI HAL
LIB_WIFI_HAL := libwifi-hal-rtk
endif
….

10
  Device manifest file
The Device manifest file is provided by the device. It lives in the Android source tree at
device/${VENDOR}/${DEVICE}/manifest.xml and on the device at /vendor/manifest.xml

RTK wifi needs IWifi and ISupplicant. Please check

device/${VENDOR}/${DEVICE}/manifest.xml,
It should have IWifi and ISupplicant description as below.
.

<hal format="hidl">
<name>android.hardware.wifi</name>
<transport>hwbinder</transport>
<version>1.0</version>
<interface>
<name>IWifi</name>
<instance>default</instance>
</interface>
</hal>
<hal format="hidl">
<name>android.hardware.wifi.supplicant</name>
<transport>hwbinder</transport>
<version>1.0</version>
<interface>
<name>ISupplicant</name>
<instance>default</instance>
</interface>
</hal>

3. System Resource Configurations

You should set the following four resource configurations for your platform to
configure the network function and enable the corresponding UI interface. In general,
you can set the following configurations in your platform dependent config.xml file.
Take Hikey board for example:
ANDROID_SDK/device/linaro/hikey/overlay/frameworks/base/core/res/res/val
ues/config.xml
Or the global config.xml file:
ANDROID_SDK/frameworks/base/core/res/res/values/config.xml

 networkAttributes
To define the system’s available network interfaces, make sure the wifi interface
items is defined in the networkAttributes resource configuration in the config.xml.
For example:

<string-array translatable="false" name="networkAttributes">

<item>"wifi,1,1,1,-1,true"</item>
<item>"bluetooth,7,7,0,-1,true"</item>
<item>"ethernet,9,9,2,-1,true"</item>
</string-array>
11
 radioAttributes
To define the system’s available network interfaces, we need to define interface
items for wifi in the radioAttributes resource configuration. For example:

<string-array translatable="false" name="radioAttributes">

<item>"1,1"</item>
<item>"7,1"</item>
<item>"9,1"</item>
</string-array>

 config_tether_wifi_regexs
The interfaces set here are tetherable Wi-Fi interfaces which will be used as
interfaces for Wi-Fi LAN port. We use 'wlan0' by default when our Wi-Fi is set as
softap mode. So it needs to set 'wlan0' here. For example:

<string-array translatable="false" name="config_tether_wifi_regexs">

<item>"wlan0"</item>
</string-array>

 config_tether_upstream_types
The connection types set here are used as the interfaces for WAN port to connect
to internet. For example, adding Wi-Fi and Ethernet:

<integer-array translatable="false" name="config_tether_upstream_types">

<item>1</item>
<item>9</item>
</integer-array>

At least one item should be declared here to enable the “Tehtering & portable
hotspot” option of WirelessSettings in Settings.apk.

To know the definition and set other upstream connection types, please refer to
ANDROID_SDK/frameworks/base/core/java/android/net/ConnectivityManager.java.

 config_enableWifiDisplay
To enable Wi-Fi Display(Miracast) function, set config_enableWifiDisplay
to
true:

<bool name="config_enableWifiDisplay">true</bool>
12
 4. wpa_supplicant_8
We provide wpa_supplicant_8_O_8.x_rtw_r24597.20171025.tar.gz or newer
version in the wpa_supplicant_hostapd/ of our SW release package. You can:

 Use the wpa_supplicant_8_O_8.0_rtw_xxxx instead of the original

1. Backup and remove the original external/wpa_supplcant_8/ folder
2. Extract and copy the wpa_supplicant_8_O_8.0_rtw_xxxx tar file to the external/
folder of your Android SDK.
3. Rename wpa_supplicant_8_O_8.0_rtx_xxxx as wpa_supplicant_8.

5. Driver Configurations for Android 8.x

Android 8.x support two scenarios for Wi-Fi solution:
 STA/AP – Switch between STA and AP mode
 (STA+P2P)/AP – Switch between STA+P2P concurrent and AP mode
The configuration of driver to fit the requirement of each scenario, see the
following table:

MACRO STA /AP (STA+P2P)/AP Kernel ver.

CONFIG_IOCTL_CFG80211 Defined Defined ver. >= 2.6.35
RTW_USE_CFG80211_STA_EVENT Defined Defined ver. >= 3.2.0
CONFIG_RADIO_WORK Defined Defined -
CONFIG_CONCURRENT_MODE Undefined Defined -
RTW_ENABLE_WIFI_CONTROL_FUNC Defined for platform device/driver mechanism
CONFIG_RTW_WIFI_HAL Defined if android version >= 8.x

 CONFIG_IOCTL_CFG80211 is used for driver to enable cfg80211 ioctl

interface, which is required by Realtek Wi-Fi to operate on Android 8.0 system.

