Release Notes PN 93000501 Digi Connect ME 82000856_C EOS November 12, 2003 INTRODUCTION This is a production release of firmware for the Digi Connect ME. The Digi Connect ME embedded device server web and network enables products easily without the complexities of extensive hardware and software integration. The Digi Connect ME provides powerful "plug-and-play", customizable and future-safe features, and performance in one of the smallest solutions available. SUPPORTED PRODUCTS Digi Connect ME ENHANCEMENTS The ability to force the ethernet speed to a specific value (rather than depending on auto-negotiation) has been added. Auto-IP has been added as an IP address selection method. See the section "IP ASSIGNMENT NOTES" below for more details. Pseudo-modem capability has been added as a configurable option for the serial port. There are now two choices to use for web-enabled configuration; the Java Configuration Applet (previously shipped with the unit) and a new embedded web user interface. The embedded web user interface allows the user to configure the unit without the need to download a Java Run-time Environment. The Java Configuration Applet is better suited for easy customization. If you simply intend to access and configure the unit from a web browser, you will want to use the embedded web user interface. If you want to create a custom UI, tailored to a specific look and feel, use the Java Configuration Applet. See the section "ENABLING THE EMBEDDED WEB USER INTERFACE" for instructions on how to enable the embedded web user interface as the default. If you choose to use the Java Configuration Applet you must upgrade the applet on your Digi Connect ME to ensure compatibility between revisions. See the section "UPGRADING THE CONFIGURATION APPLET" for instructions. Added a capability for embedded hosts to soft reset the Digi module as well as reset the Digi module configuration back to its factory default state via hardware signals. See the section "RESETTING THE UNIT" for details. Added the "RTS Toggle" feature to the serial port configuration (ability to control the "RTS" signal based on data transmission). The web server is now configurable via the command line interface, in that it can be enabled or disabled, as well as moved to a different TCP port number. Changing the port number or disabling the web server will, as a side effect, cause certain applications and applets to stop operating as they expect the HTTP service to be at port 80. The Digi RealPort service in the firmware has been extended to fully support all Digi supported operating systems, not just the Windows family of operating systems. BUG FIXES Two conditions were identified in which the unit would reboot itself during early initialization as a result of internal software conflicts. These conditions have been eliminated. The "Revert to Factory Defaults" feature exposed by the various user interfaces have been consolidated so that their effect is consistent. There were cases in which the serial core would incorrectly interpret signals as modem control signals even though the user has identified them as GPIO inputs or outputs. These conditions have been eliminated. KNOWN ISSUES If the command line interface is used to disable the web server, the encrypted web service (HTTPS) stops operating. They will be made independently selectable in a future release. When attempting to upgrade the firmware on a unit which has password authentication enabled, the initial release of the firmware would fail. This current release includes a workaround to this behavior by allowing the user to disable passwords during the time period of the firmware upgrade. If it becomes necessary to DOWNGRADE the firmware from version B (or greater) back to version A, it is necessary to clear the persistent storage BEFORE downgrading because the version A firmware has a defect in the way it handles unexpected data in the persistent storage. Failure to clear the persistent storage during a DOWNGRADE to A can result in an unusable unit. The recommended procedure, therefore, to preserve as many settings as possible during a downgrade is to backup the configuration, then clear the persistent storage, downgrade the firmware, then restore the configuration. In order to clear the persistent storage from the CLI one can execute the "boot action=factory" command. The only web accessible method for clearing the storage is available via the reset functionality in the administrative pages at "admin/factory_defaults.htm". When attempting to replace files in the file system, simply overwrite the existing version of the file rather than deleting the file first. Attempting to delete the file first defeats the internal file versioning maintained by the firmware, and can confuse your browser's cache. For the most consistent experience with the user interface, it is suggested that you clear your Internet cache. DOCUMENTATION ERRATA Password authentication can be enabled in this release, but authentication is OFF BY DEFAULT. A security screen has been added to the user interface to allow one to enable username and password authentication. When password checking is enabled, the user will be challenged when accessing the initial screen of the UI, and if the user uses a Digi Device Discovery tool. IP ASSIGNMENT NOTES The Digi Connect ME now supports three IP assignment methods: * Static IP address * DHCP * Auto-IP If a static address is enabled, it will be used. If a static address is not enabled, and DHCP is enabled, the unit will use an address supplied by a DHCP server regardless of the state of Auto-IP configuration. If a static address is not enabled, and Auto-IP is enabled, it will be used to generate an address