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Flashing

There are several ways to flash firmware images, depending on your board, the image you want to flash, and the state of your device.

SIMtrace2 board

This section will cover the flashing methods for the SIMtrace board.

DFU

precondition: a functioning application firmware or DFU bootloader must already be installed.

SIMtrace2 comes with a USB DFU bootloader pre-installed which allows to flash the application firmware over USB using the dfu-util utility.

To check if you have a functioning application firmware or DFU bootloader, power the board:
  • if both green and red LEDs are on, you should have a functioning application firmware
  • if only the green LED is on, the application firmware is missing, but the DFU bootloader is present
  • in case the application firmware is buggy, you can force the board to boot the DFU bootloader: on the board keep the BOOTLOADER button pressed while re-plugging the USB connector (pressing the RESET might not be sufficient)
  • if the USB DFU bootloader is missing, defective, or needs to be updated, use the JTAG or SAM-BA methods to flash the DFU bootloader.
To update the application firmware over the DFU bootloader, we will use dfu-util:
  1. get dfu-util:
    sudo apt-get install dfu-util
    
  2. check if the board and DFU bootloader are detected:
    sudo dfu-util --list
    ...
    Found Runtime: [1d50:60e3] ver=0002, devnum=20, cfg=1, intf=1, path="2-3.1", alt=0, name="UNKNOWN", serial="..." 
    
  3. get the latest firmware or build it. Here we will use the trace application firmware as example:
    wget https://ftp.osmocom.org/binaries/simtrace2/firmware/latest/simtrace-trace-dfu-latest.bin
    
  4. flash the firmware using dfu-util:
    sudo dfu-util --device 1d50:60e3 --cfg 1 --alt 1 --reset --download simtrace-trace-dfu-latest.bin
    
  5. the green and red LED should turn on, showing the application firmware is flashed and started

SAM-BA

The SAM3S micro-controller comes with an embedded bootloader called SAM-BA, allowing to flash firmware over USB.
The SAM-BA bootloader can be used to flash the DFU bootloader.

This method should be used if:
  • no firmware is flashed on the device, or it has been erased (no LED turns on when the board is powered)
  • the DFU bootloader is buggy
  • you want to update the DFU bootloader
You can also activate the SAM-BA bootloader by erasing the flash content (this is not reversible):
  1. short the ERASE pin on the top of the board with the nearby 3V3 pin using a jumper or tweezers
  2. re-plug the USB connector and wait 1 second (pressing the RESET button is not sufficient)
  3. remove the jumper shorting ERASE to 3V3
  4. no LED should turn on
  5. to verify if the SAM-BA bootloader has been started:
    • using lsusb you should find the following entry:
      ID 03eb:6124 Atmel Corp. at91sam SAMBA bootloader
      
    • using journalctl -f ensure the board has been recognized as USB ACM device:
      kernel: usb 2-2: new full-speed USB device number 4 using xhci_hcd
      kernel: usb 2-2: New USB device found, idVendor=03eb, idProduct=6124
      kernel: usb 2-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
      kernel: cdc_acm 2-2:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device
      kernel: usbcore: registered new interface driver cdc_acm
      kernel: cdc_acm: USB Abstract Control Model driver for USB modems and ISDN adapters
      
To flash using the SAM-BA bootloader:
  1. install bossa
  2. download the DFU bootloader:
    wget https://ftp.osmocom.org/binaries/simtrace2/firmware/latest/simtrace-dfu-flash-latest.bin
    
  3. flash the USB DFU bootloader using bossac (note: erase ensures no main application remains so to force booting the USB DFU bootloader; boot=1 ensures the micro-controller will boot from the internal flash instead of the embedded bootloader next time it is powered up)
    sudo bossac --port=/dev/ttyACM0 --usb-port=1 --erase --verify --boot=1 --write simtrace-dfu-flash-latest.bin
    
  4. re-plug the USB connector (be sure the ERASE pin is not shorted). If the DFU bootloader has been flashed correctly:
    • only the green LED should be on
    • the USB device should be listed as SIMtrace instead od SAMBA
      lsusb
      ...
      Bus 002 Device 024: ID 1d50:60e3 OpenMoko, Inc. Osmocom SIMtrace 2
      
    • the DFU bootloader should be recognized:
      sudo dfu-util --list
      ...
      Found DFU: [1d50:60e3] ver=0000, devnum=24, cfg=1, intf=0, path="2-3.1", alt=1, name="Flash (Application Partition)", serial="UNKNOWN" 
      Found DFU: [1d50:60e3] ver=0000, devnum=24, cfg=1, intf=0, path="2-3.1", alt=0, name="RAM", serial="UNKNOWN" 
      

Once the USB DFU bootloader is flashed, you can flash the application firmware using the DFU method.

