Firmware update without DFU

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Henrique — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 13:39:32 GMT

Hi Marte!

I'm using Zephyr and when I include CONFIG_BOOTLOADER_MCUBOOT=y and build using nRF Connect, a signed image is already generated (app_signed.hex). My questions are:

1. Can I use this file's content to perform the update? I guess that with this method, a default publick key is used, but as it's not for production yet, there's no problem with this.

2. To write the firmware image into MCUboot secondary slot, I should call dfu_target_write() multiple times using a buffer with the app_signed.hex data?

3. The buffer passed to dfu_target_write() should contain ONLY the data bytes? Because a single line of the hex file is made up of start code, byte count, address, record type, data and checksum.

4. When I use dfu_target_init(), file_size should be the size of app_signed.hex or the number of bytes that are effectively going to be written to the flash? I'm currently receiving the data of app_signed.hex via UART without any transfer encoding or management protocol (such as SMP and mcumgr).

My application's prj.conf:

CONFIG_LOG=y
CONFIG_BOOTLOADER_MCUBOOT=y
CONFIG_DFU_TARGET=y
CONFIG_MCUBOOT_IMAGE_VERSION="0.0.1"

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Marte Myrvold — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 13:30:55 GMT

Hi,

I see that you have asked about the same issue in 301655. Please do not create duplicate tickets or ask about the same problem in multiple tickets. My colleague will continue in 301655, and I will close this as a duplicate.

Best regards,

Marte

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 13:49:52 GMT

PFA,

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../dfu_5F00_integration_5F00_build_5F00_log.txt

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Marte Myrvold — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 13:06:09 GMT

Hi,

Please do a pristine build and copy and upload the entire build output here.

Best regards,

Marte

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 12:24:38 GMT

Hi Marte,

Thank you for the response but sorry I still see the same error.

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Marte Myrvold — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 08:48:48 GMT

Hi,

You must include dfu_target.h file in your file:

#include <dfu/dfu_target.h>

Additionally, you must enable DFU target in prj.conf:

CONFIG_DFU_TARGET=y

Best regards,

Marte

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 05:00:15 GMT

Below is the error I see:

undefined reference to `dfu_target_done'
undefined reference to `dfu_target_offset_get'
undefined reference to `dfu_target_schedule_update'
undefined reference to `dfu_target_write'

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Marte Myrvold — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 15:26:41 GMT

Hi,

[quote user="Jithin A"]I try to integrate the dfu_target APIs into my application image and I see undefined reference to the dfu APIs.[/quote]

Please share the error you are getting.

Best regards,

Marte

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 07:12:35 GMT

Hi Marte, any update on this.

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 09:42:36 GMT

Hi Marte, I try to integrate the dfu_target APIs into my application image and I see undefined reference to the dfu APIs.

I know I am missing something to say include dfu_target APIs into my application but I do not know what I need to add/do to enable.

Please guide me.

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 08:01:37 GMT

Hi Marte,

Thank you for the suggestion.

I try using nrfjprog commands to program and confirm it is working.

*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***
Attempting to boot slot 0.
Attempting to boot from address 0x8200.
Verifying signature against key 0.
Hash: 0x8d...d1
Firmware signature verified.
Firmware version 1
*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***
I: Starting bootloader
I: Primary image: magic=good, swap_type=0x4, copy_done=0x1, image_ok=0x1
I: Secondary image: magic=good, swap_type=0x1, copy_done=0x3, image_ok=0x3
I: Boot source: none
I: Swap type: test
I: Primary image: magic=unset, swap_type=0x1, copy_done=0x3, image_ok=0x3
I: Secondary image: magic=good, swap_type=0x1, copy_done=0x3, image_ok=0x3
I: Boot source: none
I: Starting swap using move algorithm.
I: Bootloader chainload address offset: 0x28000
*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***

Thank you for your support.

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Marte Myrvold — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 07:25:40 GMT

Hi,

Please select Enable MCUboot in the Programmer.

You can also try using nrfjprog. For a list of commands see nrfjprog commands.

Best regards,

Marte

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 14:42:38 GMT

Hi,

I try programming the app_moved_test_update.hex image with nRF Connect Programmer and I see it does not boot the device and also I observe no logs.

Attached the screenshot of the programmer window.

In the above image you can see the Write option is disabled, I only have Erase & write option and which I think it is erasing mcuboot too.

I did not find any mcuboot image to program along side the application image.

Am I missing something here?

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Marte Myrvold — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 13:03:33 GMT

Hi,

Great to hear that it works.

[quote user="Jithin A"]I see it has also generated hex file for FOTA "app_moved_test_update.hex"[/quote]

If you are interested, you can find more information about the generated build files in Output build files. If you scroll down you will also find information about MCUboot output build files.

[quote user="Jithin A"]One last question, how can I program this hex file using your nRF Connect Desktop tool or if any other method.[/quote]

You can program it using the nRF Connect Programmer in nRF Connect for Desktop, or you can use nrfjprog.

Best regards,

Marte

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 11:36:47 GMT

Hi Marte,

Thank you so much for your support I ran a blinky application with mcuboot enabled and is working fine.

