SW lifecycle management
Your individual electronics
always up to date

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The requirements for security and data protection are increasing - as are the number of attacks, security gaps and identified risks. You have to face these ever-changing security threats and ensure that your systems can be updated when your devices are connected to the Internet.

This is also required, for example, by the current IEC 62443 standard in the patch management section of the "Industrial Automation Control System Environment". The software lifecycle management from PHYTEC supports you in this. Use our offer for the sustainable and binding maintenance of the board support packages for your customer-specific hardware. We test your hardware with the latest patches and updates throughout the product life cycle. If necessary, you can roll out your software quickly and easily.

 

 

This is how the SLCM concept works _ The continuous maintenance of your product

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We develop a customer-specific BSP for your PHYTEC hardware - based on the preliminary work of the standard development. We integrate hardware and BSP into our test farm and the CI system.

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Together with you, we will create an update strategy for your product and determine the frequency of the updates. As a rule, we agree annual major updates of the Yocto Project and updates of the LTS kernel version every two years.

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At the same time, two BSP statuses are maintained: A current version of your BSP, which we continuously provide with security and bug fixes over an agreed period. And another version in which we continuously update your BSP to the latest development status of the Yocto Project and Linux kernel. A perfect basis for your next stable software release.

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With the automatic tests with nightly builds, any conflicts with your BSP are quickly recognized and can be resolved promptly. At the same time, we continuously check the compliance of the BSPs with your specifications. All results are recorded for you in test protocols.

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You get access to a current and tested BSP version at any time, without the risks of continuous updates in the field. Routinely or as soon as a relevant security gap is identified, you can test the BSP with your own software applications and deploy it promptly. The RAUC (Robust Auto Update Controller), which is prepared in our BSPs, supports you in this. In addition, we provide you with updates of your BSP with the current kernel and Yocto version in accordance with the agreed strategy.

conditions

The prerequisites for the lifecycle management of the software are the use of a mainline Linux-based BSP and the availability of a BSP specification that covers the entire functionality of the platform. An automated test environment is used with which the complete function of the system can be tested according to the BSP specification. 

The tests primarily include the interfaces, drivers and connections created on the boards. Customer applications are generally not included in the test. The standard tests include "common" interfaces according to the list in the next point. Special interfaces or special protocols can be added individually by expanding the test specification; It may be necessary to create special test hardware for this. For the tests, the Jenkins-based system for continuous integration is linked to the test environment for automatic hardware tests. This makes the setup ideal for the continuous integration of standard board support packages as well as customized BSPs.

Interfaces

  • Ethernet
  • RS-232
  • RS-485
  • CAN
  • USB Host
  • USB OTG as device

System on Module / SoC tests

  • SD inertface w / eMMC
  • SPI inertface w / NOR Flash
  • I2C w / trivial I2C devices
  • RAM
  • CPU: Frequency scaling
  • CPU: stress test
  • Watchdog
  • NAND interface

hardware control

  • Power cut reboot
  • soft reboot
  • Boat tests
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A positive side effect of the setup is the clear separation of BSP, middleware and application software, with which the individual layers can be handled individually if necessary, without errors resulting from dependencies that have not been taken into account.

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We make it easier to roll out your software in the field by preparing the RAUC (Robust Auto-Update Controller) in all current BSPs. The update client ensures the reliable installation of signed BSP updates on the embedded systems and is supported by Yocto in the meta-rauc layer. BSP updates can be created, checked and modified on the host system using the tool.

We support you in implementing the update mechanisms as well as in creating a corresponding infrastructure - from the RAUC configuration to setting up cloudServices right up to protecting the hardware from the installation of malware.

Your contact for your individual software lifecycle management:

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Axel Berghoff
Corporate customer acquisition
axel.berghoff@phytec.de
+ 49 (0) 6131 / 9221-32

Benefit from our other offers for your individual electronics:

Topic software lifecycle management _ at the Embedded World 2020

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