Shill Cellular

Updated June 2021

ModemInfo

The ModemInfo class is a singleton owned by Manager. It creates a DBusObjectManagerProxy for org.freedesktop.ModemManager1 to observe the appearance of org.freedesktop.ModemManager1.Modem objects.
When a ModemManager1.Modem object appears, a Modem class instance is constructed.

Modem class instances are owned by ModemInfo. There is usually only one Modem instance.
The Modem class is a helper class for parsing ModemManager1.Modem CurrentCapabilities and Ports properties.
When a Modem appears, a Cellular class instance is requested from the DeviceInfo singleton.
- If no Cellular Device exists, a new instance is created.
- The Cellular Device is updated with the new Modem properties.
- Note: The Cellular instance may outlive the Modem instance and is only destroyed when Cellular is disabled or on Shutdown. This ensures a consistent user experience during a SIM swap or slot switch operation (which creates a new ModemManager.Modem` object).

The Cellular class is a base::RefCounted Device class instance. Its lifetime is managed by the DeviceInfo class.
When a Cellular instance is created, it is registered with the Manager class which handles startup, shutdown, policy, power events, and global properties.
Cellular maintains a state machine tracking the state of the ModemManager1.Modem object.
Communication with the ModemManager1.Modem object is done through the CellularCapability helper class, owned by Cellular.
Once Modem registration completes and SIM properties are received (see CellularCapability), a CellularService instance is created for each available SIM through the CellularServiceProvider helper class.
Connect requests are forwarded from the CellularService class to the CellularCapability class. See Connect state machine for details.

The CellularCapability3gppis owned by the Cellular class.
CellularCapability3gpp owns a number of proxies for communicating with ModemManager1 interfaces (3gpp, Signal, Simple, Location) and the ModemManager1.Modem object.
When Cellular is enabled, CellularCapability3gpp::Start is called, invoking the ModemManager1.Modem.Enable routine. On success this sets Cellular::State to Enabled and starts the Modem registration process.
Once enabled, ModemManager provides a list of paths for available SIMs (on devices that support multi-sim), and the path of the currently active SIM. All available SIM properties are requested and provided to Cellular as a vector of SimProperties.
Once the Modem registration process successfully completes, Cellular::State becomes Registered, allowing the connect requests to be handled. (See Connect state machine for details).

The CellularServiceProvider class is a ServiceProvider singleton owned by Manager.
CellularServiceProvider determines which CellularService instances to load based on the available SimProperties.
Cellular Service properties are always stored in the Device Profile.
The Cellular class provides a vector of SimProperties, one entry for each active SIM slot, when they become available. At this point CellularServiceProvider ensures that correct service instances are loaded as follows:
1. Matching services in the Device Profile are identified for each SimProperties entry:
  1. If a CellularService instance matching the SIM ICCID exists, it is updated with the current Cellular Device state.
  2. Otherwise if a Service matching the ICCID exists in the Profile, it is loaded and a new CellularService instance is created.
  3. If the entry has an EID, all other Service entries with a matching EID in the Profile are loaded and CellularService instances are created if necessary.
2. If any CellularService entries remain that do not match any SimProperties entries, they are destroyed.

The CellularService class is a base::RefCounted Service class instance. Its lifetime is managed by the CellularServiceProvider class.
When a CellularService instance is created, it is registered with the Manager class.
CellularService uses the Cellular.ICCID property to uniquely identify service instances.
CellularService registers Cellular specific Service properties.
CellularService forwards Connect and Disconnect requests to the Cellular class.

Connect requests come from a CellularService with an identifying ICCID.

If the Modem object is not available, an immediate Error is returned.
If the Modem is Enabling or Registering the Pending ICCID is set.
- If the Modem becomes Registered, the Connect will be re-attempted.
- If the Modem fails to register, the Connect request Fails.
If the Modem is not in a Registered state, an immediate Error is returned.
If the ICCID of the Connect request does not match the ICCID of the active SIM in the active slot:
- If the ICCID matches the active SIM in a different slot, the Pending ICCID is set and a slot change is initiated.
  - If the slot change succeeds and the Modem becomes Registered, a Connect is initiated for the Pending ICCID.
  - If the slot switch fails, the connect attempt Fails.
- If the ICCID does not match any slot, an immediate Error is returned.
When the Modem is Registered and the ICCID matches, CellularCapability3gpp::Connect is called which sets Roaming properties and builds and a list of APN properties to try.
The CellularCapability then calls ModemManager1.ModemSimple.Connect with the first APN in the try list.
- If the Connect fails, ModemManager1.ModemSimple.Connect is called with subsequent APN entries in the try list.
- If all APN entries fail, ModemManager1.ModemSimple.Connect is called once with an empty APN.
If all Connect attempts fail, the Connect request Fails, otherwise the Connect request Succeeds.

When a Connect request succeeds:

The ConnectState property of the associated CellularService is set to Service::ConnectState::kStateConnected.
Connectivity tests will be initiated.
- If they succeed, the ConnectState will be set to kStateOnline.
- Otherwise the ConnectState will be set to a Portal state.
TODO(stevenjb): Document connectivity tests / portal detection.

When a Connect request fails:

The ConnectState property of the associated CellularService is set to Service::ConnectState::kStateFailure.
The Error property of the associated CellularService is set to a Service::ConnectFailure string.
Any Pending ICCID is cleared.