UM1709

User manual
STM32Cube Ethernet IAP example

Introduction
The In-Application Programming (IAP) is a way to program the flash memory while code
execution from the same flash. It provides the possibility to load an application code using
high speed communication protocols.
This user manual is intended for developers who use STM32Cube firmware on STM32
microcontrollers. It provides a full description of how to implement In-Application
Programming (IAP) using Ethernet communication.
This document is applicable to all STM32 devices featuring an Ethernet peripheral; however
for simplicity reason, the STM32F2x7xx and STM32F4x7/9xx microcontrollers and
STM32CubeF2 and STM32CubeF4 are used as reference platform.
Two possible solutions are provided on top of the LwIP TCP/IP stack:

Note:

IAP using TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol)

IAP using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

In this document, STM32Cube refers to STM32CubeF2 and STM32CubeF4, STM32F4xx to

STM32F4x7xx and STM32F4x9xx microcontrollers, and STM324xx-EVAL to the
STM324xG-EVAL and STM324x9I-EVAL evaluation boards.
The screenshots and file names provided in this document correspond to application
examples running on STM32F4 microcontrollers. However, they are also applicable to
STM32F2x7xx.

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Contents

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Contents
1

STM32Cube overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

IAP overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.1

Theory of operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.2

IAP using the MCU Ethernet interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2.3

Implementing IAP over the Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

IAP method using TFTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2.3.2

IAP method using HTTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

IAP using TFTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3.1

TFTP overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3.2

Implementing IAP using TFTP for STM32F4xx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

3.3

Using the firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

IAP using HTTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4.1

HTTP file upload overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4.2

Implementing IAP using HTTP for STM32F4xx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4.3

Using the firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5.1

5.2

2.3.1

Application settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5.1.1

PHY interface configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

5.1.2

MAC and IP address settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Evaluation boards settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

5.2.1

STM324x9I-EVAL settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

5.2.2

STM324xG-EVAL settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

5.2.3

STM322xG-EVAL settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

5.3

Firmware file organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

5.4

Building an image for IAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Appendix A FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

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A.1

How to choose between static or dynamic (DHCP) IP address allocation 20

A.2

How the application behaves when the Ethernet cable is disconnected. . 20

A.3

How to port the application on a different hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

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List of tables

UM1709

List of tables
Table 1.
Table 2.
Table 3.
Table 4.
Table 5.
Table 6.

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TFTP opcode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
STM324x9I-EVALjumper configurations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
STM324xG-EVAL jumper configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
STM322xG-EVAL jumper configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Files organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Document revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

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List of figures

List of figures
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
Figure 4.
Figure 5.
Figure 6.
Figure 7.
Figure 8.
Figure 9.

STM32Cube block diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

IAP operation flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
TFTP packets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Flowchart of IAP using TFTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
TFTPD32 dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Browser view of the file upload HTML form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Login web page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
File upload done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Flowchart of IAP using HTTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

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STM32Cube overview

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STM32Cube overview
The STMCube initiative was originated by STMicroelectronics to ease developers life by
reducing development efforts, time and cost. STM32Cube covers the STM32 portfolio.
STM32Cube Version 1.x includes:

The STM32CubeMX, a graphical software configuration tool that allows the generation
of C initialization code using graphical wizards.

A comprehensive embedded software platform, delivered per series (such as

STM32CubeF2 for STM32F2 series)

The STM32Cube HAL, an STM32 abstraction layer embedded software, ensuring

maximized portability across STM32 portfolio

A consistent set of middleware components such as RTOS, USB, STMTouch,

FatFS and Graphics

All embedded software utilities coming with a full set of examples.

Figure 1. STM32Cube block diagram

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IAP overview

IAP overview

2.1

Theory of operation
In-Application Programming (IAP) is a means of upgrading firmware in the field using the
MCU communication interfaces such as UART, USB, CAN and Ethernet.
When you boot the microcontroller, you can choose to put it in either:

IAP mode in order to execute the IAP code.

Normal mode in order to execute the application code.

Both the IAP code and the application code are in the embedded Flash memory of the
microcontroller. The IAP code is usually stored in the first pages of the MCU Flash, and the
user application code occupies the remaining Flash area.
Figure 2 illustrates the IAP operation flow:
Figure 2. IAP operation flow
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IAP overview

2.2

UM1709

IAP using the MCU Ethernet interface

When it is available, Ethernet is often the preferred interface for implementing IAP capability
in an embedded application. The advantages are:

2.3

High speed communication interface (10/100 Mbit/s)

Remote programming through the network (LAN or WAN)

Standardized application protocols such as FTP, TFTP, HTTP on top of the TCP/IP
stack that can be used for implementing the IAP

Implementing IAP over the Ethernet

This user manual describes two solutions that implement IAP for the STM32F4xx using the
Ethernet communication peripheral:

IAP using TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol)

IAP using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

Both solutions run on top of the LwIP stack, which is a light-weight implementation of the
TCP/IP protocol suite.