To prevent using sudo, grant to current user the permission to access USB serial devices (e.g. /dev/ttyACM0). Note: this change only takes effect after re-logging-in

sudo adduser $USERNAME dialout

JTAG

It is also possible to flash he firmware over JTAG/SWD using the ARM 20-pin JTAG header on the top of the board.

This is mainly meant for development since it also allows to debug the firmware.

To flash the USB DFU firmware using JTAG:
  1. install the JTAG utility openOCD
    sudo apt install openocd
    
  2. download the DFU bootloader:
    wget https://ftp.osmocom.org/binaries/simtrace2/firmware/latest/simtrace-dfu-flash-latest.bin
    
  3. flash the USB DFU bootloader firmware
    openocd --file interface/jlink.cfg --file target/at91sam3sXX.cfg --command "init" --command "halt" --command "flash write_bank 0 simtrace-dfu-flash-latest.bin 0" --command "at91sam3 gpnvm set 1" --command "reset" --command "shutdown" 
    
    • replace interface/jlink.cfg with the configuration file for your JTAG debugging adapter
    • at91sam3 gpnvm set 1 ensures the micro-controller will boot from the internal flash (i.e. not from the embedded SAM-BA bootloader)

The SAM3S also offers the low pin-count SWD alternative to JTAG, allowing to use an inexpensive ST-Link V2 (clone) to flash (and debug):

openocd --file interface/stlink-v2.cfg --command "set CPUTAPID 0x2ba01477" --file target/at91sam3sXX.cfg --command "init" --command "halt" --command "flash write_bank 0 simtrace-dfu-flash-latest.bin 0" --command "at91sam3 gpnvm set 1" --command "reset" --command "shutdown" 

SWD pinout:

Once the USB DFU bootloader is flashed, after re-plugging the USB connector, you can flash the main application firmware using the DFU method.

sysmoQMOD

This section will cover the flashing methods for the sysmoQMOD board.

The sysmoQMOD has two SAM3S micro-controllers, each emulating the card for two modems:
  • ST12 is the micro-controller on the right (when the power jack is on top), and emulates cards for the two right-most modems
  • ST34 is the micro-controller on the left (when the power jack is on top), and emulates cards for the two left-most modems
  • each card slot has one red LED nearby (e.g. two per micro-controllers) to show the status of the firmware

All the following procedures can be independently performed on each of the SAM3S micro-controllers, providing you use the corresponding USB path/device names.

DFU

precondition: a functioning application firmware or DFU bootloader must already be installed.

sysmoQMOD comes with a USB DFU bootloader pre-installed which allows to flash the application firmware over USB using the dfu-util utility.

To check if you have a functioning application firmware or DFU bootloader (per micro-controller and set of two modems/card slot), power the board:
  • if both red LEDs are on, you should have a functioning application firmware
  • if only one red LED is on, the application firmware is missing, but the DFU bootloader is present
  • in case the application firmware is buggy, you can force the board to boot the DFU bootloader: short the TX and RX pins next to the micro-controller while powering the board.
  • if the USB DFU bootloader is missing, use the SAM-BA method to flash the DFU bootloader.
To update the application firmware over the DFU bootloader, we will use dfu-util:
  1. get dfu-util:
    sudo apt-get install dfu-util
    
  2. check if the board and DFU bootloader are detected (here for both micro-controllers):
    sudo dfu-util --list
    ...
    Found Runtime: [1d50:4004] ver=0002, devnum=36, cfg=1, intf=2, path="2-2.1", alt=0, name="UNKNOWN", serial="UNKNOWN" 
    Found Runtime: [1d50:4004] ver=0002, devnum=37, cfg=1, intf=2, path="2-2.4", alt=0, name="UNKNOWN", serial="UNKNOWN" 
    
  3. get the latest firmware or build it.
    wget https://ftp.osmocom.org/binaries/simtrace2/firmware/latest/qmod-cardem-dfu-latest.bin
    
  4. flash the firmware using dfu-util:
    sudo dfu-util --device 1d50:4004 --cfg 1 --alt 1 --path "2-2.1" --reset --download qmod-cardem-dfu-latest.bin
    
  5. both red LEDs should turn on, showing the application firmware is flashed and started

SAM-BA

If none of the LEDs are on, the flash of the micro-controller might have been erased.
In this case, the SAM3S micro-controller should start the embedded bootloader called SAM-BA, allowing to flash firmware over USB.
The SAM-BA bootloader can be used to flash the DFU bootloader.

