Trace Systems, Inc

"REALLY?? How?"  By having the ability to safely, simply, and securely deliver your upgrade code in a way that is palatable to the customer, using a SYSTEM that automatically delivers your firmware upgrade by email, makes it dead simple for your non-technical end user to perform the upgrade at his own location, protects your firmware from theft or from being programmed into the wrong hardware model, and can lock the delivered firmware to the Serial Number in one specific customer's device.  We call that system:

SUMS is a low cost ($369.95) seamlessly integrated system that can help you easily manage upgrades across your entire product line, even for products that use different processors and have different types of connectivity (USB and Ethernet currently supported).

• No programming needed - ready to use
• No need to recompile your own Main App code to work with our bootloader - use it as is!
• Simple, automated mode for your non-technical End Users
• Powerful Developer Mode for you & your technical and factory users
• PC program looks like you wrote it yourself - customize company name and logo image with NO PC Programming At All.
• Sends your firmware in an encrypted file that protects your intellectual property 
• Automatically collects files together, zips them up into a WinZip archive, customizes a cover letter, and emails it all to your customer!  All in about 20 seconds. 
• Protects against programming your firmware into the wrong device, or an unauthorized device 
• The system grows with your product line - when you develop a product with a different processor, just buy a new bootloader from us for that processor and connectivity type.  Your new bootloader installs right into the SUMS system, ready to work for just those of your products that need it. 
• Serial Number (known to both bootloader Firmware and your Main App Firmware) allows you to charge your customers for new versions or new firmware "personalities" that work in your product. Opens up whole new revenue streams for your company!

Our new SUMS system is built upon our USB Bootloader Pro bootloader technology, but adds important extra capabilities:

1. Protects your intellectual property by a Company_ID, Model_ID, and optional Serial Number
2. Upgrade Manager actually collects everything together, encrypts it, and delivers it to your customer by email.

Over the next few weeks, we will explain the SUMS system and how you can use it.  You should receive an email today which provides a PDF that explains what it is and how it works.  But here is a very quick overview.

The S.U.M.S. software system consists of 4 main parts:

1. The bootloader Firmware, which coexists in the microcontroller’s program memory with the main firmware application you have written,
2. A BLPROtected bootloader PC Program, which you use yourself (in Developer mode), and which you also send to your users (set up to run for them in the simpler End User Mode).  This program reads the encrypted firmware file and communicates with the bootloader Firmware during the firmware update process,
3. A Protected Firmware File, which is an encrypted file that you send to your customers in order to perform a field upgrade of the firmware in your device, and
4. The SUMS Upgrade Manager program, which you only use in your factory.  This program combines your hex file and with a Company ID, Model ID, and optional Serial Number into a single encrypted Protected Firmware File. The program also automates the process of collecting and emailing, to any customer, all the files that he needs to install a new version of your firmware in his hardware model.

When it’s time to send out an upgrade, the SUMS Upgrade Manager program not only creates the Protected Firmware File, but it can also that file together will all the other files that the customer needs into a WinZip archive, and automatically send it to him, attached to a customized email.

The Upgrade Manager program makes the process very simple and automated: just fill in a form, entering the customer's name and email address, the Hardware Model of the device that he owns (just select it from a list of the products in your product line), set the optional Serial Number, and select the hex file you intend to send him (from a list of files that are compatible with the device he owns).

Then, just click the big orange button. That's it!

Supports Multiple Processors and Connectivity Types

And here's the best part: it can work with multiple processors and connectivity types, just by installing additional compatible BLPPROtected bootloaders.  You can start out with, say, a USB bootloader for the PIC18F4550, then later, add an Ethernet bootloader for the PIC32MX795F512L.  After you install the new bootloader, take a few minutes to do a simple one-time set up of Hardware Model and Firmware Product Version information for the new product(s) that use that new bootloader, and then use our easy Drag and Drop method to show which of your Firmware Product Versions are compatible with which of your Hardware Models.

Price, Availability and Initial Processor Support

At the time of this writing (mid-June 2010), we have the initial version of this system working with three different BLPROtected bootloaders:

• USB PIC18F4550 / 2550
• USB PIC18F87J50 /67J50
• Etherent PIC32MX795F512 (L and H), PIC32MX695F512 (L and H)

We need to bring the software features of these 3 bootloaders to the same revision level. We will then release the system, well before June 30,2010.

It is our intention to release enough compatible bootloaders over time, in families, to cover all of the applicable Microchip processors.  This will take some time, of course.  Please let us know which processors you are most interested in, so we can support the most popular processors first.

We intend to sell the system in the following way:

SUMS System + 1 bootloader of your choice -  $369.99

Each additional BLPROtected bootloader          $249.99

The 25% discount on all Trace Systems Inc. products will also apply to the SUMS system and compatible bootloaders until 6/30/2010.

System Requirements: The SUMS system requires WinZip 12.0 or later in order to create archives. (not supplied by Trace Systems). 

WinZip is a very inexpensive tool ($59.95 for their entire "Big Zipper" bundle) that we believe many of our customers already have.  If you don't, we strongly recommend that you get their full "Big Zipper" bundle which includes WinZip, WinZip Email Companion, and an important tool called WinZip Self Extractor: a tool which turns your WinZip archive into self extracting ZIP file - an .exe file that extracts the archive contents when you run it.  (So your customer doesn't need to own a program like WinZip himself.)  The SUMS system can either send a .zip archive (created by SUMS and WinZip) to your customer, OR it can send a self extracting .exe archive (created by SUMS and WinZip Self Extractor).

You can learn more about WinZip here.  Frankly, WinZip doesn't make it easy to find their inexpensive $59.95 "Big Zipper" bundle (apparently preferring to sell you WinZip alone for $49.95).  To find the bundle, go to the WinZip web site, and click menu item Buy Now | Other Products.  We recommend the bundle because it is the cheapest way to get the full capability out of both WinZip and of our Simple Upgrade Management SYSTEM.

Please note that Trace Systems Inc. is not affiliated with WinZip in any way, other than as a satisfied customer.  We feel that this is a tool that our SUMS system customers should have anyway, as it is an inexpensive commercial product that works well and is supported by its company, as opposed to an open source project that may not provide any technical support at all.

You will also need to download their free WinZip Command Line Plugin to allow SUMS to control WinZip.