MMC card for field upgrades

[JohnS]

Anyone done this? We are thinking about using MMC cards to flash upgrade
equipment in the field - specifically TI DSP based units. This is in order
to upgrade software where niceties such as laptops etc are just not
available on site, with the intent of avoiding return to base main PCBs.
Although I can't see any basic reason why this can't be done, just wondering
if anyone has tried and what snags they came across.
Any comments welcome

JohnS

 

[Ian Stirling]

Anyone done this? We are thinking about using MMC cards to flash upgrade
equipment in the field - specifically TI DSP based units. This is in order
to upgrade software where niceties such as laptops etc are just not
available on site, with the intent of avoiding return to base main PCBs.
Although I can't see any basic reason why this can't be done, just wondering
if anyone has tried and what snags they came across.

If there is any possible benefit to the user in repurposing or editing
your firmware, you'll want to put cryptographically strong verification
on your update images.

 

[Chris Jones]

Anyone done this? We are thinking about using MMC cards to flash upgrade
equipment in the field - specifically TI DSP based units. This is in order
to upgrade software where niceties such as laptops etc are just not
available on site, with the intent of avoiding return to base main PCBs.
Although I can't see any basic reason why this can't be done, just
wondering if anyone has tried and what snags they came across.
Any comments welcome

JohnS

If you have any sympathy for the user (which most manufacturers don't), then
I would also suggest putting a functional basic set of firmware (with
reflashing utility) in EPROM, not flash, so that if the flash firmware gets
badly screwed up, then the user can return to a basic working situation by
setting a clearly marked jumper, rather than unsoldering the flash chip
which seems to be needed on some motherboards etc.

Chris