Performing a firmware upgrade

Discussion in 'C-Bus Wired Hardware' started by ievolve, Nov 12, 2011.

  1. ievolve

    ievolve

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    Hey All,

    I've got a smallish clipsal setup (about 50 wall plates and supporting load modules) at any rate I have been programming the lights and noticing that some of the firmware versions are different.

    What software would I use to perform the firmware upgrade? It seems like the toolkit/cgate is not what I need?

    FYI I am connecting the network via a CNI (5500 I think?)

    Thanks,
    Anthony
     
    ievolve, Nov 12, 2011
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  2. ievolve

    Darren Senior Member

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    There are only a few devices which have upgradeable firmware:
    - Touch Screens
    - PAC
    - Wiser

    Regular wall switches, sensors and output units (relays and dimmers) are not able to have their firmware upgraded.
     
    Darren, Nov 12, 2011
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  3. ievolve

    ievolve

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    Should I ask that my installer replace parts with older firmware versions with newer stuff? I paid top dollar for my system and don't want yesterday's leftovers. Should I be concerned?
     
    ievolve, Nov 12, 2011
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  4. ievolve

    ievolve

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    My system is all Saturn dlt and 6 button. And i am in usa. What is the most current firmware version? I am not finding it published anywhere.
     
    ievolve, Nov 12, 2011
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  5. ievolve

    Darren Senior Member

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    There is no need for all of the parts in your system to have the latest firmware. The firmware gets updated occasionally for a variety of reasons, most of which will not affect you in any way.

    I would not recommend changing the parts as it will probably be of no benefit.
     
    Darren, Nov 13, 2011
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  6. ievolve

    ievolve

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    I read in another thread where someone was asking about the night lights and was told that their firmware didnt support them and since nothing is upgradable they were stuck without that feature.

    My point is I dont want to be limited in what I can do because someone had some old stuff they pawned off on an uneducated buyer.

    So I did a run through of my inventory and found the following:
    All my 2 button, 4 button, and 6 button saturns are firmware 2.2.
    All my DLT's are firmware 3.0
    All my occupancy sensors are 2.3 EXCEPT one that is 2.0
    All my 12 channel relays are 1.6
    All my 4 channel relays are 1.6
    All my 8 channel relays are 1.6 EXCEPT one that is 2.7
    All my 8 channel dimmers are 1.6 EXCEPT one that is 2.7

    So, it appears to me like I have an occupancy sensor that is old. And on the relays/dimmers I'm not exactly sure. Some report 2.7 which seems to be quite a bit newer than the 1.6 stuff.

    Is there any sort of changelog where the differences between firmware versions are articulated? Again, just want to ensure I got the good stuff.

    Thanks again for the help.
     
    ievolve, Nov 13, 2011
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  7. ievolve

    Newman

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    For every case where you mention you have different versions of firmware in a product, there is no functional difference. If you want confirmation of this, for each unit add one of each firmware version to the database. Then open the UI's side-by-side and click through the tabs. You should se no difference in any of those cases.
     
    Newman, Nov 13, 2011
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  8. ievolve

    ashleigh Moderator

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    Hi

    Most of the firmware version differences you see relate to a technology changeover which was performed a couple of years ago.

    The changeover came about because a supplier of a critical component decided to discontinue manufacture. They <sarc> graciously </sarc> allowed Clipsal to place a last time buy for about 2 years worth of stock - Clipsal then embarked on a massive redesign exercise which affected every single product.

    The result of that change was that all existing function was preserved, but all firmware versions had to change. (The brief to the design team was: migration YES. New features: NO. The reasoning for this was simple: it was a massive undertaking and adding new features added technical risk. The fixed amount of stock of the old part meant no new risk could be handled because that may have caused a running out of the old part.)

    As part of doing this, every single product had a transition plan where the manufacture using the old part was stopped when that part was depleted, and manufacture using the new part was switched on. Internally, samples using the new part were on test or trial for typically 6-12 months before the market / manufacture changeover.

    The end result of all this is that a mix of the two parts are in the market, and were released into the market over a period of YEARS. Those products are all functionally equivalent - but you will see firmware versions numbers that are different, this reflects the different underlying parts in the product.

    Finally - I have to admit that whilst no longer an employee I do feel a small amount of satisfaction that this entire transition has (until now) not even been noticed in the market) - the entire product range had to be modified and nobody noticed! I think we managed that all rather well!

    I hope this explains a bit of the background, and also why you should not be concerned. The separate issue of WHY firmware is not field upgradeable has been brought up on this forum several times before and you can search for it if masochistic enough. In summary: these products are not like your modern MP3 players or smartphones: they are designed to have an installed lifetime of well over 10 years. (The aim is for 15 - 20 years). This drives a number of design decisions for robustness and one of the sacrifices is in-field firmware update.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 13, 2011
    ashleigh, Nov 13, 2011
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  9. ievolve

    ievolve

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    Thanks for the explanation! I'll definitely rest a bit easier now. Excited to get moved in and start enjoying the system!
     
    ievolve, Nov 13, 2011
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