ONLY if DHCP is disabled, or if DHCP is enabled and a DHCP server has not responded to the DHCP query. If both are enabled, Auto-IP has assigned an address, and then a DHCP server responds, the Auto-IP address will be discarded and the DHCP address will be used. RESETTING THE UNIT One feature introduced in the "C" revision of the Digi Connect ME firmware is an enhanced ability for an embedded host system to both soft reset the unit as well as reset the unit to its factory defaults. Both functions may be invoked via manipulation of pin 20 on the ME module's header: * If the module is running (i.e. more than a few seconds after power on), holding pin 20 low for a second and then raising it will soft reset the unit * If pin 20 is held low for more than 10 seconds from the power on or release from hard reset of the unit, and then raised, it will reset the unit to its factory default state In either case, the action takes effect when the pin is raised (reset released). ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The configuration save and restore tools will save every configurable parameter (including IP configuration) except for those related to password authentication. ENABLING THE EMBEDDED WEB USER INTERFACE The embedded web user interface is ALWAYS available at the following URL: http://ip-address-of-device/home.htm It is also available as the default configuration interface at the following URL IF an "index.htm" file is not already present in your unit's filesystem: http://ip-address-of-device If your unit contains the Java Configuration Applet and associated index.htm file in the file system, the Java Configuration Applet is the default web user interface for the product. If you would like to use the embedded web user interface instead simply remove the index.htm file as follows: 1. Access the administration web interface by entering the following URL in a browser's URL window: http://ip-address-of-device/admin/administration.htm 2. Select File Management under the Administration menu 3. Check the check box adjacent to the file, index.htm 4. Click the delete button The Java Configuration Applet may remain in the unit's file system without affecting the embedded web user interface. If you would like to use the Java Configuration Applet as an alternative, simply upload the index.htm file as a file with an alternate name (e.g. applet.htm). You would then be able to use the Java Configuration Applet by accessing the following URL: http://ip-address-of-device/applet.htm UPGRADING THE CONFIGURATION APPLET Prior to upgrading the configuration applet, you may need to remove the existing files. The main reason for this is that the earliest version of the applet used different filenames than newer versions. If you are simply uploading newer versions of files with the same name, it is not necessary to first delete the files. Removing the existing files: 1. Access the administration web interface by entering the following URL in in a browser's URL window: http://ip-address-of-device/admin/administration.htm 2. Select File Management under the Administration menu. 3. Check the check box adjacent to the files you wish to remove. 4. Click the delete button. You must load the jar and HTML files onto the device (this only has to be done once). When executed, the configuration applet will connect back to the device it was loaded from. Loading the updated configuration applet files: 1. Access the administration web interface by entering the following URL in in a browser's URL window: http://ip-address-of-device/admin/administration.htm 2. Select File Management under the Administration menu. 3. Click Browse. Locate and select the common.jar file then click Open. 4. Click Upload. 5. Click Browse. Locate and select the configapp.jar file then click Open. 6. Click Upload. 7. Click Browse. Locate and select the index.htm file then click Open. 8. Click Upload. 9. Click Browse. Locate and select the config.ini file then click Open. 10. Click Upload. 11. Click index.htm to run the configuration applet from the device (to access the applet directly use the URL http://ip-address-of-device/index.htm). HISTORY 82000856B "Reverse Telnet", i.e. making a telnet connection to a serial port, has been added, including RFC 2217 support. A command line interface has been added, accessible via telnet to the standard telnet port (23). The ability to autoconnect to a remote device via telnet has been added. The autoconnect feature has been extended to allow one to autoconnect based on an arbitrary pattern string. TCP socket connections now can be given a configurable idle timeout for connection closure. The "alarm" functionality has been extended to allow one to generate email when pattern strings are present in the data stream. LPD server support has been added. "Socket ID" support (the insertion of a static identifier string into the first transmitted data packet for a TCP socket session or into every datagram carrying data for a serial port over UDP) has been added. The serial over UDP functionality has been extended to allow 64 destinations per serial port. We have updated the Configuration Applet to support these features. You must upgrade the applet on your Digi Connect ME in order to configure these new features from the UI. See the section, UPGRADING THE CONFIGURATION APPLET, for instructions. CPU utilization reported by the web/applet interface is now more representative of the average utilization of the system. The serial over UDP functionality now correctly handles IP broadcast addresses as valid UDP destinations. The interface now automatically reboots after reverting to factory defaults, as it previously implied it would. 82000856A Initial Release.