System Update and Recovery

xPico 200 series gateway provides a range of system update and recovery functions that include secure bootloading, secure firmware upgrades, device management actions, and device recovery.

Dual Boot Bank Architecture

The gateway has a dual boot bank architecture, which means there is a second partition on the gateway's internal flash. The secondary bank provides a safeguard during firmware upgrade so that you can upgrade while running the gateway. If an upgrade to one bank fails, the gateway will reboot to the previous firmware on the second boot bank.

Secure Firmware Over the Air (FOTA) Update

The xPico 200 series gateway supports Firmware Over the Air (FOTA) update capability through the Device feature in Web Manager or through the firmware update Web API.

Updating firmware with the Web Manager uses the existing WLAN configuration and preserves the device configuration through the update process. Updates are protected against failure so that the device remains operable through potential interruptions. FOTA updates are stored on the device's internal flash and the system configuration is preserved.

Firmware Upgrade Using Web Manager

To upgrade firmware in the Web Manager, go to Device > Firmware Upgrade.

Select a valid firmware image to upload. You can obtain the latest firmware and release notes for the gateway from the Lantronix Web site.

Be careful not to power off or reset the device while uploading the new firmware. Do not refresh the page or navigate to another page until the upload has completed.

Once the upload has completed and the new firmware has been verified and written, the device will automatically be rebooted.

Firmware Upgrade Using the Web API

You can use a client like cURL as part of a scriptable firmware upgrade.

For an example, see Firmware Upgrade API in the Web API reference.

Device Management Operations

You can perform the following device maintenance:

  • Save the current device configuration
  • Reboot the gateway
  • Restore the gateway to factory defaults

Save the Configuration

The configuration settings are stored in Flash memory. You must save the configuration changes so that they will apply after a reboot.

In most cases, when you submit a change in the Web Manager, the changes are written to Flash and are applied immediately. In a few cases, you need to reboot the gateway in order for the change to take effect. These exceptions are noted in the Web Manager UI help text.

In the CLI, you need to "write" the change to Flash after performing an action. The CLI also provides informational messages to indicate what followup actions are required for the changes to take effect.

The "save" command, in both the Web Manager and the CLI, accomplishes the same task as "write;" it commits any cached configuration changes so that they will apply after a reboot.

To save configuration changes:

In Web Manager, go to Device and click Save.

In the CLI, navigate to the "status Device" level and run Save.

status Device > Save
Changes were saved.

If there are no cached changes, the message reads:

WARNING: There was nothing to save.

Reboot the gateway

Reboot powers down the device and restarts it. Before rebooting the device, save the configuration to ensure that any cached configuration changes are retained after reboot.

To reboot:

In Web Manager, go to Device and click Reboot. At the prompt, confirm that you want to reboot the device.

In the CLI, navigate to the "status Device" level and run Reboot.

status Device>reboot
CONFIRM: Reboot this device? (okay/cancel)okay
WARNING: Rebooting...

Command Line started.

>

Restore the gateway to factory defaults

Restoring to factory defaults resets the device configuration to factory default settings or OEM default settings if the OEM has set them. Any user changes to the configuration are lost.

To reset the gateway to factory default settings:

In the Web Manager, go to Device and click Factory Defaults. Confirm that you want to reload factory default settings.

The configuration will be set to factory defaults and xPico 200 will reboot. Reload the IP address in the browser and log in.

In the CLI, navigate to the "status Device" level and run Factory Defaults. Confirm that you want to reload factory default settings.

The configuration will be set to factory defaults and xPico 200 will reboot.

status Device>Factory Defaults
CONFIRM: Reload factory default settings? (okay/cancel)Okay
WARNING: Rebooting for factory defaults...

Command Line started.

>

Device Recovery

If you are not able to boot the gateway using the usual methods, Lantronix DeviceInstaller can be used to recover Lantronix-signed firmware of xPico 240 and xPico 250.

DeviceInstaller is not compatible with xPico 270 nor is it compatible with OEM-signed firmware. If you are using xPico 270 or if you are using OEM-signed firmware, please contact Lantronix support.

Lantronix DeviceInstaller is a Windows-based application that provides installation and configuration options for Lantronix devices.

To download DeviceInstaller v4.4.0.5 or higher, go to https://www.lantronix.com/products/deviceinstaller/.

To recover firmware with DeviceInstaller:

  1. Download and install DeviceInstaller.
  2. Connect the serial cable to your xPico 240/250 and PC.
  3. Launch DeviceInstaller.
  4. Press F8 to open Serial Port Firmware Recovery.
  5. Next to Port on PC, choose the correct port.
  6. Next to Device Model, choose xPico240 or xPico250.
  7. Next to Firmware File, provide the path to the firmware .rom file or browse to the file.
  8. Press OK in DeviceInstaller.
  9. A confirmation window will appear. Turn off the power to the xPico 240/250 and click OK.
  10. Press and hold the Default button, then power on the device, and then release the Default button.