Table of Contents

Flash / backup the OS

Patron

Each Patron unit comes with Linux Debian-based operating system containing pre-installed Mervis software. The operating system can be reflashed to install any other supported software.

Flashing the OS using the service interface

To upload OS into the Patron unit through its service interface, you need to access the service mode first. To enable it, follow instructions in this article.

  1. Enter the device's IP address into a web browser. Upon confirmation, you will be connected to the Unipi Patron service interface
  2. In the service interface, drag and drop the archive.swu file extracted from the OS image archive into the Software update dialogue window
  3. The OS flashing will start, indicated by rapid blinking of all LEDs in both upper and lower row on section 1
  4. Wait until the device finishes the process. Its progress can be monitored in a dialogue window under the Messages label
  5. Finishing the process is indicated by diodes going off and a reboot of the device

Flashing the OS using a USB flashdisk

  1. Prepare a USB flash disk in FAT32 format with a capacity of at least 2 GB
  2. Copy the content of the ZIP archive onto the flash disk
  3. Unplug the power supply from the device and insert the flash disk into any device's USB port
  4. Press and hold the SERVICE button
  5. Plug in the device's power supply, the unit will automatically start the reflashing process indicated by rapid blinking of all LEDs in both upper and lower row on section 1
  6. You can now release the SERVICE button
  7. Finishing the process is indicated by diodes going off and a reboot of the device

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Note:
If the USB flash disk is not compatible, the unit will not start the OS flashing and reboots. In that case, you need to use a different flash disk or the above-mentioned flashing through the service interface.

Creating a OS back-up on a USB flashdisk

  1. Prepare a USB flash disk in FAT32 format with a capacity of at least 2 GB
  2. Start the device in the service mode
  3. Insert the flash disk into any USB port and wait for approx. 5 seconds
  4. In the service interface, click on the Backup to USB flash button located in the Backup dialogue window
  5. The unit will start creating the OS back-up, the process is indicated by rapid blinking of all LEDs in both upper and lower rows on section 1
  6. Upon finishing the process, an “Updated successfully” prompt will be displayed in the service display and the blinking of the LEDs will slow down
  7. You can now reboot the device using a button on the upper right corner of the web interface
  8. For loading the backup or uploading the OS into a different device of the same product line, follow the guide below

(i)

Note:
If the USB flash disk is not compatible, the unit will not start the backup process. In that case, you need to use a different flash disk.

Restore the OS from back-up on the USB flashdisk

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Attention:
After time some hardware parameters of compute module can be updated (different RAM, different eMMC). This can require firmware update of compute module for correct functionality. All devices are always shipped with up-to-date firmware for compute module.

When restoring the backup from older device, the older firmware might be incompatible with a newer compute module and the device might not run properly. It is recommended to regularly update and maintain the backup of the devices to be compatible with the newest version. The backups will then be usable for newer devices.

If a situation happens, where backup cannot be restored (the device is not starting), it is necessary to restore the backup on some other older device and update the system. Then create a backup from the newly updated system. This new backup will work on newer devices.

  1. Unplug the power supply from the device and insert the flash disk into any device's USB port
  2. Press and hold the SERVICE button
  3. Plug in the device's power supply, the unit will automatically start OS reflashing indicated by rapid blinking of all LEDs in both lower and upper rows on section 1
  4. You can now release the SERVICE button
  5. Finishing the process is indicated by diodes going off and a reboot of the device