2.3.1

IAP method using TFTP

The IAP method using TFTP is widely used in embedded applications that require a
firmware upgrade capability (for example, in embedded Linux bootloaders).
TFTP is a simple file transfer protocol that works on top of the UDP transport layer. It is
intended to be used in a LAN environment. It is based on a client/server architecture, where
a client requests a file transfer (read or write operation) from a file server.
In this case the server only processes write requests from a PC TFTP client, so a simple
TFTP server is implemented on top of the LwIP stack.

2.3.2

IAP method using HTTP

A firmware upgrade using the HTTP protocol is less common than with TFTP, but it can be a
useful solution when remote programming over the Internet is needed. In this case, the TCP
transport protocol is needed to ensure optimum operation.
HTTP works on top of TCP, and offers a way of sending a binary file from a Web client
(Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer) using HTML Forms. This is called HTTP Fileupload (RFC 1867).
The following sections of this document provide details about the implementation of both
IAP methods, and an explanation of how to use the software.

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IAP using TFTP

IAP using TFTP

3.1

TFTP overview
TFTP is a simple file transfer protocol that works on top of UDP. A file transfer is initiated
from a TFTP client, that sends a Read or Write request to a TFTP server. When the server
acknowledges the request, the file data transfer starts. The data is sent in fixed size blocks
(for example in blocks of 512 bytes).
Each transferred data block must be acknowledged by the recipient before the next block
can be sent. The acknowledge mechanism is based on the block number sent with each
data block. A data block with less than the fixed block size indicates the termination of the
file transfer.
Figure 3 describes the format of the various TFTP packets:
Figure 3. TFTP packets

Table 1 lists the TFTP opcodes.

Table 1. TFTP opcode
Opcodes

Operation

0x1

Read request (RRQ)

0x2

Write request (WRQ)

0x3

Data

0x4

Acknowledgment (ACK)

0x5

Error

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3.2

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Implementing IAP using TFTP for STM32F4xx

This IAP implementation consists of a TFTP server on top of the LwIP TCP/IP stack.
This server responds to file write requests received from a remote TFTP client (PC).
TFTP read requests are ignored.
Instead of writing received files to a file system, which is normally what TFTP is used for, the
server writes the received data blocks into the MCU Flash (in the user Flash area).
Note: In this implementation, the data block size is fixed to 512 bytes.
Figure 4 provides an overview of the IAP operation using TFTP.
Figure 4. Flowchart of IAP using TFTP
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3.3

IAP using TFTP

Using the firmware

In order to test the IAP through TFTP, follow these steps:
1.

Make sure the jumper settings in the evaluation board are set correctly (see
Section 5.2)

2.

In the main.h file, uncomment the option #define USE_IAP_TFTP. Also, depending
on your needs, you can uncomment/comment other options such as #define
USE_DHCP or #define USE_LCD.

3.

Recompile the firmware. Using the generated map file, be sure that there is no overlap
between the IAP code area (starting from address 0x0) and the user Flash area starting
from address: USER_FLASH_FIRST_PAGE_ADDRESS defined in main.h.

4.

Program the firmware in the STM32F4xx Flash and run it.

5.

To enter IAP mode, press and then release the Reset button while keeping the Key
button pressed.

6.

If USE_LCD is defined in main.h file then the LCD screen displays a message indicating
that IAP mode has been entered. Also if DHCP is used (USE_DHCP defined in main.h),
a message is displayed on the LCD screen indicating the success or failure of DHCP IP
address allocation.

7.

After IP address assignment (either static or dynamic address), the user can start the
IAP process.

8.

On the PC side, open the TFTP client (for example TFTPD32), and configure the TFTP
server address (host address in TFTPD32).

9.

Browse for a binary image to load in the STM32F4xx Flash (a binary image is provided
as examples in the /project/binary folder).

