Same MAC Addresses for different BCM943903PS

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user_2170816
Level 3
Level 3
5 replies posted 5 questions asked First question asked

Hello,

I am trying to port one of my old project which is for BCM9WCDUSI09 and WICED SDK 3.5.2 to a new project which is for BCM943903PS and WICED STUDIO 4.1.1

In the old one I was using MAC address as a uniqueness factor and it worked very well up to now. But I realized that all of my BCM943903PS chips have the same MAC address. I tried in eval board as well but result was the same. I do not know if it is really a bug in WICED STUDIO 4.1.1 or it is possible that all of my 5 BCM943903PS chips have the same MAC address, really.

Is there a quick fix for this or do I need to wait for the next WICED STUDIO release?

Thanks in advance.

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1 Solution
Anonymous
Not applicable

Please refer to the following blog for setting the MAC address

>> How to add MAC address to your WICED APP?

NVRAM file has the parameter "NVRAM_GENERATED_MAC_ADDRESS" which is taken from generated_mac_address.txt file. If the OTP has no MAC address then the parameter defines in the NVRAM file will be given priority. If you want to give your know MAC address then you need to follow the steps given in the above blog.

If you have MAC in the OTP then you can use that. Mostly only modules will have MAC written in OTP portion of the WLAN chip. If you are using the RAW chip then you need to program the OTP with your desired MAC address.

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5 Replies
Anonymous
Not applicable

MAC address will be generated by perl script. Please refer to the following location in the WICED Studio

>> C:\..\..\..\WICED-Studio-5.0\43xxx_Wi-Fi\tools

This is random generation and may have chances of re-occurrence. If you want to have your know unique MAC address, please go and change it in nv-ram file under platform files.

Thank you for your answer.

There are some lines at related makefiles like following.

GENERATED_MAC_FILE := $(SOURCE_ROOT)generated_mac_address.txt

MAC_GENERATOR      := $(TOOLS_ROOT)/mac_generator/mac_generator.pl

$(GENERATED_MAC_FILE): $(MAC_GENERATOR)

  $(QUIET)$(PERL) $<  > $@

But I m not really sure that the perl script is called or running. My mac address is what is written in generated_mac_address.txt

Besides that, as far as I know and read, mac address is embedded in OTP memory by the manufacturer in factory. I guess this mac address in OTP is also unique and I want to use it. How can I check if my chip comes with OTP memory and mac address in it?

Thanks a lot,

Best regards,

Oguz

Anonymous
Not applicable

Yes you are right. MAC address in the .txt file will get prioritized and used as MAC address in the network. If you developing a product then you need to have your know MAC address and program it to the OTP. We only provide for development purpose.

Hello,

Which part of the SDK give the priority to .txt file.?

Here is the point that I can not understand:

     I was using WICED 3.5.2 and BCM9WCDUSI09. I could have obtain different mac addresses without any adjustment. I compared the make files as much as I can but can not see any difference about mac issue. What is different now?

Secondly, it is stated in WICED-Factory-Programming document that "in most cases, it is best to leave WICED to use the MAC address in OTP". Therefore, I want to use mac address in OTP which is programmed in Cypress' production line. I do not want to re-program OTP.

Thanks a lot for your time.

Best regards.

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Please refer to the following blog for setting the MAC address

>> How to add MAC address to your WICED APP?

NVRAM file has the parameter "NVRAM_GENERATED_MAC_ADDRESS" which is taken from generated_mac_address.txt file. If the OTP has no MAC address then the parameter defines in the NVRAM file will be given priority. If you want to give your know MAC address then you need to follow the steps given in the above blog.

If you have MAC in the OTP then you can use that. Mostly only modules will have MAC written in OTP portion of the WLAN chip. If you are using the RAW chip then you need to program the OTP with your desired MAC address.