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AMC Flash Image update

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Revision as of 13:30, 14 May 2008 by Egil (talk) (Imported "AlphaCom Image Update.doc")
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Upgrade of AMC-IP Flash Image from Redboot

General

This document describes how to flash the AMC-IP board using Ethernet and TFTP transfer. The process requires a small image (boot loader) written to FLASH in advance. This image will always be present after production.

A complete FLASH image (32MB) can be written to the flash on-board. It is also possible to write the separate partitions on the flash. The Partitions are:

  • RedBoot_xx (Boot loader, image file redboot_xx.bin)
  • LinKern_xx (Linux Kernel, image file zImage_xx)
  • RootFS_xx (Linux file system for applications, image file root_xx.jffs2
  • BackupFS_xx (Linux file system for backup files, image file backup_xx.jffs2)

xx is an image version number. The image version can in linux be read with the command: ‘cat /proc/mtd’

AMC hardware preparation

  • Turn switch S601 – 1 to ON (enable Linux consol on serial port 1)
  • Move jumper S700 to upper position (1 – 2) to disable the watchdog

Setup

|----|  RS-232 (115200,8-N-1)   |-----|
|    |--------------------------| AMC | 
| PC |   Ethernet;              | IP  |
|----|--------------------------|-----|

On the AMC IP board use serial port 1 and ethernet port 0.

The RS-232 link is used for console (command prompt for RedBoot)

The Ethernet link is used for file transfer (TFTP transfer) of the image to flash.

The RS-232 and Ethernet links can either be on the same PC or different PCs.

Extract image files

Extract the image files to a folder on the PC (e.g. c:\work\AMC_IP_IMAGES)

Make sure your latest alpha_image_yyyymmdd.bin file is located in this folder.

TFTP Server

A TFTP server has to be installed on the PC. A recommended TFTP server for windows is tftp32 from http://tftpd32.jounin.net

Unzip the files to a folder on the PC (e.g. c:\Program Files\tftpd32\) and run tftpd32.exe (no install).

Set the image folder (e.g. c:\work\AMC_IP_IMAGES) as ‘base directory’ in tftpd32 (use the ‘settings’ button).

Turn off the DHCP (also under 'settings') server part of the tftp32 application to avoid interfering with other DHCP servers in your network.

The TFTP Server program must be running during the Image upgrade process.

RedBoot init

Note: Avoid using arrow- and special keys with redboot!

Open a serial console to the AMC-IP board (e.g. HyperTerminal or Terra Term). Communication parameters: 115200 baud, no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit.

Power On or reset the AMC-IP board. A ‘+’ sign in the console window indicates a reboot.

Press Ctrl + C within 3 seconds after the reset/power on.

When the RedBoot application starts you should also be able to see LED activate sequence on the front of the board.

Wait for the RedBoot prompt (this can take some time): 

Redboot>

Make sure the the ‘bootp’ parameter is set to ‘false’ 

Redboot> fconfig bootp

If set to 'true' change to 'false' by using <backspace> to delete current setting and type in false.

In general use <backspace> to edit parameters displayed by the fconfig command

Make sure the network interface is set to ‘npe_eth0’: 

Redboot> fconfig net_device

Configure the network address/mask for the AMC-IP board: 

Redboot> fconfig bootp_my_ip
Redboot> fconfig bootp_my_ip_mask

If you are connecting the AMC-board back-to-back with your PC we have standardized on a ‘Windows Automatic Private’ address IP:169.254.1.5/255.255.0.0

If you are connecting to a PC in a LAN you must find a free address in this LAN (check with your IT-administrator).

If the TFTP server is in a different network, a gateway address has to be set up: 

Redboot> fconfig bootp_my_gateway_ip

Finally the IP-address of the server (i.e. the PC were the image files are located) has to be setup: 

Redboot> fconfig bootp_server_ip

The complete configuration can be listed: 

Redboot> fconfig –l –n

To activate the settings: 

Redboot> reset

Now the AMC board will reset. Press Ctrl + C within 3 seconds to log on to Redboot again.

To test the IP connection to the server (use Ctrl-C to abort ping): 

Redboot> ping –h <server-ip>

Note: Make sure that the server is able to reply. The TFTP Server program must be running. If the OS is Windows XP you might need to stop the Windows Firewall temporarily.

Example: 

RedBoot> ping -h 169.254.232.100
Immediate response: Network PING - from 169.254.1.5 to 169.254.232.100
Response after 20 seconds: PING - received 10 of 10 expected

Complete FLASH image

For flashing the complete image a special redboot_ram.img image has first to be loaded into RAM, and then the complete image can be loaded. There are two different procedures, depending on the Redboot version.

To find the Redboot version number reset the AMC board and press Ctrl + C within 3 seconds. Now the Redboot version is displayed.

Depending on the Redboot version, do:

Redboot version 04 or newer: 

Redboot> fis alpha ALL

OR:

Redboot version 03 or older: 

Redboot> load redboot_ram.img
Redboot> go

Redboot will now be reset in RAM mode.

Enter the following command with the version parameter for the alpha_image_yyyymmdd.bin file (for complete images the creation date is used for version). The current file is alpha_image_20051206.bin 

Redboot> fis alpha –v 20051206 ALL

The image will be loaded to RAM and you have to confirm with a [y] before the real flashing starts.

Important! Before confirming be sure that the correct image is loaded without any errors. Check for error messages!

Example – successful upload from server: 

RedBoot> fis alpha -v 20051206 ALL
Mode RAM
Loading image alpha_image_20051206.bin from tftp server
Using default protocol (TFTP)
Raw file loaded 0x000d1000-0x020d0fff, assumed entry at 0x000d1000
Unlocking RedBoot Config Partition
... Unlock from 0x51fe0000-0x52000000: .
Writing image to flash
* CAUTION * about to program FLASH
   at 0x50000000..0x51ffffff from 0x000d1000 - continue (y/n)?

Confirm with a [y] to start the erase and flash process. This takes a few minutes. When the process is finished the Redboot prompt RedBoot> will be displayed.

Finalizing the AMC

Switch off the power and:

  • Turn switch S601 – 1 to OFF (disable Linux consol on serial port 1)
  • Move jumper S700 to down position (2 – 3) to enable the watchdog

The AMC board is now ready for regular use.

Partition Update (optional)

The partitions can also be flashed independently. The general AlphaCom flash update command is fis alpha: 

fis alpha [-v <version_string>] <image_name> (RedBoot | LinKern | RootFS | BackupFS | ALL)

Example:

Update to the Linux Kernel Image version 03: 

Redboot> fis alpha –v 03 LinKern

Note! The RedBoot image requires a reboot to RAM mode as for the complete update. The procedure is the same as for a complete update.

Important! Before confirming to flash be sure that the correct image is loaded without any errors. Check for previous error messages!

Important! The image name has to be supplied with the correct case (small and big letters). Redboot is not case sensitive to the image name, but the linux kernel searches for a RedBoot image case sensitive.

To list the partitions on the flash use: 

Redboot> fis list
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