Bluetooth Host Controller Interface (HCI) sniffing provides valuable insight for Bluetooth developers. With HCI sniffing you have a transparent view into the commands and events that are being sent back and forth between the host stack and the controller. The hardwired HCI interface is always "on" and does not need to synchronize with air interfaces. It gives the developer or tester a better overall view on both air and HCI transports.

For example a device may not transmit an air packet due to an issue between host and host controller. Looking at the HCI commands and events through Frontline's HCI protocol analyzers will quickly establish where the problem lies. This ability is key to ensuring that a packet being sent from the host stack is received by the controller.

Points of Observation
Using the Sodera HCI Pods and Cables

With the Sodera Wideband Bluetooth Protocol Analyzer you can simultaneously capture over-the-air (OTA) Bluetooth traffic and chip level (HCI) Bluetooth data when configured with the provide HCI hardware pods and cables.

Sodera Pods and Cables

In order to do this you need to:

  1. Connect the HCI Pod to the Sodera unit
  2. Connect the flying lead header to the Pod
  3. Connect the leads to the device under test (DUT)
  4. Configure the Frontline software for HCI capture
  5. Start recording using Frontline software
  6. Begin DUT transmission

To capture HCI traffic connect the hardware cables to the pod connectors on the bottom of the Sodera device (see picture to the right).

You can watch a brief video of how to connect and configure the hardware cables and pods on our YouTube channel.