Over The Air update

Hi,

With your Over The Air firmware update facility, for the AirPrime HL7692 and HL7800 Cellular modules, is it only the latest firmware that’s available? Or is it possible to choose a bit earlier version?

The company might not always immediately want to update to the latest. Rather, they might want a bit of time first, for checking that the latest works fine with the other firmware within the product, before giving the ‘thumbs-up’ for use of the latest.

The companies ‘ideal’, for how Over The Air might work, is that the product ‘opens a metaphorical window’, for allowing HL7692 or HL7800 firmware update, saying just version 1.2.3 accepted. And once the update has completed, perhaps taking a fair few minutes which is fine, ‘close the window’.

The company only want to allow update at product boot, and only if the product has been off for 10 or more minutes. Hence the ‘window’. Alternatively, the ‘window’ could be kept always open, but the firmware image needs to be applied only at next boot, if the product has been off for 10 or more minutes. So, can the company control when the image is ‘applied’ ?

Maybe some weeks or months later, once the company have had a chance to test version 1.2.4, they’ll do the same, saying just version 1.2.4 accepted.

And so forth.

If that makes sense.

Do you have some details or docs, on how Over The Air works?

Is it the product in the field, that requests the update, ie ‘pull’?

Or is it perhaps, a Sierra cloud-based system and/or PC-based app, that ‘pushes’ the update?

If ‘push’, is there a ‘programmatic API’, that would allow a utility written by the company, to request ‘please push version 1.2.3, to product with IP address a.b.c.d’?

Is IP address how Sierra identify a product for Over The Air update? Or is it by IMEI number, perhaps? Or by phone number? Or some other identifier?

And, can the company request ‘please push version 1.2.3, to a list of products, identified by their IP address, IMEI number, phone number, or whatever you use to identify products’ ?

If so, how big can that list be ?

Is update possible just via 4G, or for the HL7692 by 2G too ?

By all means, send us a doc or docs to read, or webpages to study, if they provide answers to all the above. We’re happy to read :slight_smile:

Many thanks,

David King

@david.king,

Generic policies for the firmware are as follows.

  • We automatically deploy all CA versions to the server.
  • When setting a job up it will automatically offer you the latest but you can select any version that is on the server from a drop down.
  • We don’t/cannot offer delta fles going between all of the versions, if the delta is not available that you want you will need to contact us through your commercial channel to request it to be generated/added to the server.
  • Re the updates themselves we do not/nor can we force the units to update, adding the units to a given account, creating jobs and subsequently triggering the units to connect and pick up the jobs are all system integrator actions that need to be carried out before the FOTA is possible. We have just put the building blocks in place to enable it, its up to customers/SI’s to use them.

Regards

Matt

Hi Matt,

Thank you for that, and for the speedy reply. All quite reassuring, and that’s answered a fair few of my many questions !

Anyone else like to chip-in, on the remaining Q’s ?

Best regards,

David

Hi david.king
You can find how to upgrade in this doc: https://source.sierrawireless.com/airvantage/fota/reference/upgrade/
The update is possible when your modules connect to AVMS
For HL series:

  • “AT+WDSS=0,“your.apn.com” “, to specify an APN for device management. Some modules have a default fallback on the customer APN and do not require this step.
  • “AT+WDSC=3,x”(x being the frequency of connection in minutes)
  • “AT+WDSS=1,1” to initiate manually your first connection to the server therefore avoiding to wait for the next polling period

Thanks,

Hi Jerdung,

Likewise thank you for that. Reading around the AT+WDSS/WDSC etc commands, I get a sketchy impression, that following firmware image download, our product can control when that image is actually installed (as mentioned, we want to do at product boot only, and only if were off for 10+ mins, configurable).

Is my sketchy impression, right ? If so, does anyone have some pointers on the command sequence to achieve ?

Per my OP, still ‘up in the air’, is whether the AirVantage Management Service (AVMS) has an API, that would allow our utility to request please ‘push’ version 1.2.3, to the HL7692/7800, within one or more of our products. Plus, the other remaining questions, within my OP.

