Community Workflow Example ‐ Upgrading Firmware

Full upgrade without leaving command line

Here is an example workflow for updating cameras that are already running Thingino firmware. This process is entirely from the command line and performs a Full Update. The Full Update removes any configuration and settings that you have set in your camera, and this workflow aims to simplify the process to restore those settings and configurations without needing to change each camera through the Web UI. This example is for cameras that do not have internet access, but the same steps can be used whether the cameras have internet access or not. SSH from a local pc is used to connect to the cameras from the command line. Each camera has different settings (fps, pan/tilt home position, etc.) which are applied through the command line after the update.

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Initial Setup

The one-time upfront effort with this process is

• Insert a Fat32 SD Card into the camera with a uenv.txt file for Wi-Fi configuration
• Create a configuration file for each camera.

This upfront work is optional since the Thingino Configuration Portal could be used to setup Wi-Fi, and the Thingino Web UI could be used to configure the camera settings. However, without these optional items the process cannot be completed entirely from the command line.

uenv.txt

A file named uenv.txt is on the Fat32 SD Card of the camera to automatically connect to Wi-Fi. Contents of the uenv.txt: wlan_ssid=nameofyournetwork wlan_pass=yourwirelessnetworkpass

Configuration File

The configuration file will set the specific camera settings after the upgrade is complete. This file is a shell script that is run after the firmware upgrade is complete. The JCT SET command is used to modify Thingino settings such as FPS and pan/tilt home positions. Take a look at this example file content and expand on it to fit your needs. Check out all the settings that can be configured by investigating the .json Thingino configuration files in /etc.

jct /etc/prudynt.json set stream0.fps 20
jct /etc/prudynt.json set stream0.gop 20
jct /etc/prudynt.json set stream1.fps 5
jct /etc/prudynt.json set stream1.gop 5
jct /etc/motors.json set motors.gpio_pan "54 52 53 64"
jct /etc/motors.json set motors.gpio_tilt "61 62 63 51"
jct /etc/motors.json set motors.pos_0 "1990,796"
jct /etc/thingino.json set webui.paranoid true
tzselect -n Chicago

Use .sh as the extension for the filename.

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Upgrade Steps

• Build updated firmware locally or download the latest file from thingino.com. Verify it is the correct file for the target camera hardware.

• Copy the firmware to the camera through an ssh session. Note: if using scp to copy the file from Windows remember to use scp -O option (upper case oh). scp -O for example:

    scp -O c:\CameraFirmware\firmware_filename.bin root@camera_ip:/tmp/
  

• Upgrade the camera from ssh with the firmware file. Use offline mode for sysupgrade (the -x option) if the camera does not have internet.

    sysupgrade -x /tmp/<firmware_filename>
  

  • The camera will update the firmware and automatically join your Wi-Fi network due to the uenv.txt on the SD Card. Note: If a person is not utilizing the uenv.txt to configure Wi-Fi, then use the Thingino Configuration Portal for configuring Wi-Fi and the root password.

• SSH to the camera to set the root password. you will be prompted to set the root password after logging in for the first time (default password is root). Note: If a person is not utilizing the uenv.txt to configure Wi-Fi, then use the Thingino Configuration Portal will for configuring Wi-Fi and the root password.

• From SSH, copy the configuration shell script to the camera and ensure it is executable with

    chmod +x <shell_script_filename>.sh
  

• Run the shell script from SSH.

    <shell_script_filename>.sh
  

• Reboot from SSH

    reboot
  

• Validate that the camera is working and that the settings are correct.

In summary:

• Obtain the appropriate firmware file and copy it to the camera
• Run sysupgrade -x
• Configure Wi-Fi connection (this is automatic with uenv.txt on SD) and set root password
• Copy a configuration script to the camera and run it
• Reboot