Ts-4200 bootrom update

From embeddedTS Manuals
Revision as of 10:43, 19 December 2016 by Mpeters (talk | contribs) (Replaced introductory sentence with provided paragraphs. Added clarification that EVERYTHING needs internet access.)

Updating the TS-4200 to XNAND2

It is possible to upgrade older TS-4200 systems to the new XNAND2 solution if it is beneficial for your application.  This upgrade can be applied to products prior to deployment or after they have been deployed to the field.   The update process described below will preserve all of the data in the file system.  To use XNAND2, the TS-SOCKET Macrocontroller must have an updated BootROM, the flash must be reformatted to an XNAND2 based format, and the image must contain the new XNAND2 nandctl.  The process below will update all three of these items.   The systems must have reliable power for the entire time it takes to complete the upgrade.

The instructions below presume that the unit needing upgrade is accessible and has an available USB Host port.  If this is not the case it is possible to convert the script used below to work from another available interface which provides remote access to the unit.  The unit must have reliable power and data connectivity for the entire time it takes to complete the upgrade.

Prerequisites

(you will need these before starting):

  • A Linux Desktop Computer.
  • A TS-4200 on a baseboard with USB Host ports
    • The TS-8200 and TS-8500 are both perfect.
    • Non-TS baseboards should have at least one USB Type-A Host port.
  • A serial terminal connected to the TS-4200 serial console output (optional: For diagnostic purposes if there is an error).
  • Internet access for both Desktop computer AND TS-4200.
  • A USB data storage device (thumb drive or equivalent) of at least 4GB capacity (note this procedure will erase this media).
    • Note: It is also possible to update without the use of USB, however it is not possible to perform the update from the local SD media slot. The USB media image provided contains all files and scripts necessary to develop your own custom update and deployment strategy. For more information please feel free to contact Technologic Systems Support Engineers (support@embeddedarm.com).

Preparation

1. Download the TS-4200 XNAND2 USB Updater disk image from the Technologic Systems FTP site here.
2. De-archive the file on your Desktop Linux PC (or virtual machine) using bunzip2: 
bunzip2 ts4200-XNAND2-upgrade-usb-20161003.dd.bz2
3. Connect your USB media to the Desktop computer. If using a virtual machine, make sure the USB device is available to Linux before continuing.
4. If automatically mounted, unmount all USB media partitions. Note, in the example below '/dev/sdXy' should be replaced with the actual device node on your desktop computer - the X is the device letter, and y is the partition number. 
sudo umount /dev/sdXy
5. Install the decompressed image on the USB media device using dd. Note, in this case observe there is no partition number: The image should use the device node ONLY. This process may take several minutes, and the ALL data on the USB device will be erased: 
dd if=ts4200-XNAND2-upgrade-usb-20161003.dd of=/dev/sdX bs=4M conv=fsync && sync && sleep 1
6. The updater USB device is now ready for use. Disconnect it from the desktop computer.

Installation:

  1. Ensure your TS-4200 is properly seated on your chosen baseboard.
  2. Connect the USB updater media to the USB Host port.
  3. Apply power to the baseboard.
  4. Allow the USB update scripts to run. Note: This process will take a long time. Allow at least 20 minutes.
  5. When the script is finished executing, the baseboard's green LED (if present) will turn on and remain solid. If the process fails, the red LED will turn on and remain solid. More information about the failure will be on the TS-4200 serial console output.
Retrieved from "http://docs.embeddedTS.com/index.php?title=Ts-4200_bootrom_update&oldid=7914"