Netduino Plus 2 Firmware v4.3.2 (update 1)

Version: 4.3.2 Update 1 (version 4.3.2.1)

Download link
Download Netduino v4.3.2.1 firmware now

Updates in this release
1. MAC Address now automatically repopulated after upgrade (from OTP flash)
2. Streamlined "Netduino Application" universal template now supported
3. Bugfix: COM2 flow control now enabled
4. Bugfix: System.Net HTTP classes now check for null during Dispose

Pre-requisites for this firmware
1. Visual Studio 2012 or Visual Studio 2013. Or Visual Studio 2015 (beta).
2. .NET Micro Framework SDK v4.3 QFE2 or newer
3. NETMF plug-in for Visual Studio 2012, NETMF plug-in for Visual Studio 2013 or NETMF plug-in for Visual Studio 2015 (beta).
4. Netduino SDK v4.3.2.1 or newer

How to flash this firmware
1. Detach your Netduino from your computer to turn it off.
2. Press and hold your Netduino's pushbutton while plugging it in via USB; this will put it in bootloader mode.
3. Run the Netduino Update tool (see link above).
a. If your device does not appear, install the STDFU drivers + tools v3.0.3.
b. If your device appears as "STM Device in DFU Mode", click on "Options", select your board type from the Product selection box and close the Options window.
4. Select the checkbox next to your device and press "Upgrade"
5. Wait while the upgrade operation completes. After flashing, your Netduino will reboot and will be removed from the upgrade list.
6. Optional: after flashing, set your network settings using MFDeploy. In MFDeploy, select the Target > Configuration > Networking menu. Re-enter your IP address settings and MAC address.

How to find your current version of Netduino firmware
1. Go to the Start Menu > Programs > Microsoft .NET Micro Framework 4.3
2. Run MFDeploy.
3. Plug your Netduino into your PC using a Micro USB cable.
4. In the Device section at top, select USB instead of Serial. Your Netduino should appear in the drop-down; if not, select it.
5. Select the Target menu > Device Capabilities option.
6. In the output box, find the "SolutionReleaseInfo.solutionVersion" value. This is your firmware version.

Enjoy, and please let us know if you run into any troubles.

Chris

Download link
Download Netduino v4.3.2.1 firmware now

Hi Chriss,

 

i see the new version so i am going to test it.

 

1) 

I have only one general feedback, what should be helpfull for more users.

Integrate all installers and fw update tool into one installer - i hope that will be very helpfull.

2) What is still missing me is the new FW for older Netduino 1 and Netduino Plus 1

What is you mine about this idea ?

Hi alesbedac,

1) 
I have only one general feedback, what should be helpfull for more users.
Integrate all installers and fw update tool into one installer - i hope that will be very helpfull.

Thank you for the feedback. We will look at including Netduino Update (with an auto-updater) in future versions of the Netduino SDK.

2) What is still missing me is the new FW for older Netduino 1 and Netduino Plus 1

Unfortunately, NETMF 4.3 is a bit larger than earlier firmware and is hard to fit on Netduino Plus 1's smaller flash. Once we ship the Ethernet version of Netduino.IP, if there is enough interest in supporting the older gen1 hardware, we could open up a community project to port the Netduino.IP stack to gen1. With that newer more modular network stack, we could then fit NETMF 4.3 on the older NP1 hardware.

Chris

Hi Chris, I would be interested in having .NETMF 4.3 run on NP1. What would need to happen for 4.3 firmware to fit on NP1?

 

EDIT: To be more specific, where can I start learning about the Netduino.IP stack? What are the steps involved in porting it to gen1?

Hi Dan,

Hi Chris, I would be interested in having .NETMF 4.3 run on NP1. What would need to happen for 4.3 firmware to fit on NP1?
 
EDIT: To be more specific, where can I start learning about the Netduino.IP stack? What are the steps involved in porting it to gen1?

We currently have two branches of Netduino.IP: the main full-stack branch which is pre-release, and the production hybrid stack branch for CC3100 which is used on Netduino 3 Wi-Fi.

If we can get some community members together to create a Netduino.IP LinkLayer for Netduino Plus 1, we can upgrade its firmware to NETMF 4.3.1. This would constitute writing part of the link layer in native code and then creating a managed<->native interop layer which implemented Netduino.IP.ILinkLayer.

