Firmware OTA Upgrade Overview


You can upgrade device firmware by using EnOS upgrade over-the-air (OTA) service. With this service, you can manage device firmware versions on EnOS and push new firmware versions to devices for bug fixing and function upgrading.

Full Lifecycle Management of Firmware Versions


You can use EnOS Application Portal to manage the full firmware version lifecycle, including creating new firmware versions, setting upgrade policies, and deleting firmware versions. EnOS can push the upgrade requests to filtered or selected devices and record their upgrade progress and results. Devices can request an OTA upgrade to EnOS, search for the available new firmware, and proceed with the OTA upgrade.


The lifecycle management in EnOS is as follows:


../../_images/ota_lifecycle_management.png

Device SDK for OTA


The device SDK can be used to encapsulate the messaging interfaces for version reporting and upgrading. Developers should ensure the new firmware can be installed on devices, reboot, and report the new firmware version to EnOS. For more information, see Developing OTA Capabilities on Devices.

Firmware OTA Upgrade Process


EnOS supports the following firmware upgrade modes.

  • Cloud-initiated push upgrade: The cloud initiates a forced upgrade to the device, requiring the specified device to upgrade to a designated version number.

  • Device-initiated upgrade request: The device administrator or O&M personnel decide whether to upgrade; only after confirming the upgrade will the device send an upgrade request to the cloud.

Cloud-Initiated Push Upgrade


This process is as follows:


../../_images/cloud_pushed_ota_process.png


After a batch upgrade job is created in EnOS, the list of devices to be upgraded is maintained as per the upgrade policy. EnOS pushes the upgrade request to the devices in order of the upgrade sequence:

  • If the devices are online, EnOS will push the new firmware to devices to start the upgrade process.

  • If the devices are offline, EnOS will push the new firmware to devices after they are online.


After receiving the request, the device typically enters the upgrade process and restarts to enable the new version number. However, whether the upgrade is forced depends on the device-side implementation. Developers can add local confirmation logic to the device, allowing users to decide whether to switch to the new firmware.

Device-Initiated Upgrade Request


This process is as follows:


../../_images/update_upon_request_ota.png


The device can proactively initiate an OTA upgrade request. Upon receiving the request, EnOS checks whether the device is on the upgrade list. If an upgrade is available, it pushes the available firmware.

This approach adds a manual confirmation step, providing users with greater flexibility in the upgrade process.

Get Started


  1. Developing OTA Capabilities on Devices.

  2. Adding Firmware on the Cloud.

  3. Verifying Firmware Upgrade Process on a small batch of devices to ensure that pushing and upgrading function normally.

  4. Configuring Batch Upgrade Jobs to ensure that eligible devices complete the upgrade within a specified time window according to the strategy and method.