So, which product is right for you? SUMS or USB Bootloader Pro?

In almost every case, we would strongly recommend the SUMS system. 

SUMS will protect the firmware you spent so much time and money to develop.  In addition to the encryption of your firmware so it cannot be stolen, SUMS also makes sure that your firmware can only be programmed into a device that matches these IDs:

• A unique Company ID (provided with the SUMS system) that makes sure that your firmware can only be programmed into one of YOUR COMPANY'S products
• A Model ID (that you make up) that makes sure that your firmware can only go into the RIGHT ONE of your company's products
• A Serial Number that can make sure that your firmware can only get programmed into the device of an AUTHORIZED CUSTOMER, such as someone who has paid for the extra features that your firmware is delivering. 

These security features allow you to sell extra "personalities" and advanced features to your customers, confident that they can only be used by the one customer whose device serial number matches the serial number in the firmware file.

The SUMS system’s automated delivery system can save you tons of work in sending out upgrades, while still making sure that your firmware can only be programmed into the right hardware model, from your company, and only if that device is authorized to receive it.

The expandability of the SUMS system is another big reason to choose it. The fact that you can manage upgrades across different PIC processors and productivity types, just by adding different SUMS Bootloaders into your existing SUMS System, will "future proof" your product line.

For all these important reasons, SUMS is a major step formward in upgrade technology.

When Would I Use USB Bootloader Pro?

Use USB Bootloader Pro only in low volume situations that do not need security. Or, use it strictly for development purposes, where you don’t worry that someone could reverse engineer the unprotected hex files that USB Bootloader Pro knows how to read. 

Because USB Bootloader Pro has no mechanized delivery system, it will require a lot more effort to send out upgrades: you’ll have to collect all the files and email them to each customer yourself.   (This may not seem like a big deal, until you actually try it on a large number of customers...)

IMPORTANT NOTE:  USB Bootloader Pro bootloaders are NOT compatible with the SUMS System, because they do not understand encrypted firmware files.  You MUST buy a SUMS Compatible bootloader for use with the SUMS System.

"But SUMS Costs More..."

It is true that the SUMS system costs a bit more than USB Bootloader Pro.  That's because the SUMS System DOES so much more:

• SUMS gives you a secure, encrypted system to protect your Intellectual Propery against theft
• Its Company ID, Model ID, and Serial Number protect against your firmware being programmed into the wrong device or an unauthorized device
• Only SUMS gives you a simple delivery system that saves you a huge amount of time and effort and money
• SUMS manages upgrades for your whole product line, even if for products that use different PIC processors and different connectivity types
• SUMS provides a seamless system that grows with your product line

The small price difference is trivial compared to the money you will save by having the mechanized, secure, expandable SYSTEM that SUMS provides.   Consider this: at normal engineering hourly rates, the small price difference (between the SUMS system and a single USB Bootloader Pro) wouldn't even pay enough to TEST all the extra features that SUMS gives you!

Next: The Bottom Line >>

 

 

Here is a great conversation we had with one of our pre-release customers of our Simple Upgrade Management SYSTEM (SUMS) :  Ron Kumetz, Director of Engineering at Broadcast Devices Inc..

Ron told us the top reasons why he likes Simple Upgrade Management SYSTEM:

Reason #1: "Having a Bootloader that has been extensively tested"

Ron says a lot of engineers like to design things themselves (even when they ought not to) in order to impress people with what they can do.

The problem is that when they do that, they can only take enough time to get it (barely) running.  If some sort of problem arises, that barely-tested bootloader can leave the customer's expensive equipment completely dead, so now it really MUST be returned to the factory. The loss of time, loss of use of the product, and loss of money, makes this a real problem that customer (and the engineer's boss) will not soon forget.

The engineer wrote this bootloader himself so he could build up some "Attaboys" with the boss. But we all know that one "Aw, shucks" can cancel out ALL of your "Attaboys..."

Ron can tell from using our SUMS system that our bootloader and delivery system have both been intensively tested over a long period of time. We take this extremely seriously, because we know how "mission critical" a firmware upgrade system is.

Reason #2: "The time and money you 'save' by writing your own bootloader is an illusion."

"If you're gonna take a chance on something in your firmware, take [a chance on a new feature in] your own product," that your customer will actually SEE all the time, rather than taking a chance on a bootloader that you can just buy.

Reason #3: BRAND it with your own company name and logo

Ron says "We are very aware of the image we present to our customers."

He told me of a compiler for some processor chips that his company started out using in their early products.  The compiler has a bootloader, which works OK, but it has the compiler company's logo on it, and it gives you NO chance to add any "corporate polish" of your own.

Ron really likes the fact that our SUMS compatible bootloaders can be easily BRANDED with your own company name and logo, with NO PROGRAMMING AT ALL.

Reason #4: The AUTOMATION

Ron feels that our SUMS system has given his company "The ability to safely deliver your upgrade code in a way that is palatable to the customer."

