November 2013 - Bluetooth-dev

Re: BLE central device as GATT server
by András Kövi 11 Nov '13

11 Nov '13

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Re: BLE central device as GATT server
by András Kövi 11 Nov '13

11 Nov '13

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AW: BLE central device as GATT server
by Walter Stephan 11 Nov '13

11 Nov '13

Ok, so maybe we're not talking about the same thing. I'm designing an accessory using a NRF8001 chip by Nordic Semiconductor, which (according to the datasheet) can only act as a *Peripheral*. In their forums, Nordic wrote the following: [start quote] First, there is the concept of Central/Peripheral, which has to do with establishing a link. This is also known as the GAP role. A Peripheral can advertise, to let other devices know that it's there, but it is only a Central that can actually send a connection request to establish a connection. When a link has been established, the Central is sometimes called a Master, while the Peripheral could be called a Slave. [...] Then, you have the roles of a GATT Server and a GATT Client. Normally, the Server is the device that contains data, that the Client can read. However, there is no connection between these roles. Even though it is most common for a Peripheral to be a Server and a Central to be a Client, it is perfectly possible to have a Peripheral that is only a Client, or a Central that is both a Server and a Client. [end quote] So I assumed that an app on an iOS device would always act as a *Central*, but could be a GATT client (the most common use case), a GATT server (as with ANCS or Time Service), or both at the same time. (Am I wrong here?) >From documentation, code examples and mailing list discussions I have only found examples of implementing a GATT client. I would like to know if it's possible in iOS to implement a GATT server when acting as a central. I am not an iOS developer, but as an embedded engineer I'm trying to define a proprietary BLE profile which should work with iOS. I could of course define services on the peripheral, but having the GATT service on the central seems more natural for my use case. I have developed a prototype using a BLE dongle on a PC, so I know it is possible to have a Central acting as a GATT server in general, but I wonder if iOS supports that. _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Bluetooth-dev mailing list (Bluetooth-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: https://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/bluetooth-dev/site_archiver%40lists… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: BLE central device as GATT server
by Kevin McQuown 11 Nov '13

11 Nov '13

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Re: BLE central device as GATT server
by András Kövi 11 Nov '13

11 Nov '13

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AW: BLE central device as GATT server
by Walter Stephan 11 Nov '13

11 Nov '13

> No. While a service is in the database, any connected central can > access, but it doesn't make sense for another peripheral to access. Why not? As a central device, iOS publishes the Battery Service, Time Service and ANCS. I think it would be useful if my app can publish a proprietary service to connected peripherals. > One > way of thinking of this for those more used to HTTP is that central = > client, peripheral = server. Servers do not connect to each other; > servers listen and clients connect to them. However, the same device > (the iPhone) can run both a client and a server at the same time. As far as I understand the BLE spec, a central can act as a GATT server (and a peripheral can act as a GATT client). I would like to know if this is possible to implement on iOS. I am aware that it may not be the most straight-forward use case, but it is definitely allowed by the spec. _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Bluetooth-dev mailing list (Bluetooth-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: https://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/bluetooth-dev/site_archiver%40lists… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: BLE central device as GATT server
by John Earl 11 Nov '13

11 Nov '13

On 11 Nov 2013, at 11:50, Walter Stephan <stephan.walter(a)swissphone.com> wrote: >> Instantiate the two managers and use them as you wish. They are happy >> to live together in one device. :) > > Just so I'm understanding correctly -- > > I should use the CBPeripheralManager without starting advertising, and I can define services in the CBPeripheralManager, and the central will publish these services? > No. The Peripheral manager is for advertising from the phone as a peripheral. The central manager is for scanning for and connecting to other devices that are advertising as peripherals. The central manager does not publish the services; the peripheral manager does. > The CBPeripheralManager documentation states: > > "While a service is in the database, it is visible to, and can be accessed by, any connected central." > > What you're saying is this should really read: > > "While a service is in the database, it is visible to, and can be accessed by, any connected central OR PERIPHERAL." > No. While a service is in the database, any connected central can access, but it doesn't make sense for another peripheral to access. One way of thinking of this for those more used to HTTP is that central = client, peripheral = server. Servers do not connect to each other; servers listen and clients connect to them. However, the same device (the iPhone) can run both a client and a server at the same time. > Best regards, > --Stephan Walter > > > _______________________________________________ > Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. > Bluetooth-dev mailing list (Bluetooth-dev(a)lists.apple.com) > Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: > https://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/bluetooth-dev/jearl%40airsource.co.… > > This email sent to jearl(a)airsource.co.uk _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Bluetooth-dev mailing list (Bluetooth-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: https://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/bluetooth-dev/site_archiver%40lists… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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AW: BLE central device as GATT server
by Walter Stephan 11 Nov '13

11 Nov '13

> Instantiate the two managers and use them as you wish. They are happy > to live together in one device. :) Just so I'm understanding correctly -- I should use the CBPeripheralManager without starting advertising, and I can define services in the CBPeripheralManager, and the central will publish these services? The CBPeripheralManager documentation states: "While a service is in the database, it is visible to, and can be accessed by, any connected central." What you're saying is this should really read: "While a service is in the database, it is visible to, and can be accessed by, any connected central OR PERIPHERAL." Best regards, --Stephan Walter _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Bluetooth-dev mailing list (Bluetooth-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: https://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/bluetooth-dev/site_archiver%40lists… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: BLE central device as GATT server
by András Kövi 11 Nov '13

11 Nov '13

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BLE central device as GATT server
by Walter Stephan 11 Nov '13

11 Nov '13

Hi all, It seems that a central device using CBCentralManager can only act as a GATT client, where as a peripheral device using CBPeripheralManager can only act as a GATT server. Is it possible to have a central device act as a GATT server? Section 3.12 of the Bluetooth Design Guidelines would suggest it, but I have not found any way to do that. For example, I would expect CBCentralManager to have an addService method but it doesn't. Best regards, Stephan Walter Embedded Software Engineer Swissphone Telecom AG Faelmisstrasse 21 Postfach 81 CH-8833 Samstagern Tel: +41 44 786 77 70 Direct: +41 44 786 77 52 Fax: +41 44 786 77 71 stephan.walter(a)swissphone.com www.swissphone.com _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Bluetooth-dev mailing list (Bluetooth-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: https://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/bluetooth-dev/site_archiver%40lists… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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