Image and CODESYS Runtime Update
The device comes pre-loaded with a system image (including firmware and system program).
Images and the Image Loader utility, can be downloaded from the Firmware section in our SmartStore.
CODESYS runtime is available from the Firmware section in our SmartStore.
Important
CODESYS runtime update is only applicable for devices with a CODESYS runtime license, such as BoX2 pro SC and extreme SC.
The image/Image Loader utility is used for:
Updating the image by,
creating an Image Loader SD card or USB flash drive
transferring an image to a device through Ethernet
Updating the CODESYS Runtime by,
creating an auto-install package for SD card or USB flash drive
transferring the CODESYS Runtime over Ethernet
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In some occasions it is necessary to make a complete system update via Make Recovery SD card.
Important
On a BoX2 pro device with image version 2.0 b775 or older, we recommend to update the image using Make Recovery SD Card. This means that the iX Developer project and IP settings must be backed up from the device before the image is updated. See manual MAEN361 chapter 1.2 on how to do the backup.
Important
On a BoX2 extreme device with image version older than 2.0 b365, we recommend to update the image using Make Recovery SD Card. This means that the iX Developer project and IP settings must be backed up from the device before the image is updated. See manual MAEN361 chapter 1.2 on how to do the backup.
To summarize, the image/CODESYS runtime can be updated in the following ways:
Update method | iX Developer project deleted by updating | IP address reset by updating | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
USB | No | No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SD | No | No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ethernet | No | No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Recovery SD card[a] | Yes | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[a] Only available for image update. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Update the Image Using USB or SD Card
Do the following:
Download your image from Beijer Electronics SmartStore.
Unzip the downloaded file and start the Image Loader application.
Connect a USB flash drive or SD card to the computer.
In Select drive:, choose the connected USB flash drive or SD card.
Click Create.
When finished, eject the USB flash drive or SD card.
Connect the USB flash drive or SD card to the BoX2 device and power up the device.
Wait until red LED indication starts flashing fast and eject the USB flash drive or SD card.
Note
Make sure to eject the USB/SD card. Otherwise, the device will try to update again during next boot up.
The device automatically reboots.
Wait until the LED shows a blue status light, or purple on/off every 0.5 seconds (if no iX or CODESYS project is installed).
The update is now completed.
Update the Image Over Ethernet
The Image Loader utility can be used to update the image over Ethernet.
Important
Before doing any transfer over Ethernet, ensure that the network is considered secure in order to limit the risk of any malicious intrusion.
Some best practices that are encouraged:
Use strong passwords to ensure that network devices (routers/switches/servers) are protected with strong, passwords.
Utilize encryption protocols to encrypt data packets.
Divide the network into separate segments to limit the impact of a security breach.
Configure Access Control Lists on network devices to restrict traffic based on IP addresses/protocols/ports.
Restrict access to your network by only allowing trusted devices based on MAC addresses.
Regularly update firmware and software on the network devices.
If running remote, make sure to connect via VPN to create a secure tunnel for data transmission.
Ensure that all firmware is validated and verified before transfer, ensuring that there is no risk of tampering.
Note
Before trying to update the image over Ethernet, make sure that your PC is on the same IP-subnet as the BoX2 device. If your device has an IP address of 192.168.1.1, and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, then your PC must have an IP address in the range of 192.168.1.2 – 192.168.1.254 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, in order to communicate with the device.
Do the following:
Enter the device Target IP address in the dialog and click on Update to start the update.
The dialog shows the current installed image and the new image that the device will be updated to. Click on Update Now! to confirm the start of the update.
A progress bar shows the update transfer status. When the transfer is done, the device will reboot.
Wait until the LED shows a blue status light, or purple on/off every 0.5 seconds (if no iX or CODESYS project is installed).
The update is now completed.
Note
If the device contains a CODESYS Runtime, then the CODESYS Runtime must be transferred to the device after the image has been updated. See section Update the CODESYS Runtime Version Using USB or SD Card or Update the CODESYS Runtime Version Over Ethernet.
Update the Image Version Using Recovery SD Card
In a complete system update the IP settings will be reset to default values and the iX Developer project will be deleted. To keep the IP setting and the iX Developer project it is recommended to make a backup of the iX Developer project and make a note of the IP settings prior to an image update.
Note
When updating the system image through “Make recovery SD card” an SD card formatted with FAT16/FAT32 and maximum 32 GB must be used.
Do the following:
In Select drive:, choose the connected SD card.
Create an image recovery SD card by selecting Make Recovery SD card when using the Image Loader utility.
Click Create.
When finished, eject the SD card.
Connect the SD card to the BoX2 device and boot the device.
A red LED indication, with constant light, will indicate that the device is booting and updating the image.
When the red LED indication starts to slowly blink, 2 seconds on, 2 seconds off, the update is complete.
Eject the SD card and reboot the device.
After the reboot, wait until the LED indications shows purple, on/off every 0.5 seconds.