He says that SUMS is seamless.  "A chimpanzee could run it."

The fact that SUMS automatically collects all the files together, generates a customized email, and sends everything to the customer, is very valuable to Ron's company

Reason #5: "People are growing to EXPECT instant upgrades."

Ron says "If you are a REAL company, they expect to be able to do that at 4 AM. If you WANT to be a REAL company, you need the SUMS system, because people expect instant upgrades."

Reason #6: The Consequences of Failure

 A company that used to have several engineers developing firmware may now have only 1. And THAT ONE GUY is stretched to the limit.  (Sound familiar?)

 If (in his struggles) he overlooks something, or makes a mistake, then without an upgrade system like SUMS in place, a mistake can be a CATASTROPHE.

 If you DO have SUMS in place, with a bootloader in every device, then a firmware mistake is merely an inconvenience: one that is easily and quickly made right, at very little time, effort, and expense.

The "midnight engineer" who is trying to develop and market his first product often doesn't think through what happens when he gets his device "working" - important details and costs about how he is going to handle the possibility of costly product returns because of some firmware glitch.

Reason #7: "You're not gonna save any money by NOT buying SUMS."

You cannot write your own SUMS system, or even just a single useful bootloader, for the price of the SUMS system. You cannot even TEST one of those "free" bootloaders from the chip manufacturer, for that little money.

Reason #8: "The product you already sold is still a revenue stream."

Ron understands what we say about how the SUMS system opens up whole new revenue stream possibilities for his company.

The facts that new firmware can be easily distributed to customers and safely installed by them at their own location, AND the fact that the system will only upgrade the firmware on a device whose serial number matches the one in the encrypted firmware file you sent them are powerfully important.

This means that you can offer more advanced features to some of your customers, and you can CHARGE them for it.

 

Next: The Bottom Line >>

 

 

Update 7/30/2016 --

There are many families of PIC microcontrollers, ranging from small PIC12 devices all the way up to the biggest PIC 32 chips. The characteristics vary wildly from one family to the next, so it is impossible to make a single bootloader that can work in all Microchip processor families.

For this reason, bootloaders for the SUMS System are sold for an individual processor group: those chips in a single processor family, that have the same amount of program memory, and one specific connectivity type.  A single SUMS bootloader will support one kind of connectivity. USB or Ethernet are the choices available at this time - others are being considered.  (For example, we have an experimental RS232 SUMS bootloader for PIC32MX processors having 512KB program memory -- call for details.) 

 Contact us for details on availability of new TCP based Ethernet bootloaders for reliable long distance upgrading over the public Internet.

At the time of this writing, our store can offer immediate access to the following SUMS Bootloaders, in both SUMS Starter Kit bundles and as standalone SUMS Add-On Bootloaders:

• USB PIC18F4550 / 2550 / 4553 / 2553
• USB PIC18F87J50 / 67J50
• USB PIC32MXnnnF512  Processors (512 KB flash program memory):
  • PIC32MX795F512L,
  • PIC32MX795F512H,
  • PIC32MX695F512L,
  • PIC32MX695F512H,
  • PIC32MX775F512L,
  • PIC32MX775F512H,
  • PIC32MX675F512L,
  • PIC32MX675F512H,
  • PIC32MX575F512L,
  • PIC32MX575F512H
  • (Call about PIC32MX440F512H and PIC32MX460F512L)
• Ethernet PIC32MX795F512 (L and H), PIC32MX695F512 (L and H)
• Ethernet PIC32MXnnnF512 processors (512 KB flash) with ENCx24J600 10/100 MB Network Interface chip:
  • PIC32MX795F512L,
  • PIC32MX795F512H,
  • PIC32MX695F512L,
  • PIC32MX695F512H,
  • PIC32MX775F512L,
  • PIC32MX775F512H,
  • PIC32MX675F512L,
  • PIC32MX675F512H,
  • PIC32MX575F512L,
  • PIC32MX575F512H,
  • PIC32MX460F512L,
  • PIC32MX440F512H,
  • PIC32MX360F512L,
  • PIC32MX340F512H
• Ethernet PIC32MXnnnF512 processors (512 KB flash) with ENCx24J600 10/100 MB Network Interface chip:
  • PIC32MX795F512L,
  • PIC32MX795F512H,
  • PIC32MX695F512L,
  • PIC32MX695F512H,
  • PIC32MX775F512L,
  • PIC32MX775F512H,
  • PIC32MX675F512L,
  • PIC32MX675F512H,
  • PIC32MX575F512L,
  • PIC32MX575F512H,
  • PIC32MX460F512L,
  • PIC32MX440F512H,
  • PIC32MX360F512L,
  • PIC32MX340F512H

 

 

Pricing Model:

SUMS Starter Kit Bundle = SUMS System + 1 Bootloader of your choice -  $369.99

Each additional SUMS Add-On Bootloader                                               -  $249.99