Firmware update through FTP

This article explains how to update the firmware of your Everest drive through FTP.

This process applies only to Everest drives.

Firmware updates and configuration in the drive

Updating the firmware of your drive does not delete the configuration stored on the drive, so you can resume testing without repeating any previous configuration steps.

This section applies when updating firmware on a drive that currently has CANopen firmware installed. In this case, you can either update to a newer/older CANopen firmware version or to an EtherCAT firmware version.

Allow FTP connection in the Firewall

Before starting, please ensure that your Firewall allows FTP connection. Otherwise, the process could fail and leave the drive in an unresponsive state. This state can be recovered from, but it is best to avoid it altogether.

Option 1: Add an exception to the firewall

1. Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Firewall & network protection

2. Click on "Advanced settings"

3. Select Inbound Rules > New Rule.… Check the Port option and click 'Next'

4. Select 'Specific local ports' and input the port 21

5. Select 'Allow the connection' and click 'Next'

6. Depending on the network you are connected to, select the connection types to which the rule applies. If unsure, select all three: Domain, Private, and Public.

7. Finally provide a name for the rule you created, for example, “FTP.” This name will appear under Incoming Rules in your Windows 10 firewall Advanced Settings.

Option 2: Disable the Firewall

Not recommended

If you do not know how to disable the Firewall of your computer, you can do it by following these steps:

• First, access the Windows Defender Firewall

• Then, click on the option on the left “Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off”

• Finally, for the “Public network settings”, select the option “Turn off Windows Defender Firewall” and then confirm by clicking OK

With this, the public firewall of the computer will be deactivated. If you need the firewall active, complete the firmware update first, then re-enable the firewall. If you have additional firewalls, disable those as well before starting the update procedure.

Loading firmware with the drive connected

The first step is to connect to your Everest in MotionLab3. For connection instructions, please refer to the General overview page.

1. Navigate to "Tools" → "Load Firmware" → "FTP Bootloader”:

2. Once the Bootloader window opens, select the firmware file to be loaded. Firmware files are available in the Downloads section of each product.

3. Search the file, select it and click on the “Load Firmware” button.

4. TwinCAT or any other active external masters should be disconnected:

5. Once the process finishes, a success message confirms that the drive's firmware has been successfully updated:

In case of: 'Could not connect to the FTP'

If the drive previously had an EtherCAT firmware installed, ML3 will set the Drive in Boot Mode but will not to load the new firmware. The error message displayed is: 'Could not connect to the FTP'.

1. Close the TwinCAT project.

2. Restart TwinCAT System in bottom Windows menu, right-click in the TwinCAT icon → 'System' → 'Start/Restart'.
   

   

3. Finally browse the '.sfu' file to load and click again to 'Load File'  button.

Loading firmware with the drive initially disconnected

1. Navigate to "Tools" → "Load Firmware" → "FTP Bootloader”.

2. Select the appropriate slave IP address:

3. Click on "Browse" to choose the firmware file to be loaded. Firmware files are available in the Downloads section of each product.

4. Click on "Load Firmware" to update the firmware.

5.TwinCAT or any other active external masters should be disconnected.

6. Once the process finishes, a success message confirms that the drive's firmware has been successfully updated:

When updating to EtherCAT → “Timeout occurred during reboot“

When updating to EtherCAT, it is possible that the FTP Bootloader tool might give a "Timeout occurred during reboot" message after the firmware has been updated correctly.

This is expected, MotionLab3 attempts to ping the drive directly, which is impossible with EtherCAT firmware.

In the same way, you cannot connect to the drive directly through MotionLab3; you will need to use an EtherCAT master. Make sure to verify that the firmware was installed successfully. You can now connect through your EtherCAT master.

How do I recover my Everest drive from a failed firmware update?

If you firmware update procedure has failed and you are no longer able to scan the drive in MotionLab3, then it is most likely that the public firewall in your computer was not disabled and this caused the update process to crash. In this case, proceed to disable the public firewall and repeat the FTP bootloader directly (without trying to connect to the drive) and you should get to recover the drive with the firmware version that you wanted to update in the first and without any configuration parameter being lost.