my requirements need me to provide OS updates for a Ubuntu based IOT device on iothub, I am planning to use the device update feature in iothub, but from the documentation it seems we need a .swu file to upload in the storage container which we will import as an update later in the Device Update page, my question is how to generate the .swu file for the update.

Hi @Mukhopadhyay, Sugato Greetings! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. Thank you for posting the question here. The SWU file you are referring is only mandated for Delta updates feature in Device update for IoT Hub. Delta updates allow you to generate a small update that represents only the changes between two full updates - a source image and a target image. This approach is ideal for reducing the bandwidth used to download an update to a device, particularly if there have been only a few changes between the source and target updates. You can generate the Delta updates files using the DiffGen tool code repository. Please refer the section Generate delta updates using the DiffGen tool form more details on this. Please note that, in addition to the Delta updates feature, Device Update for Azure IoT Hub supports image-based, package-based, and script-based updates. The following articles will help you as a reference guide on how to achieve this updates. Device Update for Azure IoT Hub using the Raspberry Pi 3 B+ reference image Device Update for Azure IoT Hub using the package agent on Ubuntu Server 18.04 x64 The above two approaches use JSON file to formulate a template needed for the device updates. Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have additional questions in the comments below and we would be glad to help you further. If the response helped, please do click Accept Answer and Yes for the answer provided. Doing so would help other community members with similar issue identify the solution. I highly appreciate your contribution to the community.

how to create swu file for azure device update?

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LeelaRajeshSayana-MSFT 14,676 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2023-05-01T16:03:28.7366667+00:00
Hi @Mukhopadhyay, Sugato Greetings! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. Thank you for posting the question here.

The SWU file you are referring is only mandated for Delta updates feature in Device update for IoT Hub. Delta updates allow you to generate a small update that represents only the changes between two full updates - a source image and a target image. This approach is ideal for reducing the bandwidth used to download an update to a device, particularly if there have been only a few changes between the source and target updates.

You can generate the Delta updates files using the DiffGen tool code repository. Please refer the section Generate delta updates using the DiffGen tool form more details on this.

Please note that, in addition to the Delta updates feature, Device Update for Azure IoT Hub supports image-based, package-based, and script-based updates. The following articles will help you as a reference guide on how to achieve this updates.

Device Update for Azure IoT Hub using the Raspberry Pi 3 B+ reference image

Device Update for Azure IoT Hub using the package agent on Ubuntu Server 18.04 x64

The above two approaches use JSON file to formulate a template needed for the device updates.

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have additional questions in the comments below and we would be glad to help you further.

If the response helped, please do click Accept Answer and Yes for the answer provided. Doing so would help other community members with similar issue identify the solution. I highly appreciate your contribution to the community.
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Mukhopadhyay, Sugato 40 Reputation points

2023-05-02T07:21:57.55+00:00

hi Rajesh, thanks for the response, i have two more questions

for major updates ( like upgrading ubuntu 18.04 to 20.04) what kind of update method is better suited via Device Update feature?

can both type of updates ,i.e. delta update and major updates , be done via package update method?

LeelaRajeshSayana-MSFT 14,676 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2023-05-02T14:49:41.56+00:00

Hi @Mukhopadhyay, Sugato Thank you for your response.

For upgrading ubuntu 18.04 to 20.04, it is recommended to go with Image-based update approach as it offers a failover model which provides an option to roll back if the update fails.

For your second question, yes, major updates and delta updates can be made using the package-based update method.

Please note that the primary intention of package-based approach is to target updates that alter only a specific component or application on the device. This update type leads to lower consumption of bandwidth and helps reduce the time to download and install the update. Package updates typically allow for less downtime of devices when applying an update and avoid the overhead of creating images. However, you might choose differently based on your specific use cases.

Please also refer the How-to guides section of Device Update for IoT Hub which provides the steps needed to get started with Device updates. Let us know if you have any further questions in the comments below and we would be glad to answer them.

If the response helped, please do not forget to click Accept Answer and Yes. Doing so would help other community members with similar issue identify the solution. I highly appreciate your contribution to the community.

Mukhopadhyay, Sugato 40 Reputation points

2023-05-03T14:52:52.1466667+00:00

hi @LeelaRajeshSayana-MSFT , for your response on my first question, related to the image-based updates for major OS version updates, can you provide any sample implementation or documentation for this image based method? do we have to provide the ISO image file, if yes, then can you share the procedure?

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/iot-hub-device-update/device-update-raspberry-pi

the example given here uses .swu file for updates, is there any example without the use of .swu file for major version upgrade?

what files are needed for image based updates?

do we need a manifest file?

what should be the format?

-- these are some questions that I am stuck with

Mukhopadhyay, Sugato 40 Reputation points

2023-05-09T09:39:44.2266667+00:00

hi @LeelaRajeshSayana-MSFT , any updates?

LeelaRajeshSayana-MSFT 14,676 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2023-05-09T23:08:18.01+00:00

Hi @Mukhopadhyay, Sugato Apologies for the delayed response on this. The image-based update relies on swu file to perform the update. If you would like to skip the usage of swu file, package-based updates only use Apt-Manifest and ImportManfiest files which are in plain JSON.

We do not have any documentation available to share with you that would guide on how to update Ubuntu images using updates. I will need to do some additional research/testing to come up with a sample. In the meantime, I appreciate it if you can create a new thread to keep track of this specific request for better tracking and benefit of the community.

Since the original question on this thread is answered, I appreciate it if you click Accept Answer and Yes on the above shared response.

Mukhopadhyay, Sugato 40 Reputation points

2023-05-14T21:25:21.2033333+00:00

sure , thanks for the response

Hari Prashanth 25 Reputation points

2023-08-16T11:38:32+00:00

@LeelaRajeshSayana-MSFT Any updates on this? I have a similar requirement to provide OS updates to Ubuntu based IoT edge devices on the field.
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