Please see the below logs after the boot

*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***
Attempting to boot slot 0.
Attempting to boot from address 0x8200.
Verifying signature against key 0.
Hash: 0x8d...d1
Firmware signature verified.
Firmware version 1
Setting monotonic counter (version: 1, slot: 0)
*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***
I: Starting bootloader
I: Primary image: magic=unset, swap_type=0x1, copy_done=0x3, image_ok=0x3
I: Secondary image: magic=unset, swap_type=0x1, copy_done=0x3, image_ok=0x3
I: Boot source: none
I: Swap type: none
I: Primary image: magic=unset, swap_type=0x1, copy_done=0x3, image_ok=0x3
I: Secondary image: magic=unset, swap_type=0x1, copy_done=0x3, image_ok=0x3
I: Boot source: none
I: Swap type: none
I: Bootloader chainload address offset: 0x28000
*** Booting Zephyr OS build v3.2.99-ncs1 ***

I see it has also generated hex file for FOTA "app_moved_test_update.hex"

One last question, how can I program this hex file using your nRF Connect Desktop tool or if any other method.

This is because our App is still on development and in the meanwhile I need to test OTA so I can confirm the image from the secondary slot is being booted on OTA.

I appreciate your support.

Thank you once again for guiding me all through

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 09:58:56 GMT

Thank you so much.

I am on the right place.

let me try it on my end and get back if any.

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Marte Myrvold — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 09:53:15 GMT

Hi,

[quote user="Jithin A"]1. How to insert header and trailer metadata to my application image?[/quote]

You can use imgtool to sign images and add metadata, see the imgtool documentation. Additionally, you can generate private and public keys with imgtool. Make sure to add the --pad flag for the image trailer.

For an example on how to use imgtool for manually signing you can check out one of my colleagues examples: mcuboot_manual_sign. Please not that in that example, mcumgr is used, so the necessary commands will differ somewhat from what you should use. See the documentation above for more information about the different flags and which you should use.

[quote user="Jithin A"]2. How to write any data into the specific address in the flash?[/quote]

If you use the function dfu_target_write(), the firmware image will be written into MCUboots secondary slot, see MCUboot-style upgrades for more information on this.

Best regards,

Marte

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 03:23:32 GMT

Thank you so much for the reference

I see it’s a lot of things to take in.
Anyway after going through the bootloader reference you shared earlier, I have below 2 questions

1. How to insert header and trailer metadata to my application image?

2. How to write any data into the specific address in the flash?
—> Currently I am using PSA protected storage APIs for accessing flash inside TF-M and I see I can not specify the destination address in any of PSA PS APIs.

NOTE: I have TF-M partition in my application and anything I need to do with the flash are should be done inside TF-M partition.
I can not use non-secure partition due to some security purposes.

Please guide me through this.

I appreciate your support.

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Marte Myrvold — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 08:04:25 GMT

Hi,

Thank you for clarifying. As long as you have MCUboot enabled and save the image in the correct area in flash and with the correct metadata (header + trailer), then the transport method is irrelevant. To enable MCUboot you must set the following configuration in prj.conf:

CONFIG_BOOTLOADER_MCUBOOT=y

The metadata can contain information about booting information, image hash, etc. You can find more about this, both header and trailer, in MCUboot Bootloader Design. There you will also find information about image slots, swapping, and more.

As for area in flash, when you enable MCUboot with the configuration above, the partition manager will automatically configure partitions. You can see the partitions after you have built the application by running the following command:

west build -t partition_manager_report

If you are using VS Code with our extension you can also see it by selecting the Memory report action, and going to Partitions in the generated report. As an example, adding MCUboot support to the Blinky sample, the partitions will look lilke this:

  flash_primary (0x100000 - 1024kB):
+-------------------------------------------------+
| 0x0: mcuboot (0xc000 - 48kB)                    |
+---0xc000: mcuboot_primary (0x7a000 - 488kB)-----+
| 0xc000: mcuboot_pad (0x200 - 512B)              |
+---0xc200: mcuboot_primary_app (0x79e00 - 487kB)-+
| 0xc200: app (0x79e00 - 487kB)                   |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| 0x86000: mcuboot_secondary (0x7a000 - 488kB)    |
+-------------------------------------------------+

  sram_primary (0x40000 - 256kB):
+--------------------------------------------+
| 0x20000000: sram_primary (0x40000 - 256kB) |
+--------------------------------------------+

As you can see, here the primary MCUboot image slot starts at 0xc000, and the secondary image slot at 0x86000.

Best regards,

Marte

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 06:44:27 GMT

Hello, just to let you know that I need to implement this onto my project with high priority.

Please let me know if I am missing anything to explain my need.

Please help me with the integration ASAP.

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 05:09:04 GMT

Any update on the above.

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Jithin A — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 13:51:16 GMT

The reason I do not want to do DFU is we are using our own crypto algorithms to transfer any data over BLE.

Let me explain what I need to do actually

I get the FW image over BLE which later it is decrypted and is stored in the desired partition.

Now on the next boot, I need the bootloader to check if there is any new image downloaded and boot the new image if so.

RE: Firmware update without DFU

Marte Myrvold — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 13:32:45 GMT

Hi,

Can you clarify what you mean by not wanting to do fw update over DFU? DFU is device firmware update, so if you want to update your device, then this will be DFU, Do you mean that you do not want to update the device over serial (e.g. UART), but only over the air?

Best regards,

Marte