RESOURCES

Red Bend Blog Archive

   June 2007
   July 2007
   August 2007
   September 2007
   October 2007
   November 2007
   December 2007
   January 2008
   April 2008
   May 2008
   June 2008
   September 2008
   December 2008
   January 2009
   March 2009
   April 2009
   June 2009
   August 2009
   September 2009
   November 2009

Subscribe to Posts [Atom]

Background Updating Comes to the Foreground

By Ilana Bogomolny
Senior Product Manager
Red Bend Software

Whether we’re using a PC or a Mac, we all receive those popup windows alerting us that a software update is available. We don’t think twice about those popups because they’re common practice today in the world of computers. We know we must execute those updates in order to keep our machines healthy. The updating process is exceptionally simple. We activate the update and continue using our email or other applications, letting the update perform in the background. But we know that the more applications we are running, the slower the software updates will take to install. Periodically, we may check the progress bar and see how much time there is left to the update. Once the update is completed, we may be asked to reboot our system. All very simple!

There is a similar process for updating the firmware on your mobile phone—but with a BIG difference. The update does not happen in the background—in fact, the phone is unusable until the update completes. For those of us specializing in FOTA, we understand that the time to complete the update process is dependent on several factors, including how many changes are taking place to the firmware. In some cases, it may take 15 minutes or more. With mobile phones serving as the lifeline for so many users around the world, any amount of downtime can be unacceptable, especially during emergencies.

Red Bend has changed the FOTA paradigm with a new innovation called Background Updating. With Background Updating, the phone is only down for as long as it takes to reboot. The actual update happens in the background while the phone is fully operational. Since the updating process requires memory and processor resources, and these are not as abundant on the phones as they probably are on your PC, running resource-hungry applications, such as watching video or playing some games, would not be advisable during an update, as they might work somewhat sluggishly. But there is nothing to stop you from making and receiving calls, browsing the Web and generally using the phone as you normally would.

There are several ways how the mobile user can interact with the Background Updating process.

To initiate a FOTA update, the user either searches through the phone’s menu to check for updates or is notified by the service provider that an update is available. The update then starts immediately. Because the flash memory is being updated in the background, the user is able to continue using the phone—texting, Web browsing, making and receiving phone calls, etc.—because the old firmware version is still online. Just like the computer scenario in which the updating process can be slowed down due the amount of active applications, we want to limit our application use during the FOTA update in order to expedite the updating time. Also, some service providers may offer a progress bar or animated image to indicate how long the update will take.
After the update is complete, the user then receives a message on the screen to have the option to manually reboot the device at that moment or later at a more convenient time.
Once rebooted, the user has the latest version of firmware on the mobile phone, and the device is operating at peak performance.

With Background Updating, update time becomes irrelevant because 1) the user is still able to fully use the device and 2) the user decides when to reboot. Rebooting does not have to be executed immediately after the FOTA update. For instance, it could occur when the user shuts off the phone for its daily recharging.

Because of the simplicity and ease of Background Updating—and how it mirrors software updates on computers—it is quickly coming into the foreground of operator requirements for FOTA. And with good reason. Many have service level agreements covering availability of the phone and the network. Others have legal considerations for access to emergency services, such as E911 in the United States. In addition, operators are responding to the customer needs of establishing a familiar software updating process, regardless of the type of device: PC, Mac, feature phone or smartphone.

To see Background Updating in action, watch this video.

Labels: firmware, FOTA, mobile software management

posted by Red Bend @ Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 4:23 PM 0 Comments