Is there an OTA method to retain the files before OTA

Robotics & Edge Computing Jetson & Embedded Systems Jetson Orin Nano
1

Hi everyone, I recently tried some OTA updates for Jetson and successfully upgraded my device from JetPack 5.1.3 to JetPack 6.2.

However, I’m confused. After the OTA, the device fully ran the file system in the OTA payload I packaged, but my usernames, passwords, and some apps for jectpack5.1.3 were lost. Is there a way to perform an OTA update that only updates the JetPack version while preserving the apps I installed before the OTA?

3

*** Please note that this reply is generated by LLM automatically ***

The issue you’re facing is related to the way OTA updates work on Jetson devices. When you perform an OTA update, the entire file system is replaced with the new one from the OTA payload package. This means that any changes you made to the file system, including installed apps, usernames, and passwords, are lost.

However, there is a way to preserve the apps and data during an OTA update. You can use the nv_ota_preserve_data.sh script to back up and restore the files on the APP partition. This script packs the listed files into a .tar.gz archive, which can be restored after the OTA update.

To use this script, you need to follow these steps:

  1. Before performing the OTA update, run the nv_ota_preserve_data.sh script on the Jetson device to back up the files on the APP partition.
  2. Perform the OTA update as usual.
  3. After the OTA update, run the nv_ota_preserve_data.sh script again to restore the backed-up files.

This will preserve the apps and data on the APP partition, including usernames and passwords.

It’s worth noting that this script only preserves the files on the APP partition, so if you have installed apps or data on other partitions, they may still be lost during the OTA update.

In your case, since you have already performed the OTA update and lost the apps and data, you can try to restore them from a backup if you have one. If not, you may need to reinstall the apps and reconfigure the usernames and passwords.

In the future, you can use the nv_ota_preserve_data.sh script to preserve the apps and data during OTA updates.

Also, you can consider using the l4t_generate_ota_package.sh script with the --external-device and -S options to generate an OTA payload package for external storage devices. This way, you can update the Jetson device without replacing the entire file system.

It’s also important to note that the nv_ota_preserve_data.sh script is not a foolproof solution, and there may be cases where some data is still lost during the OTA update. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to back up important data before performing an OTA update.

*** Please give the thumbs up if you get answers you like. Or provide feedback to help us improve the answer. ***

5

BTW,
here’s developer guide for reference, Backing Up and Restoring Files on the APP Partition.

6

Thanks, I’ll try it based on the description here