Command “switchserialmode” cannot be use in IoT2040 running Balena 2.12.7+rev2

Product support balenaOS
1

I would like to use IoT2040 serial port as RS-485. Then I found that there is command “switchserialmode” available for configuring the port. But when I run the command “switchserialmode /dev/ttyS2 rs485” then the command still running without return.

2

Hi,

How are you running this command, from the hostOS or within a container? This could be many things, so it would be good to understand how you’ve arrived at the problem; what have you done so far?

5

I ran this command on Host OS via SSH from dashboard.

7

Hi @burin.sapsiri,

I’ve just tried this on my own IOT2040, and you’re absolutely right that this fails. Unfortunately, I think it’s related to this issue: https://github.com/balena-os/balena-os/issues/413

I’m going to talk to our device team to see if they can confirm this. I know we’ve not updated support for the IOT2040 for a while, so I believe an internal discussion needs to take place on this.

I’m sorry this isn’t a particularly helpful answer, but we’ll get back to you when we have more information.

Best regards,

Heds

10

Hi Heds,

I think so that it’s related to the patching issue.
But first time I think it has already been included that patch in your release.

Thank you so much for your help.
I’m looking forward to your answer.

Best regards,

26

Hi Hedss,

Do you have any update or roadmap for this problem?

Best regards,
Burin Sapsiri

28

Hi,
We are still discussing our plans regarding this device type support and will update this thread once we have a resolution.
Thanks for your patience.

34

Hi Roman,

Ok. Thanks so much.

Best regards,

63

Hi Burin, firstly I’m sorry this thread has been ongoing for some time now whilst we have been internally discussing how we want to support the IoT2040 moving forward. At Balena we support devices based on feasibility and current customer demand, unfotunately the IoT2040 has become more and more difficult to support as Balena OS has progressed, which means more time our engineers spend on fixing bugs and applying batches to the device OS. Right now the demand we have for the IoT2040 is very low, so we have decided to adopt a similar approach to the IoT2000 which is to not release any further updates or fixes to the board, unless a user is willing to fund the development costs as part of our Custom Device Support service.

My suggestion would be to look into alternative boards, which I am happy to assist you with.

65

Hi Joehounsham,

Thank you for you answer.
My jobs almost on industrial machine controlling and monitoring. That why I selected IoT2000 at first.
Now, I’m interesting in the RevPi.
What do you think about this board in term of long term support both hardware and software part?
Or do you have any other industrial grade device recommended?

Thank you

66

Hi Burin, the Revpi would be a good choice, we have other customers using this board in industrial environments too. What makes this board a better choice over the IoT2000 /2040 range is that it’s based on the RPI CM3, which is a device type that we will continue to support long term as the Raspberry Pi range forms the majority of our customer’s fleets. Another option could be the Balena FIN which is our own carrier board for the RPI CM3 that is hardened for industrial deployments. Being a Balena-own board it obviously is right at the top in terms of both hardware and software support.

If you can provide some more context on your use case, e.g are you monitoring PLC controllers, what protocol(s) are you using etc, I can make a better reccommendation.