How to Create a Multi-Component OTA Job

Following are the steps to create an OTAOver-the-Air job for a group of multi-component devices using Ayla's IoT Command Center (also referred to as ICC or the Command Center):

  1. Click Command Center in the Navigation Panel:

  1. Make sure that you uploaded your multi-component image.
  1. Click the Host OTA Images tab. Search for your image in the table listing on this tab. (Refer to the example below.) If your image is not in the list proceed to Step b to upload the image.

  1. Click the CREATE NEW IMAGE button, as shown in the example above.
  1. In the Create Host OTA Image dialog box (shown below), complete the fields as follows:

  • For OEM Model, select the OEM model of the devices for this ICC job. This list contains the model IDs of the OEM’s host application board, which are extracted from each Ayla template associated with your OEM admin role. Your selection specifies the OEM model for the target devices that will be updated per this ICCIoT Command Center job.
  • For Single/Multi Image Device, select whether this is for a single- or multi-image device. If you select Multi Image Device, the Component Property Name to Validate for Target Version field displays, as shown below and described next.

  • For Component Property Name to Validate for the Target Version, select the name of the property to target on the devices when downloading this image for the ICCIoT Command Center job.
  • For OTA Target Version, enter the name/firmware version of the image that you are uploading.
  • For Image File, click the UPLOAD IMAGE button to navigate to and upload the image.

NOTE

The remaining fields are optional. Click here for a description of these fields (provided under Create a New Image).
  • Click the CREATE button to add this host OTA image to the list of images that can be used in ICC jobs. The following message displays:

  1. Click the Jobs tab to create a Host OTA Job. (Refer to the following example.)

  1. Click the CREATE DEVICE JOB button, as shown in the example above. This displays a menu page to select a job type, as shown below:

  1. Click Host OTA to open the Create Host OTA page (example shown below):

  1. Enter your Job details as follows:
  1. For OEM Model, select the OEM model of the devices for this ICC job. This list contains the model IDs of the OEM’s host application board, which are extracted from each Ayla template associated with your OEM admin role. Your selection specifies the OEM model of the target devices that will receive the firmware image uploaded for this ICC job.
  2. For Job Name, enter a name for this ICC job.
  3. For Recurrence Type, select one of the following options to specify how often this ICC job must be downloaded to the devices:
  • Continuous - When this ICC job is active, the Ayla platform automatically continues to evaluate which devices in the field have the same configurations as those specified for this ICC job, and if new devices that match the job configurations are added, the platform will identify those devices as candidates and push this OTA upgrade at runtime to those new devices when they are online.
  • One Time - Once this ICC job is activated, the Ayla platform evaluates which devices match the configurations for this ICC job, and then pushes the OTA upgrade to those devices. This evaluation only happens one time upon activating the ICC job.
  1. For Number of Retries, select the number of times to attempt to download this ICC job if the first attempt is not successful.
  2. For Delivery Type, select one of the following options to specify how this ICC Job should be executed:
  • System Push - When new devices that match the configurations in this ICC job are added and online, the Ayla platform will push this Host OTA upgrade job at the runtime of those new devices. The number of times this system push occurs depends on whether you configured the recurrence for Continuous or One Time.
  • User Consent - The end-user must approve the delivery of this ICC job when it is activated, or the job is not pushed to the devices. You may also leverage the Cloud APIs or Mobile SDKsSoftware Development Kits to obtain this user consent; click here to use either.
  1. Click the CONTINUE button (shown below).
  2. On the next page, select the OTA image file of the host firmware that will be used to upgrade the target devices for this ICC job. This list contains the host firmware images that you uploaded. The images for multi-component device upgrades include the device property name in parenthesis. (Refer to the example below.)

Notice also that this page is on the OTA Attributes tab, as shown in the example below.

Upon selecting the image file, the remaining fields display on the OTA Attributes tab.

  1. For Current Host Software Version in the UPGRADE FROM section (shown in the example above), do either of the following:
  • Enter the current software version of the host firmware that should be on the target devices to be upgraded.
  • Select All versions to upgrade target devices with any software version to the new image host software version.
  1. Click the CONTINUE button to move to the Set Filter tab (example shown below).

  1. In Select Filter Option, select one of the following filters and enter the details required to specify the criteria for the list of devices to target for your upgrade: (Click each of the following filter options to expand its configuration steps.)
ClosedCreate using device list

Use this filter option if you want to specify a static list of devices to target.

  1. For Filter Name, type a name for your set of targeted devices.
  1. For Enter DSNs, enter the Device Serial Numbers (DSNs) for devices you wish to target in this job. Use commas to separate the list of DSNs.

ClosedCreate using query

Use this filter option if you want to specify criteria that will dynamically create a list of devices to target. You can specify criteria across the device lifecycle status, versions, property values, and metadata.

