Updating AirLink OS Software

To take advantage of new features available in the latest version of AirLink OS, update the software on your AirLink routers.

You can update one router at a time through a local connection to the AirLink OS UI, or you can update router software using AirLink Management Service (ALMS) or AirLink Mobility Manager (AMM).

In ALMS, you can update software for multiple routers of the same model (as described in the Firmware Upgrade section of the AirVantage documentation, or for one router at a time, as described below.

See the AMM documentation for how to update software on routers connected to AMM (RX400 support to come in a future AirLink OS release).

Getting the Software

If you are updating the router software through a local connection, you can download the latest update file (.ufw) provided by Semtech on the Source.

If you are updating one router in ALMS while viewing the router configuration in ALMS (see Getting Started), you can select the software to install after you click SOFTWARE UPDATE under System > Admin > Software Update.

Updating the Software

This procedure describes how to update router software using the AirLink OS interface. You can be connected to the router through a local connection, or viewing the router configuration in ALMS (see Getting Started).

Do not power off or manually reboot the router during a software upgrade. Wait until the router’s LED chase patterns have stopped (the LEDs will flash yellow during a software upgrade, then green if the radio module firmware is being updated) before unplugging or rebooting the router. See Reading Router LED Colors and Patterns.

To update AirLink OS software:

1. Log in to AirLink OS, or in ALMS, click Configuration on the router’s system view page.
2. Go to System > Admin > Software Update.

3. Click SOFTWARE UPDATE.

   

4. When connected locally to the router, select the downloaded .ufw file and click Open.

   When viewing the configuration in ALMS, select the desired firmware and then click CHANGE APPLICATION. You can search for software by Name or Revision number.

   

When connected locally to the router, Update Software processing shows each step of the update process, followed by your router rebooting. The number of steps may vary depending on the size of the software update.

In ALMS, an “Install application” operation launches. You can track the operation’s progress on the router’s system view page.

Do not power off the router during upgrade, including while in the reboot stage. Depending on the complexity of the software upgrade, the router may be in the reboot state for two minutes or more. If a radio module firmware upgrade is part of the process, the upgrade process will take longer than a basic OS-only upgrade. The upgrade may still be in progress even after you have been redirected to the AirLink OS login page.

Allow Downgrade

By default, software downgrades are disabled. If you must revert to a previously installed AirLink OS software, you can use SWITCH TO BACKUP IMAGE. See Software Image Management below.

If you need to downgrade the router to a different AirLink OS release, you can click ALLOW DOWNGRADE to enable the downgrade. You can then click SOFTWARE UPDATE to install a previous AirLink OS release.

Downgrading software in this way will reset the router to factory defaults.

Software Image Management

After a software upgrade, AirLink OS stores the previous software image to use as a backup, along with the corresponding device configuration. In the event that the router switches to the backup image, the stored device configuration is also applied to the router.

Switch to Backup Image

The SWITCH TO BACKUP IMAGE feature is intended as a last-resort action to return the router to a previously known operating state.

The router will automatically switch to the backup image if the router fails to successfully completely boot after five successive attempts for whatever reason; intermittent power or incomplete/corrupted software, for example. The switch will occur prior to the sixth boot attempt.

In addition to reverting to the last used software, switching to the backup image reverts any configuration changes made since the last software upgrade.

To manually switch to the backup image:

• Click SWITCH TO BACKUP IMAGE.

The router reboots. The backup image is now the active image, and the previous router configuration takes effect.

The SWITCH TO BACKUP IMAGE button is now disabled because the router is already running the backup image.

When the router is running the backup image as the active image, you must update the software again if you no longer want the router to use the backup image.

Synchronize Backup Partition

The SYNCHRONIZE BACKUP PARTITION feature should be used only if advised by Semtech support. This recommendation may change following a future AirLink OS release.

Clicking SYNCHRONIZE BACKUP PARTITION overwrites the previous backup image with the active image. Image switching is disabled (as shown below) until you update the software to a different version.

The SYNCHRONIZE BACKUP PARTITION process also deletes the router configuration that was stored with the previous backup image, and does not store the current configuration with the new backup image. The router configuration is stored along with the backup image only when a software upgrade occurs.