Can a device be re-partitioned over the air
I know that OTA updating for Linux can be a complicated topic and that there are ready-made solutions out there.
I'm talking in terms of using an embedded computer running Linux such as a Rasberry Pi or Beaglebone.
It first involves partitioning the flash memory of the device to suit the over-the-air update mechanism such has having fall-back partit
However, is it possible to even re-partition a device over-the-air later?
My use case is, I wish to deploy devices in the field now, knowing that later the partitioning of the device may completely change due to a new system being created and that I have no physical access to the device.
An idea is to perhaps deploy my image with a separate partition to store some partitioning scripts that may be loaded and executed there later.
Is this even at all possible, or am I missing something obvious that says , this can't work ?
debian partition upgrade beagleboneblack flash
asked Feb 21 at 16:57
Engineer999Engineer999
31319
add a comment |
I know that OTA updating for Linux can be a complicated topic and that there are ready-made solutions out there.
I'm talking in terms of using an embedded computer running Linux such as a Rasberry Pi or Beaglebone.
It first involves partitioning the flash memory of the device to suit the over-the-air update mechanism such has having fall-back partit
However, is it possible to even re-partition a device over-the-air later?
My use case is, I wish to deploy devices in the field now, knowing that later the partitioning of the device may completely change due to a new system being created and that I have no physical access to the device.
An idea is to perhaps deploy my image with a separate partition to store some partitioning scripts that may be loaded and executed there later.
Is this even at all possible, or am I missing something obvious that says , this can't work ?
debian partition upgrade beagleboneblack flash
asked Feb 21 at 16:57
Engineer999Engineer999
31319
Sure, it's possible. However, bricking is also possible.
– frostschutz
Feb 21 at 18:18
@frostchutz . What are the risks in doing this that can cause it to brick?
– Engineer999
Feb 22 at 2:49
@Engineer999 the risks would be the chance to overwrite a critical part of your system likesshdwhich would prevent you from ever remoting on again. If you set up your partitions in a manner that works the first time why would you need to change it while the system is running?
– kemotep
Feb 22 at 13:46
@kemotep The problem is, I am putting new embedded Linux devices in the field now. However, in 6 months we will have a new solution, which will use different partitioning schemes etc. For the new devices produced after the 6 months, it's not a problem, I will have the devices in my hand, but the others will be very difficult and expensive to get into my hand again. I'm therefore trying to see if there is something I can do in advance now to those devices to make way for the change after 6 months which could be updated remotely over-the-air, which includes the re-partitioning
– Engineer999
Feb 25 at 6:51
@Engineer999 It all depends on the exact issue at hand. What is the original partitioning scheme, how much disk space is unused or available at the time of repartitioning, and what will the new partitioning scheme be? It is certainly possible to resize a partition that is in use. The risk is that if there arises any issues you would have needed to set up the device to allow for out-of-band management to assist in a remote re-installation or you will need to get physical access again. This means doing things "right" the first time or accepting the associated risk/cost of changing things later.
– kemotep
Feb 25 at 13:42
add a comment |
I know that OTA updating for Linux can be a complicated topic and that there are ready-made solutions out there.
I'm talking in terms of using an embedded computer running Linux such as a Rasberry Pi or Beaglebone.
It first involves partitioning the flash memory of the device to suit the over-the-air update mechanism such has having fall-back partit
However, is it possible to even re-partition a device over-the-air later?
My use case is, I wish to deploy devices in the field now, knowing that later the partitioning of the device may completely change due to a new system being created and that I have no physical access to the device.
An idea is to perhaps deploy my image with a separate partition to store some partitioning scripts that may be loaded and executed there later.
Is this even at all possible, or am I missing something obvious that says , this can't work ?
debian partition upgrade beagleboneblack flash
asked Feb 21 at 16:57
Engineer999Engineer999
31319
I know that OTA updating for Linux can be a complicated topic and that there are ready-made solutions out there.
I'm talking in terms of using an embedded computer running Linux such as a Rasberry Pi or Beaglebone.
It first involves partitioning the flash memory of the device to suit the over-the-air update mechanism such has having fall-back partit
However, is it possible to even re-partition a device over-the-air later?
