A caution on firmware update

[ron minnich]

We've done several tens of thousands of FLASH updates here at LANL
over the last 5 years. I also am in touch with other labs with the
same level of experience.

The experiences of us all are basically the same.

The most reliable way to update FLASH on a massive scale is via the
OS, viz. Linux. I have routinely updated 1024 nodes at a time in 30
seconds with no need for console intervention.

The most unreliable way to update FLASH is via BIOS mechanisms. If USB
is involved, multiply the problems by a large number. Console
interaction causes further issues.

Every single company that comes in here with a BIOS-based FLASH update
mechanism -- save one -- is eventually convinced to give us an
OS-based FLASH update mechanism, due to problems with the BIOS-based
mechanisms. One Very Large Vendor, who had been strongly pushing their
BIOS-based update mechanism, recently told us they had created an
OS-based FLASH update mechanism.

The one company that did not change, has caused us enormous trouble,
as we had to scour store shelves for USB sticks that would work with
the BIOS. This is not uncommon with USB. I just had a brand-new system
in here last month, and had to go through 3 keyboards before I found
one that would work with the BIOS -- new bios, new keyboards.

The single two most common phrases we hear from a vendor -- "We have
not seen this" and "Nobody else is reporting this problem" -- are the
two phrases I've been hearing w.r.t. my inability to update my FLASH
:-) While this is a sign of progress -- it means OLPC is a real
product -- it should also be taken as a warning -- things are going to
happen that you can't anticipate, understand, or reproduce.
Flexibility is paramount. You're going to be working on a scale few
have seen.

If you are trying to set up some sort of protection from BIOS to
enable/disable flash upgrades, a useful thing to do is to require that
some BIOS command be run that allows FLASH writes, e.g.:
ok enable-flash-write
Warning: FLASH can now be written from the OS or applications
ok boot

I would not even have bothered to mention this, but I've still got an
OLPC that can't use any of my USB sticks. It's not so much my problem
that concerns me -- I can work around my problem -- it's the fact that
my little problem might become OLPC's big problem on a very large
scale. I still think it would be useful to rethink the FLASH update
mechanism.

thanks

ron