Remedy Flash Downloader/Bootloader
The flash downloader/bootloader combines a variety of modules into a Unison or DSPnano application to support downloading and programming of flash.
The flash downloader/bootloader provides downloading and programming services for MCUs, for remote field service. It works with any of the different communication links supported by Unison and DSPnano out of the box and can be configured to use custom links. A variety of options exist including: download from a host using serial or udp connections, tftp download, and much more.
The flash downloader is a factory or user configured module. It is customized for the specific application and size constraints of the project and product in question. It provides file transfer into the system. These files can be saved in Nor Flash or a file system and then used to boot the system.
The bootloader uses motorola s record format and is different depending on the target hardware. For example, on FPGA hardware the s-record decoding might be done in hardware, while on an MCU the implementation is in software. The implementation is done in this way to minimize the size of the bootloader.
The bootloader has a failsafe operation. It will boot the new image and if this fails it will revert to the previous image. This approach is taken to avoid field service issues associated with the failure of loading the new image.
The software versions of the bootloader may be used in conjunction with a minimal verion of the Unison nanokernel and a flash file system. In this way, a nand flash file system may be used for both the previous and new image. These components have a minimal footprint allowing the reservation of a limited amount of flash for the bootloader. This is a user configured option.
None - the flash downloader is a complete application.
All errors are handled by the flash application.
Consult the factory if you require details on a flash downloader for your environment.