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Multi-component Firmware Update#

Remotely update a component of your LwM2M device's firmware using the Advanced Firmware Update Object /33629.

Object /33629 is designed as an extension of the Firmware Update object /5. It supports multiple instances, each representing a "component" of the device's firmware that can be upgraded separately. The specific meaning and purpose of these components are not standardized and can vary depending on the implementation. However, they typically encompass elements such as bootloaders, application code, cellular modem firmwares, security processor firmwares, and other related firmware entities.

Prerequisites#

  • An active Coiote IoT DM user account
  • A device which supports the Advanced Firmware Update Object /33629

Firmware Update Object /33629#

Object /33629 defines the update process using 4 Update States representing the phase of the update process. Additionally, a total of 13 Update Results may be reported, representing the most common outcomes of the firmware update process.

  • Resource /33629/*/3 represents the State
  • Resource /33629/*/5 represents the Update Result
ID State Description
state 0 Idle Before downloading and after successfully updating
state 1 Downloading The new firmware is on the way
state 2 Downloaded The firmware download is completed
state 3 Updating The Client starts updating its firmware, after which it changes its state back to Idle
Result Description
update result 0 Initial value
update result 1 Firmware updated successfully
update result 2 Insufficient flash memory for the new firmware package
update result 3 Out of RAM during downloading proces
update result 4 Connection lost during downloading process
update result 5 Integrity check failure for new downloaded package
update result 6 Unsupported package type
update result 7 Invalid URI
update result 8 Firmware update failed
update result 9 Unsupported protocol
update result 10 Firmware update cancelled
update result 11 Firmware update deferred
update result 12 Conflicting state
update result 13 Dependency error

Prepare the Firmware Update#

  1. In the Coiote IoT Device Management platform, go to Device Inventory.

  2. Select the device you want to update by clicking on its endpoint name.

  3. Go to the Data model tab to validate if the Firmware Update Object /33629 is present. If so, the Object is supported by the LwM2M Client.

    Info

    Each Object Instance represents a component of the device's firmware which can be updated. Click the Object Instances of Object /33629 to see what components can be updated.

    Firmware update object

  4. Go to the Firmware update tab.

  5. Click the Update Firmware button.

    Update Firmware Tab

  6. Select Multi-component Firmware Update.

    Multi-Component Firmware Update

  7. Select the components you would like to update, e.g. modem, application or bootloader.

    Select component

    Note

    In this example, the modem firmware of the nRF9160 SiP is being updated using the delta update file: mfw_nrf9160_update_from_1.3.3_to_1.3.4.bin which is provided by Nordic.

  8. Upload the firmware image.

    Upload Firmware Image

  9. Choose between Pull and Push:

    • Pull method (recommended): The LwM2M Client receives the URI of the file that is to be downloaded and pulls the file from it.

    • Push method: The LwM2M Server pushes the firmware file to the device.

    Info

    Pull supports the following transport types:

    • CoAP or CoAPs over UDP
    • CoAP or CoAPs over TCP
    • HTTP or HTTPs

    Push transmits the firmware over the same transport type as is used for device management, which is CoAPs over UDP by default.

    Which transport protocol to choose?

    Downloads using CoAP(s) over UDP tend to be slow due to the limitation of the maximum CoAP Block size of 1024 bytes and the required acknowledgements for each Block transfer.

    Choosing CoAP(s) over TCP or HTTP(s) usually results in faster download speeds. However, not every device supports these transport protocols.

    Basic Firmware Update

  10. Click Schedule Update to trigger the Firmware Update process.

Download & Upgrade Process#

If the Firmware Update is scheduled successfully, the device starts downloading the firmware at the next practical opportunity. The actual firmware update starts once the integrity and authenticity of the firmware image has been validated by the LwM2M Client.

Upgrading

Once executed successfully, the status in the Update list panel changes to Success.

Successful update

Note

While the device is updating its firmware, it will deregister and reboot using the new firmware. This process may time several minutes.

Deregistered while upgrading

Monitoring the update process#

During the update process, the status of the firmware update can be monitored by reviewing the Resources State /33629/*/3 and Update Results /33629/*/5.

To find the Resources, select the Data model tab and open the Advanced Firmware Update Object /33629.

Firmware upgraded

If no errors occur, the update process follows this pattern:

  1. Downloading state 1 & update result 0
  2. Downloaded state 2 & update result 0
  3. Updating state 3 & update result 0
  4. Updated state 0 & update result 1

Update successful?

Does the State /33629/*/3 report 0 and the Update Results /33629/*/5 report 1? Congratulations! You've successfully updated the firmware of your device. 🎉

Last update: July 19, 2023