NAME

chknvm2 - Qualcomm Atheros PLC Image File Validator

SYNOPSIS

chknvm2 [options] file [file] [...]

DESCRIPTION

Check Atheros HomePlug AV firmware files for obvious errors, including obsolete format, incorrect file size, bad checksums and read errors. Make no attempt to check any internal information other than firmware header checksums, image lengths and image checksums. Optionally, display header and image information on stdout.

This program handles both the older Thunderbolt and Lightning and the newer Panther and Lynx firmware file formats. It validates files directly from memory and so it is faster than program chknvm but needs more memory at runtime.

This program is part of the Qualcomm Atheros Powerline Toolkit. See the AMP man page for an overview and installation instructions.

OPTIONS

-i

Print revision string identity fields in fixed-width columns. This option is useful when searching .nvm folders for a specific build.

-m

Display manifest content, if present. The manifest is a special module, included in some image chains, that contains useful information about the chain. This option suppresses the summary 'looks good' message.

-r

Print firmware revision string on stdout. This option automatically suppresses the summary 'looks good' message.

-q

Suppresses printing of routine messages. Specifically, it suppresses the summary 'looks good' message.

-v

Print additional information such as the image header for each image processed. This information can be used to distinguish one firmware file from another, if you know what to look for.

-?,--help

Print program help summary on stdout. This option takes precedence over other options on the command line.

-!,--version

Print program version information on stdout. This option takes precedence over other options on the command line. Use this option when sending screen dumps to Atheros Technical Support so that they know exactly which version of the Linux Toolkit you are using.

ARGUMENTS

file

The name of an Atheros image file. By convention, Atheros Image files have a .nvm file extension but this program does not enforce this convention.

DISCLAIMER

Qualcomm Atheros firmware file structure and content is proprietary to Qualcomm Atheros, Ocala FL USA. Consequently, public information is not available. Qualcomm Atheros reserves the right to change firmware file structure or content or change the name or behavior of any program that inspects or changes firmware files, in future software releases without any obligation to notify or compensate users of such programs.

EXAMPLES

This example reads file abc.nvm and validates it. The message shown indicates that the file is the correct length, image headers and images have the correct length and checksum and there are no read errors. The file can be have either the newer or older format.

# chknvm2 abc.nvm
abc.nvm looks good

The following example reads three files in succession and reports on each one. You can suppress good news with the -q option.

# chknvm2 INT6400.nvm AR7400.nvm AR7420.nvm
INT6400.nvm looks good
AR7400.nvm looks good
AR7420.nvm looks good

This next example prints the firmware revision string found inside older image files. The option can be used to identify the actual firmware image present when the filename has been changed. Newer image files have a manifest, instead. Observe that file AR7420.nvm shows no revision string since it is the newer image format where firmware images are compressed.

# chknvm2 -r INT6400.nvm AR7400.nvm AR7420.nvm
INT6400.nvm (3) INT6000-MAC-4-1-4122-01-4020-20100219-FINAL
AR7400.nvm (5) INT7400-MAC-7-0-7011-01-52-20110811-FINAL

The following example displays the firmware revision strings, from the last example, as fixed width columns. Observe that the external filename may, in some cases, not reflect the file content.

# chknvm2 -i INT6400.nvm AR7400.nvm AR7420.nvm
INT6000 4020 20100219 4.1 INT6400.nvm (3)
INT7400 0052 20110811 7.0 AR7400.nvm (5)

This example prints the manifest found inside newer firmware files. This can be used to distinguish firmware files from parameter files, determine exact firmware or parameter file revisions and so forth. Observe that we specified several files on the command line but only one file, AR7420.nvm, contained a mainfest.

# chknvm2 -m INT6400.nvm AR7400.nvm AR7420.nvm
------- AR7420.nvm (0) -------
Signature: 1234ABCD
Hardware Compatibility: AR74200
Chain Major Version: 0
Chain Minor Version: 1
Chain Type: Firmware
Build Major Version: 0
Build Minor Version: 0
Build Type: Special
Manifest Version: 1
Build Number: 0
Build Date: 20110811
Build Time: 203853
Device Type: 29728
Build Hostname: TOR-SW-SIM04
Build Username: buildbot
Build Description: Custom
Build Version String: AR-7420-FW-0_0-0_2-20110811:203853-buildbot:TOR-SW-SIM04-1-0_1

SEE ALSO

chknvm(1), chkpib(1), chkpib2(1), int6ktest(7), nvmmerge(1), nvmsplit(1), plctest(7)

CREDITS

Charles Maier