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| diff --git a/doc/README.update b/doc/README.update new file mode 100644 index 000000000..48f03b780 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/README.update @@ -0,0 +1,90 @@ +Automatic software update from a TFTP server +============================================ + +Overview +-------- + +This feature allows to automatically store software updates present on a TFTP +server in NOR Flash. In more detail: a TFTP transfer of a file given in +environment variable 'updatefile' from server 'serverip' is attempted during +boot. The update file should be a FIT file, and can contain one or more +updates. Each update in the update file has an address in NOR Flash where it +should be placed, updates are also protected with a SHA-1 checksum. If the +TFTP transfer is successful, the hash of each update is verified, and if the +verification is positive, the update is stored in Flash. + +The auto-update feature is enabled by the CONFIG_UPDATE_TFTP macro: + +#define CONFIG_UPDATE_TFTP		1 + + +Note that when enabling auto-update, Flash support must be turned on.  Also, +one must enable FIT and LIBFDT support: + +#define CONFIG_FIT		1 +#define CONFIG_OF_LIBFDT	1 + +The auto-update feature uses the following configuration knobs: + +- CONFIG_UPDATE_LOAD_ADDR + +  Normally, TFTP transfer of the update file is done to the address specified +  in environment variable 'loadaddr'. If this variable is not present, the +  transfer is made to the address given in CONFIG_UPDATE_LOAD_ADDR (0x100000 +  by default). + +- CONFIG_UPDATE_TFTP_CNT_MAX +  CONFIG_UPDATE_TFTP_MSEC_MAX + +  These knobs control the timeouts during initial connection to the TFTP +  server. Since a transfer is attempted during each boot, it is undesirable to +  have a long delay when a TFTP server is not present. +  CONFIG_UPDATE_TFTP_MSEC_MAX specifies the number of milliseconds to wait for +  the server to respond to initial connection, and CONFIG_UPDATE_TFTP_CNT_MAX +  gives the number of such connection retries. CONFIG_UPDATE_TFTP_CNT_MAX must +  be non-negative and is 0 by default, CONFIG_UPDATE_TFTP_MSEC_MAX must be +  positive and is 100 by default. + +Since the update file is in FIT format, it is created from an *.its file using +the mkimage tool. dtc tool with support for binary includes, e.g. in version +1.2.0 or later, must also be available on the system where the update file is +to be prepared. Refer to the doc/uImage.FIT/ directory for more details on FIT +images. + + +Example .its files +------------------ + +- doc/uImage.FIT/update_uboot.its + +  A simple example that can be used to create an update file for automatically +  replacing U-Boot image on a system. + +  Assuming that an U-Boot image u-boot.bin is present in the current working +  directory, and that the address given in the 'load' property in the +  'update_uboot.its' file is where the U-Boot is stored in Flash, the +  following command will create the actual update file 'update_uboot.itb': + +  mkimage -f update_uboot.its update_uboot.itb + +  Place 'update_uboot.itb' on a TFTP server, for example as +  '/tftpboot/update_uboot.itb', and set the 'updatefile' variable +  appropriately, for example in the U-Boot prompt: + +  setenv updatefile /tftpboot/update_uboot.itb +  saveenv + +  Now, when the system boots up and the update TFTP server specified in the +  'serverip' environment variable is accessible, the new U-Boot image will be +  automatically stored in Flash. + +  NOTE: do make sure that the 'u-boot.bin' image used to create the update +  file is a good, working image. Also make sure that the address in Flash +  where the update will be placed is correct. Making mistake here and +  attempting the auto-update can render the system unusable. + +- doc/uImage.FIT/update3.its + +  An example containing three updates. It can be used to update Linux kernel, +  ramdisk and FDT blob stored in Flash. The procedure for preparing the update +  file is similar to the example above. |