Kontron AT8901M - Manual (Page 69)

AT8901M Software Description
Page 4 - 19 AT8901M User Guide
A new startup configuration has been added to the list combining the software image A and
configuration file 1.
The startup configuration created before can be deleted by entering exactly the same com-
mand string preceeded by ‘no’:
(Base Fabric) (Config)#no startupslot 3 config 1 initrd A
The ‘show’ command can also be used to display available versions of initrd and configurations
or all of them. The syntax is:
show startupconfig startup|initrd|config|all
The configuration mode is also used to activate one of the available startup configurations. The
syntax is:
startupslot 3 activate [once]
This command would activate the startup configuration 3 upon next system reset. The optional
parameter ‘once’ would start configuration 3 only once after the next system reset and start the
previously active configuration 1 on following resets. This is used to implement the failsafe up-
grade procedure described below.
4.5.2 Updating Firmware
The firmware - except bootloader and IPMC image - is updated using the CLI. To get a reliable
and failsafe update procedure, the following precautions must be fulfilled:
• Three independent partitions each for kernel and root file system where one holds the
factory default system, one holds system A kernel and root file system and one holds sys-
tem B kernel and root file system. The active system is either system A or system B, the
factory default serves as a backup in case an upgrade of either system A or B fails. See
the flash partition scheme shown above for more detail.
• One Time Boot capability: After having updated the inactive kernel and root file system,
the new system has to be started by rebooting the board. In the case that the update has
installed an inoperable system which would cause the board to hang when booting, the
next board reset must restart the previous known good version of kernel and root file sys-
tem. This is achieved by programming the bootloader environment appropriately.
• Redundant bootloader environment sectors: When the system is updated, the bootloader
environment must be changed to be able to start the updated version. The bootloader
environment sector is stored twice in flash, one active version and one backup version in
case the active version is deleted during update due to power loss or similar errors. In
this case, the redundant environment would cause the bootloader to start the previous
known good version of kernel and root file system.
A software update of the Hub Board is done by performing the following steps:
1. Download initrd image into the appropriate slot of the flash memory. Ensure that the cur-
rently active images are not overwritten.
2. Select a configuration for base and fabric switch for the new software release. This can be
done by choosing the factory default or by storing the running system configuration into
flash.
3. Create a startup configuration by combining the slots with the update image and the con-
figuration slots for base and fabric switch.