Solution for firmware updade

[abdelhamid zouid]

Posted on March 22, 2017 at 14:31

Hi ,

I would like to know if ST offers a ready solution for a Safe (not secure) firmware update , in this case the main problem is the safety of the firmware update procedure itself and the problems/incidents that could occur (eg: power loss during the update, corrupt application being flashed .....etc )  , it would be great if there is a standard ready solution that could be used without having to modify the built in STM32 bootloader .  I could not get so much information from the Application note AN4028 for the SFU ,        (the STM microcontroller will be implemented on a professional product produced in large quantities)    ,

Thanks in advance .

[Tesla DeLorean]

Posted on March 22, 2017 at 16:17

>>

the STM microcontroller will be implemented on a professional product produced in large quantities

I'm confused, wouldn't someone engineering such a solution be able to tailor a loader that meets their specific goals, in a manner they want? ST has some generic IAP examples, the integrity of an image could easily be validated by a CRC prior to execution. The general problem with canned solutions is that everyone wants something different, or are not happy with the supplied solution in one way or another. There are now hundreds of parts, with as many memory configurations.

Loaders and IAP examples are not unique to the STM32, techniques used elsewhere are applicable here.

>>

without having to modify the built in STM32 bootloader

You can't modify the ROM/OTP boot loader, so people wanting robustness typically commit the first blocks in FLASH to make their own loader, placing the application code further in.

ST does maintain a list of consultants and contractors if you lack engineering resources in-house.

[abdelhamid zouid]

Posted on March 27, 2017 at 09:43

Hi Clive ,

Very helpful reply , many thanks !  we are still in the early conception phase , stuying many possibilities, allocating resources for the project ....etc    nothing is clear at the moment .

We already have a tailored solution for an stm8, already deployed .   But as it is our first project with an stm32 , and as it already has a rich library ,  we thought maybe it has already a simple kind of standard solution to update the firmware so a duplicated work could be avoided .

Would you please tell us if we could get more information about the SFU ? we cannot get enough details from the  AN4028 .

Thanks in advance .