Firmware upgrade considerations for Hirsch controllers

How does the CCM behave when performing a firmware upgrade through SNIBs?

SNIB - This was the initial version of the communication board.  The SNIB board does not have any firmware of its own.  When performing a CCM firmware upgrade through a SNIB, the controller will immediately go offline, and all doors become inoperable until the firmware upgrade completes.  This means the controller was offline for access decisions and events during this upgrade.  In addition, the CCM flash process clears the CCM BIOS initially and then performs the upgrade.  As a result, should any issues occur during the upgrade process, the CCM could be made inoperable and require a return to the factory to be reprogrammed.

SNIB2/3 - These are the newer, upgraded versions of the communication board, with SNIB3 being the latest.   These versions introduced a different way of upgrading the CCM Firmware. When you start the CCM firmware download, Velocity will split the firmware file into multiple smaller segments and send it to SNIB2/3; this phase will take about 5 to 6 minutes. During this phase, the controller will remain fully functional. Once the file transfer is completed, the SNIB2/3 starts sending the update packets to the CCM; at this point, the controller logs off and is no longer operational. The complete flashing and reboot process will take about 8 to 10 mins, and the controller will return online.

Identiv recommends that a single CCM be upgraded at a time.  The Velocity software will support the firmware upgrade of multiple CCM boards, but this should never exceed five controllers at a time, possibly less, depending on the system topology.  Never upgrade the master controller at the same time as any downstream controllers. 

Additional considerations should be made for upgrades to downstream controllers since these are communicating via RS-485, which is a slower communication protocol than TCP/IP. The default baud rate for downstream communication is 9600 baud, though this can be increased but should only be done when using data-grade wiring between controllers.  Regarding the baud rate, understanding the wiring distance and performance limitations should be considered before making this setting change. Please contact Identiv support should you have further questions on this.

What needs consideration when upgrading the firmware on a SNIB2/3

SNIB2 - When upgrading a group of controllers that all utilize the SNIB2, the primary SNIB2 should constantly be upgraded first, then proceeding to the downstream controllers in order (i.e., primary controller, 1st downstream controller, 2nd downstream controller, etc.) until the entire group has been upgraded. You should wait for the primary SNIB2 to complete upgrading before continuing the upgrade process on any downstream SNIB2 devices.  While upgrading multiple downstream devices simultaneously is acceptable, never attempt to upgrade the master and downstream SNIB2 devices simultaneously. Keep in mind that updating multiple downstream devices should take into account the communication constraints mentioned above.

SNIB3 - When upgrading a group of controllers utilizing the SNIB3, the primary SNIB3 should constantly be upgraded first. Only one SNIB3 firmware upgrade per port is allowed.  This means that only a single SNIB3 device can be upgraded at a time, regardless of being the primary or downstream in the installation.

It should also be noted that the SNIB is only supported downstream from a SNIB2, not the SNIB3.  Should you desire to use a SNIB3, the SNIB3 must be in the primary controller; you must ensure all downstream controllers have either SNIB2 or SNIB3 boards installed.  If you have a mix of SNIB2 and SNIB3, you will also need to ensure all SNIB3 controllers are first connected on the RS-485 drop.  You cannot go from a SNIB3 to a SNIB2 and then to another SNIB3.  Furthermore, your Port Settings within Velocity must be set to XNET2 when a SNIB2 is in the downstream line.

For further info on the SNIB communication boards, please reference the following link:  Secure Network Interface Board (SNIB, SNIB2, SNIB3)archived