The point here, is that our product has 3 other items of firmware, that need updating together, as a set. The HL7692/7800 is but one element of this. And so an AVMS API, that would allow our utility to control push, would be most advantageous. As opposed to, our utility needing to tell a person to do, by performing various pulldowns, selections, clicks, and so forth.

In case you’re wondering why we need to update only at boot, it’s because our product is medical, providing patient vital signs monitoring (heart rate, respiration rate, axillary temperature, also posture). Update at any time would cause an outage in patient monitoring.

Update outage should also not occur on boot following a brief power cut. Rather the priority then, is to resume patient monitoring ASAP.

But if the product has been off for say 10 minutes, an outage extension to perhaps 12 minutes, due to boot time firmware install, is not of significance. Actually, how long does install take, assuming the image is already downloaded ?

In other words, to get our product to upgrade, here is the procedure: Switch off, wait 10 minutes, switch back on.

Best regards,

David

PS If AVMS doesn’t have an API, could we have one? Or even some tips on how we might automate what the mentioned person does ?

PPS AVMS looks really slick. Would it allow, as well as HL7692/7800 firmware download to our product, download of our other 3 firmware elements ? In other words, a ‘custom’ data download feature ?

PPPS Might AVMS be used also to connect to products in the field by a means other than Cellular ? Specifically, hardwired Ethernet ? Or WiFi connection, via an Access Point with connectivity to AVMS ?
In other words, could AVMS connectivity to products in the field, be broadened from Cellular TCP/IP, to TCP/IP generally ?

Hi David,
We can not control the HL product during the upgrading. And after package is downloaded, the installing is about 2-3 mins.
AVMS does not have any API for HL series. And the firmware is only 1 file, it does not have 3 elements.
AVMS handle and monitor HL series with IMEI, Serial Number through cellular network.
We have to set up a System on AVMS, the system includes the gateway ( your Device: IMEI,SN) and the subscription ( cellular SIM ).
You can create upgrading job for this system. When device is connected to AVMS, this job is executed and firmware is downloaded and installed. After installing, device will send a message to AVMS, and the job is successful.
Please see in the “How-to”,“Reference” to find how to use AVMS
https://source.sierrawireless.com/airvantage/fota/reference/monitor/howtos/manageLargeNumberOfSystems/

Futhermore, AVMS support web API to get/push data from AVMS to your custom server ( more details: https://source.sierrawireless.com/airvantage/av/reference/cloud/API/)
It does not have API from AVMS to HL products.

Thanks,

1 Like

Hi Jerdung,

Maybe our product can do AT+WDSS=0,“our.apn.com” at boot if our product has been off for 10+ minutes, to allow AVMS to update our product. And once an update has downloaded and installed (with say 5 minutes timeout), do AT+WDSS=0,“don't disturb me please”, to prevent AVMS from being able to update the product subsequently. At least, until the next turn off for 10+ minutes. This would all work ?

Best regards,

David

Hi,
The command AT+WDSS=0,“our.apn.com” is used to config APN, and it can not prevent connection to AVMS
If you don’t want to connect AVMS server, you can use AT+WDSS=1,0 ( this command will disconnect the AVMS session, but if there is any job on AVMS server, module does not know, or AVMS will not know the module’s status). To reconnect to AVMS, use AT+WDSS=1,1
If the downloading/installing have not completed, after at+wdss=1,1 the downloading/installing will resume and complete.
Thanks,

Hi Jerdung,

Thanks again, my understanding has move forward. If while a download/install is underway, we issue AT+WDSS=1,0 to disconnect the AVMS session, then maybe some months/years later, our product is powered down, and hence the HL7692/7800 lose power, then 10+ minutes pass, then our product is powered up again, and hence the HL7692/7800 boot up, then we issue an AT+WDSS=1,1, does the interrupted download/install resume+complete? I’m hoping the answer is no :slight_smile:

Best regards,

David