If you manage more than 10 Infosat terminals (e.g., a trucking fleet or a chain of remote weather stations), manual firmware updates are a nightmare. Implement these best practices:
In LEO, single-event upsets (SEUs) can corrupt stored firmware. Infosat uses:
Before deploying Infosat firmware to a ship at sea or an aircraft in service, test it on a bench with a satellite loopback simulator. This costs $2,000 but prevents $200,000 in downtime.
If you manage an Infosat terminal (Explorer 550, MarineLink 40, or the new EdgeLTE hybrid), do me a favor. SSH into the box (or check the Web UI) and run:
show system firmware version
Updating Infosat firmware is not like updating a smartphone app. A corrupted update can brick the device. Follow these industry-tested steps:
If your device becomes unresponsive after an update, don’t panic. Try these recovery steps:
When to contact Infosat support: If the device no longer responds to ping, no LEDs illuminate, or the serial console outputs gibberish (baud rate mismatch or hardware failure). Keep your purchase invoice and firmware log handy.
Infosat offers a centralized management platform called Fusion Manager that can stage firmware updates across hundreds of remote terminals. It uses a "golden image" concept and can roll back failed updates automatically.