To verify if the SAM-BA bootloader has been started:
  • using lsusb you should find the following entry:
    ID 03eb:6124 Atmel Corp. at91sam SAMBA bootloader
    
  • using journalctl -f ensure the board has been recognized as USB ACM device:
    kernel: usb 2-2: new full-speed USB device number 4 using xhci_hcd
    kernel: usb 2-2: New USB device found, idVendor=03eb, idProduct=6124
    kernel: usb 2-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
    kernel: cdc_acm 2-2:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device
    kernel: usbcore: registered new interface driver cdc_acm
    kernel: cdc_acm: USB Abstract Control Model driver for USB modems and ISDN adapters
    
To flash using the SAM-BA bootloader:
  1. install bossa
  2. download the DFU bootloader:
    wget https://ftp.osmocom.org/binaries/simtrace2/firmware/latest/qmod-dfu-flash-latest.bin
    
  3. flash the USB DFU bootloader using bossac (note: erase ensures no main application remains so to force booting the USB DFU bootloader; boot=1 ensures the micro-controller will boot from the internal flash instead of the embedded bootloader next time it is powered up)
    sudo bossac --port=/dev/ttyACM0 --usb-port=1 --erase --verify --boot=1 --write qmod-dfu-flash-latest.bin
    
  4. Re-power the board. If the DFU bootloader has been flashed correctly:
    • only one red LED should be on
    • the USB device should be listed as OpenMoko/"quad modem" instead of SAMBA
      lsusb
      ...
      Bus 002 Device 024: ID 1d50:4004 OpenMoko, Inc.
      
    • the DFU bootloader should be recognized:
      sudo dfu-util --list
      ...
      Found DFU: [1d50:4004] ver=0010, devnum=58, cfg=1, intf=0, path="2-2.4", alt=1, name="Flash (Application Partition)", serial="UNKNOWN" 
      Found DFU: [1d50:4004] ver=0010, devnum=58, cfg=1, intf=0, path="2-2.4", alt=0, name="RAM", serial="UNKNOWN" 
      

Once the USB DFU bootloader is flashed, you can flash the application firmware using the DFU method.

To prevent using sudo, grant to current user the permission to access USB serial devices (e.g. /dev/ttyACM0). Note: this change only takes effect after re-logging-in

sudo adduser $USERNAME dialout

If no LED is on and the SAM-BA bootloader is not present, or you require to update the DFU bootloader, please contact the customer support of sysmocom.

Install bossa

BOSSA is a flash programming utility for Atmel's SAM family of flash-based ARM microcontrollers.
It allows to flash the DFU bootloader on the SAM3S micro-controller used on the SIMtrace2 boards.

Debian/Ubuntu

Debian (10, buster) and Ubuntu (19.04, disco) only provide pacjages for bossa-cli v1.3 from 2012 (debian, ubuntu).
This is too old and does not support the SAM3S micro-controller used in SIMtrace2.

Thus you will have to install the current version of bossa (v1.9.1 from 2018-08 as of 2019-09):
  1. install the required libraries
    sudo apt install libwxgtk3.0-dev libreadline-dev
    
  2. install required tools
    sudo apt install wget
    
  3. get the current bossa
    wget https://github.com/shumatech/BOSSA/archive/1.9.1.tar.gz
    
  4. decompress archive
    tar xf 1.9.1.tar.gz
    
  5. compile bossa
    cd BOSSA-1.9.1/
    make
    
  6. install the bossa command line tool to your system (bossa does not provide install scripts)
    sudo cp bin/bossa* /usr/local/bin/
    
  7. clean up
    cd ..
    rm -r BOSSA-1.9.1/
    rm 1.9.1.tar.gz
    

Arch

Install the AUR package bossa (v1.9.1 from 2018-08 as of 2019-09).

pacaur -S bossa

Files (4)
simtrace-jumper-mini.jpg View simtrace-jumper-mini.jpg 66.9 KB tsaitgaist, 07/10/2018 03:37 PM
sysmoqmod-dfu.jpg View sysmoqmod-dfu.jpg 125 KB tsaitgaist, 07/10/2018 03:37 PM
simtrace-board-buttons.jpg View simtrace-board-buttons.jpg 96.7 KB tsaitgaist, 07/10/2018 03:44 PM
simtrace_swd.jpg View simtrace_swd.jpg 49.5 KB tsaitgaist, 07/10/2018 04:06 PM

Updated by tsaitgaist over 4 years ago · 8 revisions

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