Pre-1.5.0 Firmware Update Best Practices - NComputing N500 User Manual

4.2a Pre-1.5.0 Firmware Update Best Practices
N-series firmware versions prior to 1.5.0 are designed to be applied sequentially, with each new build
applied to the previous build in order of their release. Administrators can manually step a device
through sequential firmware updates if desired, or they can configure the devices to perform a
sequential update automatically.
NOTE: If a device is updated out of sequence and ends up skipping a firmware build,
administrators can simply downgrade the device and reapply the firmware update process from
beginning to end. Furthermore, once the initial step of downgrading a device to firmware
version 1.1.1 (the first public firmware build), the remainder of the update process can be
automated, as outlined below.
Requirements for Automatic, Sequential Updates
An automatic update requires that the devices be set to either of the "automatic" (DHCP* or URL)
update modes (found in Firmware/Wallpaper Update section of the Management Tab in the N-series
GUI) and pointed to a network accessible folder** that contains each of the required firmware builds.
The folder should contain the desired firmware files themselves as well as a catalog.txt file, as pictured
below:
The catalog.txt file functions as a table of contents for the update service; listing each of the firmware
builds in a given archive in the order that they were released. Below is an example of the contents of a
catalog.txt file that contains information for three firmware builds, ranging from build 1.1.1 to build
1.3.7.
Nxxx_FW_ver_1_1_1_1.tar.gz 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 02e90025e8239722e58b62b3a9b92386
Nxxx_FW_ver_1_2_0_1.tar.gz 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 945434214db5285596a24404a637471d
Nxxx_FW_ver_1_3_7_2.tar.gz 0 0 0 1 3 7 2 a4f5dcdeb8de66aaabfe804fc3a5ee93
Each new firmware build is released with a catalog.txt file containing a single line. The above catalog.txt
file contains three lines because it was written for an archive that contains three firmware builds. In the
event that a new firmware build was released, the archive could be updated by adding the firmware file
itself to the folder, and copying the catalog.txt line included with that firmware into the archive's
catalog.txt file. In this case, the next firmware build would add a fourth line.
* Note that using the DHCP setting requires that DHCP tags be configured with the appropriate FTP
information. See section 4.3
** If a network accessible folder is not available, or assistance is needed to set up such a resource, an
example is given using FileZilla at the end of this guide.
Page 26 of 38
of this manual for more information on this feature.
NComputing N-series User Manual rev10.08.13_1.5.0