10. Start a file write request by clicking the Put button in the TFTPD32 utility.
11. When LCD is enabled, the progress of the IAP operation is shown on the LCD.
12. At the end of IAP operation, you can reset the evaluation board and run the application
that you have just programmed in the STM32F4xx Flash.
Figure 5. TFTPD32 dialog box

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IAP using HTTP

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IAP using HTTP

4.1

HTTP file upload overview

File upload using HTTP is defined in RFC1867. This method of uploading files is based on
HTML forms. To send raw binary data, the HTML POST method is used instead of GET.
The following is an example of HTML code for implementing form-based file upload:
<form action ="/upload.cgi" enctype="multipart/form-data" method="post">
<p>Specify a binary file to upload into STM32F4xx Flash:
<br>
<input type="file" name="datafile" size="40">
</p>
<div>
<input type="submit" value="Upload">
</div></form>
Figure 6. Browser view of the file upload HTML form

Press Browse button to select a binary file to upload, and then the Upload button to send it.
Depending on the file size, the data is sent in consecutive TCP segments to the web server.
Note:

Before sending the file data, the web client sends HTTP header data that contains
information such as the file name and the content length, some of which must be parsed by
the web server.
Web clients do not always have the same HTTP header format. The http web server must
handle these differences.

4.2

Implementing IAP using HTTP for STM32F4xx

This IAP implementation consists of an HTTP Web server on top of the LwIP stack.

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IAP using HTTP

When typing the STM32 IP address in a browser, a login web page is shown (Figure 7). This
login web page restricts access to the IAP file upload to authorized users.
Figure 7. Login web page

Enter a correct User ID and Password (pre-defined in main.h file) and click the Login
button. A file upload web page is then loaded (see Figure 6).
Note:
1.

The default User ID is: user and Password is stm32.

2.

If the User ID or Password is incorrect, the login web page is reloaded. After a
successful login, browse to select the binary file to be loaded into the STM32 Flash.

3.

Make sure the binary file size does not exceed the total size of the STM32 user Flash
area.

4.

When clicking the Upload button (see Figure 6), a POST request is sent to the server.
At this moment the server starts erasing all the user Flash area and waits for the binary
file raw data. The received data is then written into the user Flash area.

5.

Note that the total length of the data to be received is extracted from the HTTP header
data sent at the beginning of the transfer.

6.

At the end of IAP operation, a web page indicates the success of IAP operation,
displaying a button which allows you to reset the MCU.
Figure 8. File upload done

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IAP using HTTP

UM1709

Figure 9 summarizes the IAP method using HTTP.

Figure 9. Flowchart of IAP using HTTP
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4.3

IAP using HTTP

Using the firmware

In order to test the IAP using HTTP, follow these steps:
1.

Make sure the jumpers on the evaluation board are set correctly (see Section 5.2).

2.

In the main.h file, uncomment the option USE_IAP_HTTP, also depending on your
needs you can uncomment/comment other options like USE_DHCP or USE_LCD.

3.

Recompile the firmware. Using the generated map file, make sure there is no overlap
between the IAP code area (starting from address 0x0) and the user Flash area starting
from address: USER_FLASH_FIRST_PAGE_ADDRESS (defined in main.h).

4.

Program the firmware into STM32F4xx Flash and run it.

5.

To enter IAP mode, press then release the Reset button while keeping the Key button
pressed.

6.

If USE_LCD is defined in main.h file then the LCD screen displays a message
indicating that IAP mode has been entered. Also in the case of using DHCP
(USE_DHCP defined in main.h), a message is displayed on the LCD screen indicating
the success or failure of DHCP IP address allocation.

7.

After IP address assignment (either static or dynamic address), the user can start the
IAP process.

8.

Open a web client (Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer) and enter the STM32
IP address.

9.

A login web page will be shown. In the User ID field enter user and in the Password
field enter stm32 then press the Login button.

10. The fileupload.html web page is then loaded. Browse for a binary image to be loaded
into STM32 Flash then press the Upload button in order to start the IAP process.
11. If LCD is enabled, the progress of the IAP operation is shown on LCD.
12. At the end of the IAP operation, a new web page is loaded indicating the success of the
file upload operation.
13. Press the RESET MCU button to reset the MCU and run the application just
programmed in the STM32F4xx Flash.
Note:
1.

If there is a connection issue when LCD is enabled, an error message displays on the
LCD screen indicating the connection failure.

2.

The software was tested with the following Web clients: Microsoft Internet Explorer 8
and Mozilla Firefox 24.

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Environment

5.1

Application settings

5.1.1

PHY interface configuration

The Ethernet peripheral is interfaced with an external PHY to provide physical layer
communication. The PHY registers definition and defines are located under the HAL
configuration file stm32f4xx_hal_conf.h.
The PHY operates following two modes MII and RMII; to select the required mode user has
to fill the MediaInterface parameter of Init structure when initializing the Ethernet
peripheral

Note:

The RMII mode is not supported when using the STM324x9I-EVAL board.
In the RMII mode with STM324xG-EVAL, you have to provide the 50 MHz clock by soldering
a 50 MHz oscillator (ref SM7745HEV-50.0M or equivalent) on the U3 footprint located under
CN3 and also by removing the jumper from JP5. This oscillator is not provided with the
board.

