How To: Upgrade the FPGA of an MXnet V2 encoder/decoder with the "MXnet 1G V2 FPGA Batch Updater" Program

How To: Upgrade the FPGA of an MXnet V2 encoder/decoder with the "MXnet 1G V2 FPGA Batch Updater" Program

Overview

This guide demonstrates how to perform an extensive update to the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) of an MXnet 1G V2 encoder/decoder (referred to as endpoint going forward). The FPGA of a V2 endpoint is the "brain" that handles the vast majority of features that a V2 endpoint supports, such as encoding/decoding video, audio, and control signals, communication to the CBOX, and other features. A new version has been released, version 9.18.9, that offers a wide variety of optimizations and new features to the V2 product line, such as Ultra Low Latency, USB Sharing to allow multiple decoders routed to an encoder for USB, and more. NOTE: This is a required update for all endpoints on an MXnet 1G V2 system if AC-MXNET-1G-DANTE-EV2 or AC-MXNET-1G-DANTE-DV2 products are intended to be utilized.

Please Note: If one device is on an FPGA version of 9.18.x (x being 2-9), and other devices in the system are on FPGA version 9.13.1, please upgrade the units on 9.13.1 to the latest 9.18.9 FPGA version, or feature incompatibilities such as being unable to route video signals between different versions will occur.

The update will be performed using an AVPro manufactured program, called the "MXnet V2 FPGA Batch Updater". This program is designed to simplify the FPGA update process for all MXnet V2 endpoints, including AC-MXNET-1G-DANTE-EV2 and AC-MXNET-1G-DANTE-DV2 products, by scanning a network, identifying which type of V2 endpoints are connected in a system, and loads the proper FPGA firmware to each device simultaneously. This guide will give an extensive breakdown of the V2 FPGA Batch Updater app, and step-by-step instructions on how to use it. 

NOTE: There is currently no support or plans to support Macintosh or Linux operating systems.

How to Determine The FPGA Firmware Version of an Endpoint.

1. On the CBOX, navigate to the CONFIGURE page, and click on the Diagnostics button on the far right of the page (the one with a magnifying glass).


2. Scroll to the far right side of the page and locate a column labeled "FPGA Version". Within this column will contain the FPGA versions for all encoders, or all decoders, on an MXnet system. Hover over the version number to view the build date of said version as well. 

Pre-requisites

  1. Physical Connection: Connect an ethernet cable from the PC or laptop to an AV switch, where the MXnet system is installed. This app does work in AV environments with stacked switches.
  2. Network Setup: Assign an IP address for the PC’s Ethernet port connecting it to the AV network by selecting an IP address within the AV network’s subnet or utilize DHCP if set up for the AV network. This app works with APIPA, static, or DHCP networks.
  3. Other Firmware Updates: Connect to the CBOX’s Mentor page and upgrade the CBOX and endpoint MCU versions to latest. Check the Knowledge Base for the latest MCU versions or view this article here.
  4. Security: Before running the MXnet 1G V2 FPGA Batch Updater.exe, ensure that windows security system does not block node_list.exe or node_query.exe by running these programs first and allowing them.

How to use the FPGA Batch Updater

Startup Process


For the initial launch, the app will begin to scan active network connections on the client PC for a CBOX. Depending on the network environment, If the app fails to detect a CBOX during the initial scan, the CBOX IP address can be manually entered later.

Main GUI Overview


Once the startup process complete, the main interface will populate as shown in the image above. 

Step One - Ensure a proper IP address is assigned within the "CBOX IP Address" field. The app will attempt to scan a network for an active CBOX on the system automatically upon startup, or when the user presses the Scan for CBOX button.

If the app does not detect a CBOX but a CBOX is present on the network, the CBOX's IP address can be entered in manually by double clicking the current IP address within the dropdown, deleting it, and manually typing in a new IP address.
      Depending on the current physical connections of the PC being used, the IP address of the CBOX MENTOR port, or the IP address of the AV/NETWORK port can be used.

Step Two - Ensure that the correct Ethernet Interface and associated IP address is assigned within the Ethernet Interface fields. This is also scanned for automatically. The Ethernet Interface chosen must be the Ethernet interface directly connected from the PC to the network that the V2 endpoints are residing on. 
      If the app does not detect a CBOX during the initial setup, after the CBOX IP address is manually entered in step one, press the Scan For Adapters button to have the app re-scan the PC for the appropriate Ethernet interface. 
            Depending on security permissions set on the PC, the app may not detect the appropriate Ethernet interface. The Ethernet interface as well as IP address can be entered in manually by double clicking the Ethernet interface field, deleting the current text (if any), and entering in the name of the appropriate Ethernet interface. The same method can be applied for the interface IP address.

(Optional) - If only encoders, or only decoders, are planned to receive the update, the options "Skip Encoder" or "Skip Decoder" can be selected within the Updater Settings section. A version check can be done in this section as well instead of accessing the CBOX, but please note that this version checker takes some time to complete, especially in environments with a large amount of endpoints. 

Step Three - After steps one and two are completed and the CBOX IP address as well as the Ethernet interface IP address have been verified to be correct, the "Update" button near the bottom right of the app can be pressed. As witnessed in the Updater log, the app will begin to scan the MXnet network environment, determine online/offline statuses, sort devices based on their model names, and apply the appropriate FPGA firmware for each device. The update is applied to all discovered devices simultaneously. 
After the FPGA update is uploaded to all discovered endpoints, the Encoder Update Status and Decoder Update Status windows begin populating with the current update status of each endpoint type, as shown below:


Once the update completes, the program will reboot all MXnet endpoints that were discovered, waits for 30 seconds for devices to reconnect, then runs a version check on the updated devices. The message "MXNet FPGA firmware upload process complete" will populate once the entirety of the update has finished, the app can now be closed and the PC can be disconnected from the AVoIP network.  


It is recommended to access the CBOX MENTOR interface to confirm all endpoints came back online appropriately, and on the proper FPGA version. 


Reversing the Update on V2 Endpoints

While it is recommended to have the latest and greatest firmware running on a product, there are some application scenarios that warrant a reversal of the FPGA update, such as a new unit on 9.18.9 being installed in an older, known-working system running 9.13.1, a system that does not intend to utilize new features/improvements on 9.18.9. Please Note: AC-MXNET-1G-DANTE-EV2, AC-MXNET-1G-DANTE-DV2 products cannot have the 9.18.9 update reversed, or Dante features will be lost. The Batch Updater application is also capable of reversing the update by doing the following:

Step One: Open the “MXnet 1G V2 FPGA Batch Updater” application.

Step Two: Click on the MXnet logo on the top left of the app 10 times to open a service menu for the app, as shown below:


Step Three:

      For the Base Encoder File field, click on the dropdown menu and choose the file V2-TX-9.13.1.5123-230411-web(4D8D).bin

      For the Base Decoder File field, click on the dropdown menu to the right and choose the file V2-RX(16M)-9.13.1.5123-240816-web(AEFB).bin

      The other files cannot be de-selected.

Step Four: Once the 9.13.1 files are selected, click Save at the bottom of the window, then click Close.

Step Five: Proceed with the update process as explained in the previous section.