13
 RTW_USE_CFG80211_STA_EVENT is used for driver to indicate new
cfg80211 STA event, which is required by wpa_supplicant_8 of Android 8.0
Linux kernel supports this feature after kernel 3.2. For kernel version between
3.0 and 3.2, please refer to the patch file:
linux-3.0.42_STATION_INFO_ASSOC_REQ_IES.diff

 CONFIG_RADIO_WORK is used for driver to fit ‘radio work’ mechanism of

Android 8’s wpa_supplicant_8. If this MACRO doesn’t exist in driver’s source
code, please contact with Realtek technical windows for suitable driver.

 CONFIG_CONCURRENT_MODE is used for driver to enable concurrent

mode, which is required by STA+P2P concurrent mode of Android 8.0.

 RTW_ENABLE_WIFI_CONTROL_FUNC is used to register platform driver

callbacks. If your platform needs those callbacks, please define this macro to
register platform driver callback functions. For example, these functions include:

static struct platform_driver wifi_device = {

.probe = wifi_probe,
.remove = wifi_remove,

By default, the probe callback is used to set up Wi-Fi power and remove callback
is used to close Wi-Fi power.

To compile Realtek Wi-Fi driver with the above setting, please refer to the
following document:
document/Quick_Start_Guide_for_Driver_Compilation_and_Installation.pdf
Adding platform selection and setting sections for compilation settings of your
platform.

For example, if you want to configure Realtek Wi-Fi driver for the
(STA+P2P)/AP scenario, make sure the macros: CONFIG_IOCTL_CFG80211,
RTW_USE_CFG80211_STA_EVENT, CONFIG_RADIO_WORK and
CONFIG_CONCURRENT_MODE are defined into the EXTRA_CFLAGS settings as
following:

14
 CONFIG_PLATFORM_ANDROID_M60_SAMPLE = y
…
…
…
ifeq ($(CONFIG_PLATFORM_ANDROID_ML0_SAMPLE), y)
EXTRA_CFLAGS += -DCONFIG_LITTLE_ENDIAN
EXTRA_CFLAGS += -DCONFIG_CONCURRENT_MODE
EXTRA_CFLAGS += -DCONFIG_IOCTL_CFG80211 -DRTW_USE_CFG80211_STA_EVENT
EXTRA_CFLAGS += -DCONFIG_RADIO_WORK
ARCH := arm
CROSS_COMPILE := /toolchain/bin/arm-none-linux-gnueabi-
KSRC := / android_sdk/android_l/ kernel
endif

 CONFIG_RTW_WIFI_HAL is defined if android version is >= 8.x :

For supporting Android version >= 8.x, make sure CONFIG_RTW_WIFI_HAL is
set to “y” in Makefile as follows,

…
CONFIG_RTW_WIFI_HAL = y
…

15
6. FAQ
6.1. Wi-Fi (STA mode)
6.1.1. Why Wi-Fi can’t enable?
The whole Wi-Fi enabling procedure includes the following three main ch eck
points. Please check in sequence:
 Is network interface(s) created?
 insmod driver success
 Wi-Fi device is recognized
 wlan0 is created

 Does wpa_supplicant run successfully?

 wpa_supplicant.conf (and p2p_supplicant.conf) exists and is correct
 Service definition of wpa_supplicant exists and is correct
 Binary file wpa_supplicant exists and is executable

 Do connections of communication socket setup?

 Make sure the communication socket settings is matched below:
 ctrl_interface in:
/data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf
(and /data/misc/wifi/p2p_supplicant.conf)
 Service definition of wpa_supplicant
 Paths of communication socket in wifi.c

16
6.2. Portable Wi-Fi hotspot (AP mode)
6.2.1. Why Portable Wi-Fi hotspot can’t enable?
The whole Portable Wi-Fi hotspot enabling procedure includes the following
three main check points. Please check in sequence:
 Is network interface created?
 insmod driver success
 Wi-Fi device is recognized
 wlan0 is created

 Does netd and hostapd run successfully?

 /data/misc/wifi/hostapd.conf exists and is correct
 Binary file netd and hostapd exist and are executable

 Does dnsmasq run successfully?

 Binary file dnsmasq exist and are executable

6.3. Wi-Fi Direct (P2P mode)

6.3.1. There is no Wi-Fi Direct UI shown?
Please refer to “Add android.hardware.wifi.direct.xml” in chapter 2.3. Others
to enable Wi-Fi Direct functionality of Android O.

6.3.2. Wi-Fi Direct can’t scan any peer?

First, make sure you have workable Wi-Fi Direct device nearby. Make them into
Wi-Fi Direct scanning state. Push “SEARCH FOR DEVICES” button also in our
device and wait for a while.
If there is still no peer shown the problem is usually caused by wrong service
definition of wpa_supplicant services. Please refer to “wpa_supplicant” in chapter
2.2. init.xxx.rc to check your service definition of wpa_supplicant.

17