We have created two reference LinkLayer drivers for Netduino.IP, one for ENC28J60 and one for the new Asix chip used on future Netduino gear. We made the interface really simple: you basically just read and write data frames, configure MAC addresses, capture link state changed events, etc.

Here is the source for the two reference link layer drivers (which, since the MAC is external via SPI, are written in 100% managed code):
https://github.com/n...ino/Netduino.IP

Are you handy with an ARM compiled, native code and interop? If so, we would love your help and leadership putting a driver together for Netduino Plus 1--and then we would be happy to build an official 4.3 release of the firmware for all Netduino gen1 hardware.

Chris

Hi Chris,

 

Is Netduino SDK v4.3.2.1 compatible with Netduino Plus 2?  

 

For some reason after installing SDK v4.3.2.1 (Windows 7) the Device Manager did not recognize the device, indicating that the driver was not installed properly.

 

I tried flashing the firmware and re-installing it but without much success.

 

By reverting Windows back to a previous Restore Point the issue was fixed.

 

According to the pre-requisites for Firmware 4.3.1, you indicated that "Netduino 4.3.1 SDK or newer" is needed, so I am not sure if why it did not work.

 

Snipe

Hi Snipe,

Is Netduino SDK v4.3.2.1 compatible with Netduino Plus 2?  
 
For some reason after installing SDK v4.3.2.1 (Windows 7) the Device Manager did not recognize the device, indicating that the driver was not installed properly.

It sounds like the NETMF Windows Drivers got uninstalled somehow. Can you do a quick repair on the 4.3.2.1 SDK and see if that fixes the issue for you?

Chris

Hi Snipe,
It sounds like the NETMF Windows Drivers got uninstalled somehow. Can you do a quick repair on the 4.3.2.1 SDK and see if that fixes the issue for you?

Chris

Thanks Chris,

 

I had to re-install SDK v4.3.2.1, as it was removed after reverting back to a previous restore point.  As happened earlier, the device was initially not recognized, but was installed properly only after re-installing it (selecting Repair as you suggested).  

 

All is back in order now.

 

Thanks for your help.

Snipe

Hi Chris,

 

are there any plans to release a 4.3.2.1 based firmware for NP2 with the new IP-Stack and the experimental multicast support, and if so, when?

 

Michael

Hi Michael,

are there any plans to release a 4.3.2.1 based firmware for NP2 with the new IP-Stack and the experimental multicast support, and if so, when?

We'll release the next Netduino.IP progressive build (built on top of the NP2 4.3.2.1 firmware) later this month. If we can sneak multicast support in there, it will be a few builds down the road.

So far the community's experience with the hybrid Netduino.IP stack on Netduino 3 Wi-Fi has been extremely positive. So we are pretty excited about Netduino.IP on Netduino Plus 2 as well. [And if a few community members want to help pitch in on a link layer driver for NP1, we can even bring part/all of the new stack to Netduino Plus 1.]

Chris

Thanks Chris for your fast answer. I'm really looking forward to a firmware version with multicast support as this is something I've been waiting for quite a while.

 

Michael

Chris,

 

Thanks for the helpful outline of the steps involved. It's a bit over my head at this point in time, but it's a worthy goal and I wouldn't mind the learning experience. I will definitely read through the current drivers for inspiration.

 

I've forked the GitHub repo you linked to and will add a directory to house the gen1 ARM link layer code. Anyone who would like to contribute, please send your pull requests!

 

Thanks

Dan

Hy Chris,

I found a bug regarding the NetworkInterface.EnableStaticDns method.

I am not able to set more than two DNS servers.

I tried to set three of them, but unfortunately I only got an ArgumentException.

 

Greetings from Austria,

Greg

Hey Greg!

I found a bug regarding the NetworkInterface.EnableStaticDns method.
I am not able to set more than two DNS servers.
I tried to set three of them, but unfortunately I only got an ArgumentException.

NETMF limits DNS servers to a maximum of 2 DNS servers at this time.

Chris

Hey Chris,

thanks for your quick reply.

 

I found another strange behaviour:

I am using the Method TimeService.SetTimeZoneOffset(int) to set the correct local time.

If I use DateTime.UtcNow() the kind of the instance is 'Local' instead of 'Utc', so I get the wrong time when I call DateTime.UtcNow().ToLocalTime().

 

I think this is a bug in NETMF -> I submitted an issue for this on NETMF-Project on Github.

 

Greets, Greg

Thanks for submitting this bug report, Greg.