Read CPUNET Image Firmware Version from CPUAPP at Run Time

[samtday]

Hi,

My application is running NCS v2.5.3 on a nRF5340.

My project has FOTA via BLE, is running mcuboot, and is a multi-image build. I am trying to verify, from within the normal code operation, that the netcore image of my dfu package is being updated and installed and want to be able to monitor what version of firmware is running on my device. I have not been able to find a way to read the netcore firmware image version number from within my cpuapp code during operation and was wondering if there was an API call and documentation I could use.

Thank you in advance for the time and help.

Sam

[Amanda Hsieh]

Hi, 

I don't think the cpuapp code can read the version of NetCore, but you can refer to my example in this post to get the NetCore version. 

Regards,
Amanda H.

[samtday]

I had seen that post. I currently do not have a way to print from the NetCore application other than enabling RTT (which is only useful while debugging anyway) but when RTT is enabled, it seems to cause the ble to fail to initialize. I assume this has to do with the NetCore handling the soft device.

We do not want to implement downgrade protection incase we want to revert to a previous version of the application but I do see its value. Is there a way to utilize the versioning used in downgrade protection to be readable via ble, maybe via the DFU BLE Service?

[Amanda Hsieh]

Hi, 

I would like to correct my answer.

You can use pcd_network_core_app_version() for reading the peripheral CPU application version number by enabling CONFIG_PCD_READ_NETCORE_APP_VERSION. Here is the example https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-nrf/blob/v2.5.3/modules/mcuboot/hooks/nrf53_hooks.c#L43  

-Amanda H.

[samtday]

Hi, Thank you for this. I have tried using this function from within my CPUAPP main (before the while loop). I am hitting a hard fault from within the call. Is there something I could be missing?

[Amanda Hsieh]

Please provide the log with enabling the following configs:

• CONFIG_DEBUG_OPTIMIZATIONS – Limits the optimizations done by the compiler to only those that do not impact debugging.
• CONFIG_DEBUG_THREAD_INFO – Adds additional information to the thread object so the debugger can discover the threads.

.

[samtday]

E: ***** BUS FAULT *****
E:   Precise data bus error
E:   BFAR Address: 0x20000000
E: r0/a1:  0xdca345ea  r1/a2:  0x20000000  r2/a3:  0x00000004
E: r3/a4:  0x00008800 r12/ip:  0x00000001 r14/lr:  0x000317d7
E:  xpsr:  0x29000200
E: Faulting instruction address (r15/pc): 0x00041126
E: >>> ZEPHYR FATAL ERROR 25: Unknown error on CPU 0
E: Current thread: 0x20003888 (main)
E: Halting system

I got the following error when I ran my code. It seems to fail from within the pcd_cmd_write function in pcd.c

[Amanda Hsieh]

You can use addr2line to find the code at r14/r15. See Debugging with addr2line.

Could you provide the code for r14/lr:  0x000317d7 and r15/pc: 0x00041126, and the snippet of your code?

[samtday]

The error is coming from ncs/v2.5.3/nrf/subsys/pcd/src/pcd.c lines 193 and 177. These lines are the call to pcd_cmd_write, then a line wihtin that function.

Here is the code I am using to retrieve the version from within main.

	uint32_t cpuNetVersion = 0;

	int error = pcd_network_core_app_version((uint8_t *) &cpuNetVersion, sizeof(cpuNetVersion));

Here is the code within pcd.c that is failing.

[Amanda Hsieh]

Could you try to define cpuNetVersion with uint32_t? Does it help?

[samtday]

It is a uint32_t and that does not help. I had tried changing it to a uint8_t array and that did not help either.

[samtday]

Any other thoughts on this?