  1. For Filter Name, type a name for your set of targeted devices.
  1. For Filter Category, select one of the options described below and enter the information requested in the fields for that filter category. Filter categories specify the criteria to use when the list of devices to target is dynamically created.
  • Lifecycle/Status - These are device lifecycle events and connectivity status criteria. Enter the following information for this filter category (also refer to the example below):

  1. For Connection Status, select the connection status of the device when it is queried; the choices are as follows:
  • Initializing - this is for devices that are attempting to establish a reliable connection with the Ayla Cloud. These devices may be able to receive commands, but may take longer to accomplish this.
  • Offline - this is for devices that have not communicated with the Ayla Cloud recently.
  • Online - this is for devices that are currently connected to the Ayla Cloud.
  1. For Time Since Activation, enter the amount of time that should pass after activating the target devices before running this ICC job. The time can be in days, months, etc. (e.g. 2D or 3M). This is useful if you want to avoid running jobs for end users that have just activated their devices to ensure a good initial user experience.
  2. For Connected At After, select a date to indicate the last time the target devices connected to the Ayla Cloud. This ICC job will only apply to devices that connected after this date.
  3. For Connected At Before, select a date to indicate the last time the target devices connected to the Ayla Cloud. This ICC job will only apply to devices that connected before this date.
  4. For Activated At After, select the date to indicate the first time the target devices were activated. This ICC job will only apply to devices that were activated after this date.
  5. For Activated At Before, select the date to indicate the first time the target devices were activated. This ICC job will only apply to devices that were activated before this date.
  • Device Versions - This is used for hardware and software versions associated with the target devices, including OEM model, templates, and firmware. Enter the following information for this filter category (also refer to example below):

  1. For Ayla Module Model, select the specific model of a connectivity module that leverages the Ayla Production Agent. This is therefore only applicable for devices that use the Ayla Production Agent.
  2. For Ayla Module Version, select a specific firmware version for the Ayla Production Agent. This is therefore only applicable for devices that use the Ayla Production Agent.
  3. For Host Software Version, notice that displayed is the current software version of the host firmware from which you are upgrading. This is the Host Software Version that you selected on the OTA Attributes tab (step j above). You cannot edit this field.
  4. For Template ID, enter the ID of the Ayla template that is associated with the devices you wish to target for this ICC job.
  • Property Value - This is used to filter target devices based on specific conditions for the device properties. Enter the following information for this filter category (also refer to the example below):

Notice that you can click the Plus Sign icon () to apply multiple properties to this filter. (The limit is ten.) You can also click the Trash Can icon () to delete a property entry.

  1. For Property, select the device property for the target devices.
  2. For Operator, select the appropriate operator for the property and its value.
  3. For Value, enter the value for the property.
  • Device Metadata - This is used to filter target devices based on specific device metadata. You may choose this filter to associate and categorize the job for your own internal needs, for example, adding a campaign ID or approval ID to the job for your internal tracking system. Enter the following information for this filter category (also refer to the example below):

Notice that you can click the Plus Sign icon () to apply additional metadata to this filter. (The limit is ten.) You can also click the Trash Can icon () to delete metadata entries.

  1. For Key, enter the key for this device metadata.
  2. For Value, enter the value for this device metadata.
  1. For Additional DSNs to Include, enter a comma-separated list of device serial numbers (DSNs) for additional devices that do not meet the filter criteria that you configured, but you want those device included in this ICC job .
  2. For Specific DSNs to Exclude, enter a comma-separated list of device serial numbers (DSNs) that meet the filter criteria for this ICC job, but you do not want included in the list of target devices.

ClosedSelect existing filter

Use this filter option if you have already created a filter that you want to use. Notice that you are on the Set Filter tab. (Following is an example of this page.)

  1. After selecting the Select existing filter option, click the SELECT FILTER button to open the Select Filter dialog box (example shown below).

Notice that this dialog box provides the following information:

  • Name - the filter you selected
  • Created Date (UTC) - the date that the filter was created in the dashboard.
  • Updated Date - the date that the filter was last edited.
  • Attributes - the firmware version, OEM version, and/or Template ID specified when the filter was created.
  1. Click the button for the filter () that you want to use for this ICC job.

This opens the Set Filter tab again, which displays the filter you selected, as shown in the following example:

To change the filter you selected, click the Change Filter button, which takes you back to step 1 above so that you can select a different filter.

If you do not wish to select a filter, select None in the drop-down list. After selecting None or completing a filter option, click the Estimated Devices Included button to find out approximately how many devices will be included in this upgrade. Refer to the following example:

  1. Click CONTINUE button to open the Set A Schedule tab. Notice at the top of the Create Host OTA page, two different messages display consecutively when this Host OTA ICC job is created and saved properly. Following are examples of the messages:

  1. In the Schedule Type field, select Recurring Schedule if you wish to set a schedule for this ICC job (example shown below):

The two schedule types are:

  • None - the job runs upon activation without an associated schedule. In this case, you have to manually manage starting and stopping the job.
  • Recurring Schedule - The job runs during the active dates, day, and execution time ranges specified in the schedule. When outside of the scheduled times, the job is paused. Following is an example of the settings required for a schedule:

  1. In Schedule Timezone, select the timezone for the scheduled parameters of this ICC job.
  2. In Job Start Date, select the date to specify when the job will start.
  3. In Job End Date, select the date to specify when to stop the job.
  4. In Job Active Days, click the checkboxes for the days that this job should be activated.
  5. In For Job Active Time, click either All Day (24 hrs) or Set Time Range to specify the duration that this job will run on the specified dates. If you click Set Time Range, complete the following fields:
  • In From, select the time to start the job each day you specified in steps m - o above.
  • In To, select the time to stop the job each day you specified in steps m - o above.
  1. Click the SAVE button. The following message displays at the top of the page when the schedule has been successfully saved for this ICC job.

Your new multi-component OTA job is added to the Jobs tab of Ayla's IoT Command Center. If you wish to override the schedule to start the job sooner, click the start button shown in the following example:

 

 

 

 

See also: ICC: Jobs tab, ICC: Device Filters tab, ICC: Files tab, ICC: Host OTA Images tab, How to Create a Multi-Component OTA Job, How to Create a Continuous OTA Job, Dashboard Roles for Host OTA Jobs

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