My use case is, I wish to deploy devices in the field now, knowing that later the partitioning of the device may completely change due to a new system being created and that I have no physical access to the device.
An idea is to perhaps deploy my image with a separate partition to store some partitioning scripts that may be loaded and executed there later.
Is this even at all possible, or am I missing something obvious that says , this can't work ?
debian partition upgrade beagleboneblack flash
debian partition upgrade beagleboneblack flash
asked Feb 21 at 16:57
Engineer999Engineer999
31319
asked Feb 21 at 16:57
Engineer999Engineer999
31319
asked Feb 21 at 16:57
Engineer999Engineer999
31319
asked Feb 21 at 16:57
Engineer999Engineer999
31319
asked Feb 21 at 16:57
Engineer999Engineer999
31319
31319
Sure, it's possible. However, bricking is also possible.
– frostschutz
Feb 21 at 18:18
@frostchutz . What are the risks in doing this that can cause it to brick?
– Engineer999
Feb 22 at 2:49
@Engineer999 the risks would be the chance to overwrite a critical part of your system likesshdwhich would prevent you from ever remoting on again. If you set up your partitions in a manner that works the first time why would you need to change it while the system is running?
– kemotep
Feb 22 at 13:46
@kemotep The problem is, I am putting new embedded Linux devices in the field now. However, in 6 months we will have a new solution, which will use different partitioning schemes etc. For the new devices produced after the 6 months, it's not a problem, I will have the devices in my hand, but the others will be very difficult and expensive to get into my hand again. I'm therefore trying to see if there is something I can do in advance now to those devices to make way for the change after 6 months which could be updated remotely over-the-air, which includes the re-partitioning
– Engineer999
Feb 25 at 6:51
@Engineer999 It all depends on the exact issue at hand. What is the original partitioning scheme, how much disk space is unused or available at the time of repartitioning, and what will the new partitioning scheme be? It is certainly possible to resize a partition that is in use. The risk is that if there arises any issues you would have needed to set up the device to allow for out-of-band management to assist in a remote re-installation or you will need to get physical access again. This means doing things "right" the first time or accepting the associated risk/cost of changing things later.
– kemotep
Feb 25 at 13:42
add a comment |
Sure, it's possible. However, bricking is also possible.
– frostschutz
Feb 21 at 18:18
@frostchutz . What are the risks in doing this that can cause it to brick?
– Engineer999
Feb 22 at 2:49
@Engineer999 the risks would be the chance to overwrite a critical part of your system likesshdwhich would prevent you from ever remoting on again. If you set up your partitions in a manner that works the first time why would you need to change it while the system is running?
– kemotep
Feb 22 at 13:46
@kemotep The problem is, I am putting new embedded Linux devices in the field now. However, in 6 months we will have a new solution, which will use different partitioning schemes etc. For the new devices produced after the 6 months, it's not a problem, I will have the devices in my hand, but the others will be very difficult and expensive to get into my hand again. I'm therefore trying to see if there is something I can do in advance now to those devices to make way for the change after 6 months which could be updated remotely over-the-air, which includes the re-partitioning
– Engineer999
Feb 25 at 6:51
@Engineer999 It all depends on the exact issue at hand. What is the original partitioning scheme, how much disk space is unused or available at the time of repartitioning, and what will the new partitioning scheme be? It is certainly possible to resize a partition that is in use. The risk is that if there arises any issues you would have needed to set up the device to allow for out-of-band management to assist in a remote re-installation or you will need to get physical access again. This means doing things "right" the first time or accepting the associated risk/cost of changing things later.
– kemotep
Feb 25 at 13:42
Sure, it's possible. However, bricking is also possible.
– frostschutz
Feb 21 at 18:18
Sure, it's possible. However, bricking is also possible.
– frostschutz
Feb 21 at 18:18
@frostchutz . What are the risks in doing this that can cause it to brick?
– Engineer999
Feb 22 at 2:49
@frostchutz . What are the risks in doing this that can cause it to brick?
– Engineer999
Feb 22 at 2:49
@Engineer999 the risks would be the chance to overwrite a critical part of your system like
sshd which would prevent you from ever remoting on again. If you set up your partitions in a manner that works the first time why would you need to change it while the system is running?– kemotep
Feb 22 at 13:46
@Engineer999 the risks would be the chance to overwrite a critical part of your system like
sshd which would prevent you from ever remoting on again. If you set up your partitions in a manner that works the first time why would you need to change it while the system is running?– kemotep
Feb 22 at 13:46
@kemotep The problem is, I am putting new embedded Linux devices in the field now. However, in 6 months we will have a new solution, which will use different partitioning schemes etc. For the new devices produced after the 6 months, it's not a problem, I will have the devices in my hand, but the others will be very difficult and expensive to get into my hand again. I'm therefore trying to see if there is something I can do in advance now to those devices to make way for the change after 6 months which could be updated remotely over-the-air, which includes the re-partitioning
– Engineer999
Feb 25 at 6:51
@kemotep The problem is, I am putting new embedded Linux devices in the field now. However, in 6 months we will have a new solution, which will use different partitioning schemes etc. For the new devices produced after the 6 months, it's not a problem, I will have the devices in my hand, but the others will be very difficult and expensive to get into my hand again. I'm therefore trying to see if there is something I can do in advance now to those devices to make way for the change after 6 months which could be updated remotely over-the-air, which includes the re-partitioning
– Engineer999
Feb 25 at 6:51
@Engineer999 It all depends on the exact issue at hand. What is the original partitioning scheme, how much disk space is unused or available at the time of repartitioning, and what will the new partitioning scheme be? It is certainly possible to resize a partition that is in use. The risk is that if there arises any issues you would have needed to set up the device to allow for out-of-band management to assist in a remote re-installation or you will need to get physical access again. This means doing things "right" the first time or accepting the associated risk/cost of changing things later.
– kemotep
Feb 25 at 13:42
@Engineer999 It all depends on the exact issue at hand. What is the original partitioning scheme, how much disk space is unused or available at the time of repartitioning, and what will the new partitioning scheme be? It is certainly possible to resize a partition that is in use. The risk is that if there arises any issues you would have needed to set up the device to allow for out-of-band management to assist in a remote re-installation or you will need to get physical access again. This means doing things "right" the first time or accepting the associated risk/cost of changing things later.
– kemotep
Feb 25 at 13:42
add a comment |
0
active
oldest
votes
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "106"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2funix.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f502127%2fcan-a-device-be-re-partitioned-over-the-air%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
0
active
oldest
votes
0
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Thanks for contributing an answer to Unix & Linux Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2funix.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f502127%2fcan-a-device-be-re-partitioned-over-the-air%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Sure, it's possible. However, bricking is also possible.
– frostschutz
Feb 21 at 18:18
@frostchutz . What are the risks in doing this that can cause it to brick?
– Engineer999
Feb 22 at 2:49
@Engineer999 the risks would be the chance to overwrite a critical part of your system like
sshdwhich would prevent you from ever remoting on again. If you set up your partitions in a manner that works the first time why would you need to change it while the system is running?– kemotep
Feb 22 at 13:46
@kemotep The problem is, I am putting new embedded Linux devices in the field now. However, in 6 months we will have a new solution, which will use different partitioning schemes etc. For the new devices produced after the 6 months, it's not a problem, I will have the devices in my hand, but the others will be very difficult and expensive to get into my hand again. I'm therefore trying to see if there is something I can do in advance now to those devices to make way for the change after 6 months which could be updated remotely over-the-air, which includes the re-partitioning
– Engineer999
Feb 25 at 6:51
@Engineer999 It all depends on the exact issue at hand. What is the original partitioning scheme, how much disk space is unused or available at the time of repartitioning, and what will the new partitioning scheme be? It is certainly possible to resize a partition that is in use. The risk is that if there arises any issues you would have needed to set up the device to allow for out-of-band management to assist in a remote re-installation or you will need to get physical access again. This means doing things "right" the first time or accepting the associated risk/cost of changing things later.
– kemotep
Feb 25 at 13:42