The update is now completed.
Update the CODESYS Runtime Version Using USB or SD Card
Note
Refer to document SUEN00392, available at Help Online, for more details and recommendations on using the X2/BoX2 series range of products with embedded CODESYS runtime.
To update the CODESYS Runtime, the folder containing the CODESYS .cab-files listed below must be specified in the Image Loader utility. The existing Power Management and EtherCAT Distributed Clock settings are shown in the Image Loader utility and can be set before updating the CODESYS Runtime.
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Do the following:
Select the folder that contains the CODESYS files.
Select the desired options for Retain data, EtherCAT and OPC UA and click Create auto-install package.
Note
The only valid options for BoX2 motion are Power fail retain and EtherCAT with distributed clock.
Note
The PLC functionality has support for storing non-volatile variables. Those variables can be stored dynamically in two different modes:
Power-fail mode (Default setting)
If the voltage drops below a hardware given threshold (that is, during a power loss or power dip), the system instantly copies all persistent data defined in the PLC application from RAM into the battery backed SRAM. They are verified and restored when the device is restarted.
Cyclic mode
The PLC is instructed to store all retain and persistent data directly into SRAM synchronously with every PLC cycle. This means all device types can use the whole available memory, which is 128 kB. However, writing to the SRAM might increase the configured PLC cycle depending on the size of used retain and persistent data, because a SRAM is naturally slower than a RAM. This possible increase is dependent of the application and to find out about the possible increase one would need to monitor the configured task(s) of the project. For projects with large amounts of persistent data, cyclic mode is recommended.
Save the auto-install package to your connected USB or SD card.
Eject the USB or SD card.
Connect the USB flash drive or SD card to the device and boot the device.
Wait until red LED indication starts flashing fast and eject the USB flash drive or SD card.
Note
Make sure to eject the USB/SD card. Otherwise, the device will try to update again during next boot up.
The device automatically reboots.
Wait until the LED shows a blue status light, or purple on/off every 0.5 seconds (if no iX or CODESYS project is installed).
The update is now completed.
Update the CODESYS Runtime Version Over Ethernet
Important
Before doing any transfer over Ethernet, ensure that the network is considered secure in order to limit the risk of any malicious intrusion.
Some best practices that are encouraged:
Use strong passwords to ensure that network devices (routers/switches/servers) are protected with strong, passwords.
Utilize encryption protocols to encrypt data packets.
Divide the network into separate segments to limit the impact of a security breach.
Configure Access Control Lists on network devices to restrict traffic based on IP addresses/protocols/ports.
Restrict access to your network by only allowing trusted devices based on MAC addresses.
Regularly update firmware and software on the network devices.
If running remote, make sure to connect via VPN to create a secure tunnel for data transmission.
Ensure that all firmware is validated and verified before transfer, ensuring that there is no risk of tampering.
Note
Refer to document SUEN00392, available at Help Online, for more details and recommendations on using the X2/BoX2 series range of products with embedded CODESYS runtime.
To update the CODESYS Runtime, the folder containing the CODESYS .cab-files listed below must be specified in the Image Loader utility. The existing Power Management and EtherCAT Distributed Clock settings are shown in the Image Loader utility and can be set before updating the CODESYS Runtime.
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Do the following:
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Select the folder that contains the CODESYS files.
Input the Target IP address for the device.
Press the Get info button to make sure that communication with the device is working.
Select the desired options for Retain data, EtherCAT and OPC UA.
Note
The only valid options for BoX2 motion are Power fail retain and EtherCAT with distributed clock.
Note
The PLC functionality has support for storing non-volatile variables. Those variables can be stored dynamically in two different modes:
Power-fail mode (Default setting)
If the voltage drops below a hardware given threshold (that is, during a power loss or power dip), the system instantly copies all persistent data defined in the PLC application from RAM into the battery backed SRAM. They are verified and restored when the device is restarted.
Cyclic mode
The PLC is instructed to store all retain and persistent data directly into SRAM synchronously with every PLC cycle. This means all device types can use the whole available memory, which is 128 kB. However, writing to the SRAM might increase the configured PLC cycle depending on the size of used retain and persistent data, because a SRAM is naturally slower than a RAM. This possible increase is dependent of the application and to find out about the possible increase one would need to monitor the configured task(s) of the project. For projects with large amounts of persistent data, cyclic mode is recommended.
Press Update to perform the update.
Note
This button is disabled until communication has been established with the device, by previously pressing the Get info button.
The BoX2 device will show a purple LED indication, with constant light, to indicate that the CODESYS Runtime is updating.
Once finished, the device will automatically reboot.
Wait until the LED shows a blue status light, or purple on/off every 0.5 seconds (if no iX or CODESYS project is installed).
The update is now completed.
Note
Before downloading a new CODESYS Runtime, the image should always first be downloaded to the device again, even if there are no changes to the image. If only the CODESYS Runtime is installed, then this may result in problems connecting to, and communicating with, other devices.