Update Factory is a domain independent platform for rolling out
software updates to constrained edge devices.

IoT Platform - Update Factory

Update Factory supports easy and flexible rollout management
for updating a large amount of devices based on different
groups/policies.

Remote Management

Motivations

Update Factory is a SaaS designed to deliver artifact content and software updates tailored for your device ecosystem at scale.

Update Factory is the product of our longstanding expertise in server-side applications, DevOps, and various embedded operating systems, carefully honed over the past decade. This is not just a solution, but a commitment to quality, created with a deep understanding of customers technical needs.

We’ve drawn on our comprehensive knowledge of the entire IoT architecture spectrum, encompassing everything from embedded devices to web applications and DevOps. This extensive knowledge base has enabled us to design a complete, cohesive, and scalable pipeline that provides a robust, scalable and reliable device management system, proficient in both development and production contexts.

With Update Factory, we strive to provide a competent SaaS to manage your IoT demands efficiently, effectively and with technical commitment.

Device Management

The intricacies of software updates and overall device management are inherently intertwined. In many instances, acquiring device-specific data is a prerequisite before deploying any form of software update. To meet this need, Update Factory has been designed to provision specific local attributes from devices to the update server, enabling targeted software updates across device groups.

Update Factory operates on a workflow-driven framework. Key processes involve uploading an artifact to the repository, assigning it to suitable devices, coordinating a roll-out campaign for a vast device network, and supervising and reporting the roll-out progress. Each step prioritizes essential aspects such as security and reliability.

Our SaaS stands as a beacon of high value, particularly in the realm of the Android operating system operated devices. Recognizing the wide-ranging needs of Android-based devices, we’ve developed a dedicated device client for Update Factory featuring a powerful API to interact with your full kiosk environment. This unique feature elevates the management of not only the operating system updates and applications, but also device-specific configurations (Device Control Updates).

Update Factory is designed to push software updates to embedded systems using application processors that run on Android or Linux. Kynetics offers an open source client for Android, as well as a full-fledged open source Java implementation of the hawkBit DDI API released under the Eclipse Foundation’s project Hara. Additionally, we supply a Yocto meta layer that encompasses SWUpdate, an open source C-based project that also implements the hawkBit DDI API.

Our platform caters to the demands of both small and medium-sized projects, offering a solution that embedded engineers will find familiar, flexible, and portable. Update Factory aims to simplify and streamline the process of delivering updates to various embedded systems, making it a go-to choice for effective device management.

Update Factory documentation here.

domain independent device update diagram

Remotely Update Devices at Scale

Update Factory remotely updates your Android or Linux OS:

Track updates and their versioning
Custom device attributes
Update a single device, or to a small or large groups of devices
Deploy updates immediately or upon a schedule
Deploy full OS Updates or applications
Deploy device settings configuration as Device Control Updates (DCU, Android)
Split updates into groups of devices and set thresholds (%) to either halt or continue, (minimize risk)
Monitor update progress and device statuses
Gradle plugin for Android Studio, for fast artifact upload

Embedded OS Updates must be Atomic

With a tightly built update procedure, devices can sustain abrupt power failures with a success-or-fail approach.

Single copy update system for embedded devices with low eMMC footprint
Recovery OS (single copy) to safely update kernel and userspace system, available for both Android and Linux
Double copy (A/B) on higher end devices with larger eMMC footprint
Signed Updates for enhanced security
Possibility to update critical devices locally by USB removable media