Updating the SmartServer using the SmartServer Configuration Page (Release 4.1 and Prior)

Owned by Nina Cardillo
10-Jan-2024
4 min read

For SmartServer 4.2 and higher, see Updating the SmartServer using the SmartServer Configuration Page.

You can update or upgrade your SmartServer IoT to a newer release of the software, if available, using the SmartServer Configuration page and a USB flash drive.  An update is a release with the same release number plus "Update" in the name, for example, an update from SmartServer 3.6 to SmartServer 3.6 Update 2.  An upgrade is a release with a different release number, for example upgrading from SmartServer 3.4 to SmartServer 3.6.  An active SmartServer maintenance license is required to upgrade your SmartServer. 

This page describes one of four methods of updating, upgrading, or re-imaging your SmartServer software as described in Updating or Re-imaging the SmartServer IoT.  The method described on this page is the easiest if your SmartServer does not have an Internet connection and you have easy access to the SmartServer to insert a USB flash driver into one of the SmartServer USB ports. 

To update or upgrade your SmartServer software with the SmartServer Configuration page and a USB flash drive, follow these steps:

  1. SmartServer versions are hardware specific. See Determining SmartServer Software Version Compatibility before upgrading or downgrading to verify compatibility for your update.

  2. Prior to starting the update, if you are using any custom applications or services on the SmartServer, verify you have backup copies of your custom applications and services.  The update process will preserve custom applications and services that you have stored in the /var/apollo directory or one if its subdirectories such as /var/apollo/data/apps. If you perform an update and lose any custom applications or services, see the recovery procedure.
  3. Download the update image to your computer. The latest update is at the following location:   

    https://downloads.echelon.com/support/downloads/software/smartserver/iot/SmartServer_IoT_Update.armv7l.zip

  4. Insert a USB flash drive with at least 2GB of available space into a USB connector on your computer.  

  5. If your USB flash drive is not formatted with a FAT32 file system, reformat the drive with a FAT32 file system.  On Windows, you can use the Disk Management application in Windows Control Panel to reformat the drive.  Be sure to select FAT32 for the format, other formats such as exFAT and NTFS will not work.

  6. Extract the contents of the update image you downloaded in step 1 to the top-level of your USB flash drive.  Do not place the files in a folder on the flash drive.

  7. Eject the flash drive from your computer to flush any cached updates to your drive.

  8. Remove the USB flash drive from your computer and insert it into one of the USB connectors on the SmartServer. 

  9. Open the SmartServer Configuration page.  

    The Network Configuration page appears.



  10. Click the System tab at the top of the page.

    The System Configuration tab appears.



  11. The update procedure does not delete your existing data and configuration files.  To delete them, click Reset to Defaults and then follow the procedure described in Resetting the SmartServer IoT to Factory Defaults.

  12. Click Update Image on the System Configuration page. 

     

    A dialog box appears to confirm that you want to overwrite your current SmartServer image.



  13. If you see the message Cannot locate the SmartServer image file. Make sure that your thumb drive is inserted into the USB port properly. appearing below the Update Image button, and the USB flash drive is physically inserted into the port, then you need to connect to your SmartServer using the SSH console and enter the following command:

    sudo mount -o fmask=0022,dmask=0022 /dev/sda1 /media/usb0


  14. If your new SmartServer image requires an active maintenance license, the Configuration page will display the following error message: "This image requires an active maintenance license for installation. Add a new maintenance license to extend the maintenance period for this SmartServer."  See Manage Licenses for more information.

  15. Click OK.

    A message appears on the Configuration page System tab indicating that a shutdown is scheduled in one minute, similar to the message shown below:


     
    The system initiates a reboot after a one minute delay, and then performs the update. During the process, the SmartServer displays status information in your console window if you have a console open, and the LEDs on the SmartServer IoT will blink intermittently. When the update completes, the SmartServer automatically reboots. The update takes approximately 30 minutes. The update does not change the SmartServer's serial # or password. With SmartServer release 3.2 and higher, you can monitor the SmartServer Ready LED () for system status. 

  16. After the reboot, unmount and remove the flash drive using the following command from the console (see the Connect to Your SmartServer section for more information on how to connect to the SmartServer console) to unmount the drive prior to removing it:

    sudo umount /media/usb0  

      

  17. Plug back in any U60/U70/IOXs that you are using.

  18. Clear your browser cached data after the SmartServer is upgraded. For information on how to clear cached data, refer to the links below: