FW Update

Revision as of 14:20, 23 January 2009 by Domenico (talk | contribs)

There are 3 methods for operating a FW upgrade on a Barix audio devices. Each of them is suited for a different situation and purpose.


WEB update

The WEB update is done via a standard WEB Browser running on a PC. The device needs to be running on and visible to the IP network.

This method is suited for field upgrade of the FW. It will not change the current configuration settings.

You may need to force the Factory Default (keep reset button pressed 5-10 sec until lights change blinking) if you have major FW differences (implying a different EEPROM layout)

Detailed procedure

(as per _readme1st.txt file provided in the rescue package)

1. Open a browser and type the announced IP address into the URL field and hit the ENTER key.

2. Click on the UPDATE button to enter the update page.

3. Click on "Please click here to continue" to launch the update process. The device will restart in a special mode called Bootloader showing a number counting down. Upon start up the following screen appears ready for the update process.

4. To upload an update click on "Browse" to locate the file you want to update. Browse to the folder "update_rescue" and choose the file compound.bin

5. Once selected, click on "Upload". This process can take a few minutes. After a successful upload click on the "update" link and when the Update window reappears click the "Reboot" button or if there is no button, click on Browse and select the file "reboot". The device will reboot with the new firmware.


Serial Rescue

The Serial rescue operation is done via a serial cable and requires a command shell opened on a local PC.

This method is suited for Rescue operation as it will also load the Boot-loader and restore the Default Settings.

So if you need to keep the actual configuration settings:

Open a browser and type the announced IP address followed by "/status" into theURL field and hit the ENTER key.

Print this page which contains the current configuration settings of the device in order to reenter them after the update.

Detailed procedure

(as per _readme1st.txt file provided in the rescue package)

1. Unplug power supply.

2. Connect the supplied serial crossover cable to your PC's serial port and to the devices serial port.

3. Start The following script in the folder "update_rescue" depending on your Barix device model and COM port you are using: 

                 Exstreamer 100/200  Exstreamer Legacy (red box, Digital, Gold)
                 Instreamer 100      Instreamer Legacy
                 Annuncicom 100      Annuncicom Legacy
                 IPAM
 -----------------------------------------------------------
   COM 1          ipamres1.bat       rescue1.bat
   COM 2          ipamres2.bat       rescue2.bat
   COM 3          ipamres3.bat       rescue3.bat
   COM 4          ipamres4.bat       rescue4.bat

4. A message 'Waiting for the device' will be shown on the bottom of the screen.

5. Plug in the power supply now.

6. Wait until a message 'SUCCESSFUL' appears on the second line.

7. Close the rescue program.

8. Unplug power supply.

9. Plug in the power supply.

10. Your device is set to factory defaults and should work now.

11. Reconfigure the Exstreamer to your last configuration


Gold Unit

Barix Gold Unit is a standard Exstreamer 100 device loaded with a special SW. The Gold Unit has a USB memory stick attached which contains the binary files to be loaded to the other devices.

The update operation is done via an Ethernet cross cable and optionally requires a serial Terminal running on a local PC for monitoring.

This method is suited for programming in production and can be tailored in terms of modules to be loaded.

If customer needs new Default Settings to be loaded, Barix can provide a customized version of the configuration file (config.bin)


Detailed procedure

(to be customized)

Prepare USB files

The files on the USB sticks must follow a name convention in order to be loaded automatically i.e. a file on the memory stick called WEB03 will be loaded into the flash page 3, a file named WEB15 will replace the bootloader (i.e. page 15) and so on. The name EEPRO is used to write to the configuration memory (i.e. the eeprom). Refer to the delivered gen.bat and rescue.bat to get the list of required binary files to be loaded in the proper flash pages.

ABCL example:

  • abclw.rom 0xc000 to be renamed WEB00
  • fs.bin 0xc100 to be renamed WEB01
  • sg.bin 0xc200 to be renamed WEB02
  • abclapp.cob 0xc300 to be renamed WEB03
  • custom1.cob 0xc500 to be renamed WEB05
  • bclio.bin 0xc900 to be renamed WEB09
  • applications.cob 0xca00 to be renamed WEB10
  • config.bin to be renamed EEPRO
  • exfull.spb to be renamed WEB15


Update new Units

For the units to be loaded containing already a firmware the user would need to:

1. attach the unit to be updated to the Gold Unit via Ethernet connection (direct cross cable or isolated switch) with DHCP enabled (no fixed IP allowed).

2. start the unit to be updated in the boot-loader mode (by keeping the reset button pressed during start-up)

3. after a short delay (1-2seconds) the boot-loader comes up and the file transfer will start automatically. The update operation will be completed in few seconds.

Optionally use a serial Terminal on the unit to be updated to verify that the download is started and finished OK.

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