WOLFSSL MICROCHIP PIC32 SUPPORT

Developed with embedded devices and applications in mind, the wolfSSL embedded SSL/TLS library has been written from the ground up focusing on several key priorities - including performance, feature set, low memory usage, and portability.  wolfSSL is progressive in its support for current and upcoming protocol and cipher standards, including both client and server support for TLS 1.3, DTLS 1.3, AES-GCM, AES-CCM, and ECC to name a few.  The combination of these traits make wolfSSL the perfect fit for secure communication on PIC32-based devices and applications.  For a full list of features offered by wolfSSL, please see the product page.

wolfSSL is dual licensed under both the GPLv2 as well as a standard commercial license.  For licensing information, please see the wolfSSL License Page, or contact us directly.

To enable Microchip PIC32 support, define MICROCHIP_PIC32 and/or either MICROCHIP_TCPIP or MICROCHIP_TCPIP_V5 when building wolfSSL.  The MICROCHIP_PIC32 define turns on board-specific settings used with the PIC32 Ethernet Starter Kit.  If using Microchip TCP/IP stack version 5, define MICROCHIP_TCPIP_V5.  If using Microchip TCP/IP stack version 6 or later, define MICROCHIP_TCPIP.

To see a list of specific preprocessor defines used to build wolfSSL on the Microchip PIC32 Ethernet Starter Kit board with the MPLAB® X IDE, see the two above defines located in the <wolfssl_root>/wolfssl/wolfcrypt/settings.h file of the wolfSSL download package.

The wolfSSL download package ships with several example MPLAB® X projects which developers can use to get going quickly with wolfSSL on the PIC32.  The following Microchip PIC32 MPLAB® X example projects can be found under the <cyassl_root>/mplabx directory:

wolfSSL Library (wolfssl.X)

This project builds a static wolfSSL library.

wolfCrypt Test Application (wolfcrypt_test.X)

This project tests the wolfCrypt cryptography modules. It is generally a good idea to run this first on a PIC32 system after compiling wolfSSL in order to verify all underlying crypto is working correctly.

wolfCrypt Benchmark Application (wolfcrypt_benchmark.X)

This project builds the wolfCrypt benchmark application which can be used on a PIC32-based device to see cryptography benchmark speeds.  Results of running the wolfCrypt benchmark on a PIC32 Ethernet Starter Kit in the wolfSSL labs using MIPS32 mode yielded the following results (reference only):

AES  25 kB took 0.047 seconds,   0.52 MB/s
ARC4  25 kB took 0.007 seconds,   3.63 MB/s
RABBIT 25 kB took 0.009 seconds,   2.77 MB/s
3DES  25 kB took 0.202 seconds,   0.12 MB/s

MD5  25 kB took 0.004 seconds,   6.09 MB/s
SHA  25 kB took 0.007 seconds,   3.52 MB/s
SHA-256  25 kB took 0.018 seconds,   1.34 MB/s
SHA-512  25 kB took 0.037 seconds,   0.66 MB/s

RSA 1024 encryption took  35.57 milliseconds, avg over 1 iterations
RSA 1024 decryption took 308.67 milliseconds, avg over 1 iterations
DH  1024 key generation  196.59 milliseconds, avg over 1 iterations
DH  1024 key agreement   198.38 milliseconds, avg over 1 iterations

ECC  256 key generation  183.91 milliseconds, avg over 1 iterations
EC-DHE   key agreement   181.20 milliseconds, avg over 1 iterations
EC-DSA   sign time       190.48 milliseconds, avg over 1 iterations

Microchip MPLAB Harmony now includes several demo applications using wolfSSL (CyaSSL):

cyassl_tcp_client - TCP/IP CyaSSL Client Demonstration (PDF)

This configuration demonstrates creating an Internet client that uses the MPLAB Harmony TCP API to create a TCP/IP connection to a Web server. The connection can either be clear text, or it can use SSL to encrypt the connection with CyaSSL. The demonstration can use either IPv4 or IPv6.

cyassl_tcp_server - TCP/IP CyaSSL Server Demonstration (PDF)

This configuration demonstrates creating a simple Internet Web server, that operates with clear text (TCP Port 80), and with encrypted text (TCP Port 443). If IPv6 is enabled than the demonstration also serves both types of connections on IPv6. The Web server only serves one page with the text 'Nothing Here' to all Web clients.

wifi_wolf_ssl - TCP/IP Wifi wolfSSL Demonstration (PDF)

This configuration provides a Wi?Fi wolfSSL TCP/IP demonstration. The demonstration is a dual port version of the cyassl_tcp_client demonstration, but it supports both Ethernet and Wi?Fi connections.

When testing embedded client or servers on a PIC32-based devices, it is recommended to test against one of the standard wolfSSL example applications running on a desktop machine.  The standard wolfSSL example applications are located in the wolfSSL root directory under the <wolfssl_root>/examples directory.  For more information about building and running these standard example applications on a desktop machine, please refer to Chapter 3 of the wolfSSL Manual.

Please contact wolfSSL with any questions about using wolfSSL on PIC32-based devices.

Microchip Technology Inc. is a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide.  Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality.  For more information, visit the Microchip website at www.microchip.com.

wolfSSL Product Page
Microchip PIC32 Product Page
Microchip PIC32 Ethernet Starter KIt
Microchip TCP/IP Stack Product Page
Microchip MPLAB® X IDE