Quick Reference: WA2000 vs. GA1000

This topic lists all the essential differences between the WA2000 and GA1000 wireless add-on modules. These differences are as follows:

• Compared to the GA1000, the WA2000 only works on a small number of Tibbo devices. These are 32-bit products: EM2000, EM2001, TPP2(G2) and TPP3(G2).
• The WA2000 supports communications in the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands. The module conforms to 802.11a/b/g/n standards. There is a new wln.band property that selects what ranges (bands) are allowed. Note that enabling all ranges (bands) and modes slows the system down during scanning (wln.scan and wln.activescan) and associating (wln.associate). The GA1000 only supports the 2.4GHz band and 802.11b/g standards. For more information, see Selecting Allowed Bands, Selecting Domain, and Scanning for Wi-Fi Networks.
• The WA2000 requires a reset pulse of at least 1ms, while the GA1000 does not care how short the reset pulse is (within the range that you can achieve on Tibbo devices). For more information, see Applying a Hardware Reset.
• The WA2000 stores its firmware in its onboard flash memory, so there is no need to upload the firmware file during each boot, as is required by the GA1000. This Wi-Fi firmware, as well as the Monitor/Loader — a resident program that assists in the upgrades of the firmware — can be updated in the field. For more information, see Booting Up the Hardware and Updating Firmware (WA2000 Only).
• The WA2000 handles the WPA and WPA2 protocols completely internally and does not require any help from your app. The GA1000 offloads the calculation of the so-called pre-shared key to a Tibbo BASIC/C library (called the WLN library). This affects how you use the wln.setwpa method and how association works. For more information, see Setting WAP Mode and Key and Associating With a Network.
• The WA2000 can only associate with access points (networks running in the infrastructure mode) and cannot associate with other devices (stations) running ad hoc networks. Calling up the wln.associate method with bssmode = 1 — PL_WLN_BSS_MODE_ADHOC will be rejected. The GA1000 can associate with access points and stations running ad hoc networks. For more information, see Associating With a Network.
• With the WA2000, it is possible to proceed to associating (calling wln.associate) without scanning for the network parameters of the target network (calling wln.scan or wln.activescan with the network name specified). Scanning for the target network is a required step on the GA1000. For more information, see Associating With a Network.
• Starting a network with wln.networkstart creates an infrastructure network on the WA2000. That is, it appears as an access point to other wireless stations. Starting a network on the GA1000 creates an ad hoc network.