TM4C1294NCPDT: Update firmware image

Gello

Part Number: TM4C1294NCPDT
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: CC3100

Hi,

I am working on a TM4C1294-based board and I am looking for a way to update the firmware image located on the on-chip flash memory. The board is confined into an hermetic housing, but it contains a CC3100 WiFi module that enables the communication with the board. The board also includes an external serial flash memory.

My idea was to upload the firmware image into the external memory through Wifi and then to pass control to the bootloader mode who would copy the firmware from the external memory to the on-chip memory. But after reading MCU data sheet and "tivaware boot loader user's guide " (spmu301) I am not sure that it is going to work like that.

I must confess that I have not understood yet how the bootloader really works. There are indeed examples on the software release, such as "boot loader 1 and 2" or "serial boot", but all these examples show how to pass control to the bootloader. But, what is the boot loader expecting from the other side of the communication? Is there a protocol to update the code?

I've reviewed other forum posts and I haven't found a similar application:

https://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/tiva_arm/f/908/t/281191

https://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/tiva_arm/f/908/t/365818

https://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/tiva_arm/f/908/t/272648

Does anybody know if what I want to do is possible? or is there other simpler ways?

Thank you

over 8 years ago

0 Charles Tsai over 8 years ago

TI__Guru**** 191906 points

Hi,
Suppose you can successfully write the firmware image to the external serial flash via WiFi, I think you can write a custom bootloader where after you pass the control to the bootloader the bootloader will read from the external flash and flash the code into the application space of the internal flash using the flash API.

0 Gello over 8 years ago in reply to Charles Tsai

Intellectual 390 points

Hi Charles,

Thanks for your answer.

What I am going to do is to have two codes in memory: one for the application and one for the boot loader. The first code will be called by default and when I want to update the application code, I will change the boot address so as to ask the MCU to boot from this address. Then the boot code will read from the external flash to the on-chip flash.

Now, I will check how to do so, that is how to request the MCU to boot from another address rather than 0x0, and as soon as it works, I will write it here.

I have already found some interesting links, but any hint will be welcomed:

https://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/tiva_arm/f/908/p/348349/1237978

https://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/tiva_arm/f/908/t/349462

Thanks

0 Charles Tsai over 8 years ago in reply to Gello

TI__Guru**** 191906 points

Hi Gello,
Is there any reason why you wouldn't want to have the bootloader at 0x0 and the application starts somewhere else. You can reference all the examples which start the bootloader at 0x0 and the application at a different offset. When an update to the firmware is needed the application will call the bootloader.

0 Gello over 8 years ago in reply to Charles Tsai

Intellectual 390 points

Hi,
No problem to swap the addresses. The important is to be able to set up an application boot address different from 0x0 and a boot loader address at 0x0, and then to know how to execute each code as desired.
Regards

0 Gello over 8 years ago in reply to Gello

Intellectual 390 points

Before closing this post, I have found two pretty interesting posts that are helping me solve my problem (especially the second one).
e2e.ti.com/.../357903
e2e.ti.com/.../1252972

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TM4C1294NCPDT: Update firmware image