FOTA:
firmware over-the-air

FOTA:
firmware over-the-air

Read on about the importance of FOTA for the IoT industry or download our whitepaper “FOTA as a challenge in IoT device management on the basis of the Lightweight M2M protocol” for a deep-dive into this topic.

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What is FOTA?

FOTA, or firmware over-the-air, is a technology that enables the operators of Internet-connected devices to perform upgrades of their firmware versions remotely and seamlessly, without the need of physical intervention into the device. The ability to refresh the operating system of connected assets is essential in keeping the devices secure, adding new functionalities and fixing bugs.

Download our whitepaper

Download our whitepaper for an in-depth explanation of why FOTA is so important for your IoT project and how the LwM2M protocol lets you take full advantage of this technology.

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What do you stand to gain with FOTA?

Before the Internet of Things platforms started offering firmware over-the-air upgrade services, any device reprogramming had to be done manually, which was both time-consuming and cost-ineffective, sometimes even cost-prohibitive or downright impossible. This way, with passing months (or even years), connected fleets were growing obsolete and more vulnerable to malicious actors.

Therefore, by embracing FOTA as a novel way of keeping their IoT devices’ firmware fresh and secure, IoT enterprise owners are not only arming themselves with a powerful firmware distribution tool to manage their devices remotely and effortlessly. Along with it, they gain the necessary stability and sustainability, features so craved for in the industry nowadays.

What to watch out for?

The harsh reality of smart deployments makes it really hard to keep up with the challenges that lie ahead, especially in terms of increasingly popular resource-constrained battery-powered sensors and actuators. The first thing to consider when picking a FOTA solution is its ability to adapt and scale to accommodate the specific needs of the project. Here, much depends on the protocol used throughout the deployment. Among the standards used in IoT, the lightweight machine-to-machine protocol seems to be the leading solution in the field of firmware over-the-air upgrades. By providing a well-defined model for performing over-the-air upgrades, the protocol allows you to:

As one of the early adopters of this comprehensive standard, AVSystem’s Coiote IoT Device Management platform benefits from all the features that it offers. It gives its users freedom and flexibility in planning upgrade campaigns by ensuring that only eligible devices are involved in the upgrade, effectively reducing network traffic and power drain. By dint of using the blockwise file transfer, the platform divides firmware image into parts and, in case of unexpected connection or power disruption, resumes the firmware over-the-air upgrade process as soon as the circumstances are more favourable. Also, the platform provides top-class file transfer security by leveraging the DTLS standard to avoid data transport layer vulnerabilities.

choose the right moment for triggering the FOTA process to reduce downtime

make use of the blockwise transfer to counteract file fragmentation

provide DTLS security for firmware over-the-air data transport,

single out devices that need upgrading and leave out the already upgraded ones,

fine-tune and customize the FOTA upgrade procedure to fit your devices’ requirements.

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FOTA:
firmware over-the-air