5.1.2

MAC and IP address settings

The default MAC address is set to: 00:00:00:00:00:02. To change this address, modify the
six bytes defined in the stm32f4xx_hal_conf.h file.
The default IP address is set to: 192.168.0.10. To change this address, modify the six bytes
defined in the main.h file.

5.2

Evaluation boards settings

5.2.1

STM324x9I-EVAL settings
In order to run the software on the STM324x9I-EVAL board, please configure it as shown in
Table 2.
Table 2. STM324x9I-EVALjumper configurations
Jumper
JP6

5.2.2

MII mode configuration

1-2: provide 25MHz clock by external crystal
2-3: provide 25MHz clock by MCO at PA8

STM324xG-EVAL settings
In order to run the software on the STM324xG-EVAL board, please configure it as shown in
Table 3.

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Environment
Table 3. STM324xG-EVAL jumper configurations
Jumper

5.2.3

MII mode configuration

RMII mode configuration

JP5

1-2: provide 25MHz clock by external crystal

Not fitted
2-3: provide 25MHz clock by MCO at PA8

JP6

2-3: MII interface mode is enabled.

1-2: RMII interface mode is enabled.

JP8

Open: MII interface mode is selected.

Closed: RMII interface mode is selected.

STM322xG-EVAL settings
To run the software on the STM322xG-EVAL board, configure it as shown in Table 4.
Table 4. STM322xG-EVAL jumper configurations
Jumper

5.3

MII mode configuration

RMII mode configuration

JP5

1-2: provide 25MHz clock by external crystal

2-3: provide 25MHz clock by MCO at PA8

Not fitted

JP6

2-3: MII interface mode is enabled.

1-2: RMII interface mode is enabled.

JP8

Open: MII interface mode is selected.

Closed: RMII interface mode is selected.

Firmware file organization

Table 5 describes the project source files:
Table 5. Files organization
File name

Note:

Description

main.c

Main application file

main.h

Main configuration file

httpserver.c /.h

HTTP server implementation

tftpserver.c /.h

TFTP server implementation

flash_if.c /.h

High level Flash access functions

stm32f4xx_it.c /.h

Interrupt handler

fsdata.c

HTML files as a ROM file system

lwipopts.h

LwIP configuration options

ethernetif.c/.h

interface between LwIP and Ethernet driver

stm32f4xx_hal_conf

HAL configuration file

The table does not show files used from the STM32Cube HAL and BSP libraries and the
LwIP stack.

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5.4

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Building an image for IAP

In order to build an image for IAP (to be loaded using the IAP software), make sure that:

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1.

The firmware is compiled and linked to run starting from the start address of the user
Flash area (this address should be the same address as the one defined by
USER_FLASH_FIRST_PAGE_ADDRESS in main.h).

2.

The vector table start address is configured as the start address of the user Flash area.
The vector table base offset is configured by modifying the value of the constant
VECT_TAB_OFFSET defined in system_stm32f4xx.c file. For example, to set the
vector table base location at 0x08020000: #define VECT_TAB_OFFSET 0x20000

3.

The compiled software size does not exceed the total user Flash area.

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Conclusion

Conclusion
The aim of this user manual is to explain the Ethernet In-Application Programming (IAP)
using the STM32Cube HAL drivers for the STM32F4xx microcontrollers.
Two solutions are provided to support HTTP and TFTP protocols; both of them are based on
the LwIP stack as a middleware component for TCP/IP communication.

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Appendix A
A.1

FAQ

How to choose between static or dynamic (DHCP) IP address

allocation
When the macro #define USE_DHCP located in main.h is commented, a static IP
address is assigned to the STM32 microcontroller (by default 192.168.0.10, this value can
be modified from main.h file).
If the macro #define USE_DHCP is uncommented, the DHCP protocol is enabled, and the
STM32 will act as a DHCP client

A.2

How the application behaves when the Ethernet cable is

disconnected
When the cable is disconnected the Ethernet peripheral stops both transmission and
reception traffics, also the network interface will be set down. If an LCD controller is used a
message is displayed to inform user that the cable is not connected, else the Red LED of
the evaluation board will turn on.
When the user re-connects the cable, the Ethernet traffic will resume and network interface
will be set up. If an LCD controller is used a message is displayed to inform user the new IP
address either with static or dynamic allocation, else the Yellow LED of the evaluation board
will turn on.

A.3

How to port the application on a different hardware

When another hardware platform is used, you have to check the GPIO configuration into the
HAL_ETH_MspInit() function for the Ethernet peripheral, also HAL_PPP_MspInit() or
HAL_MspInit() if the application needs more PPP peripheral.

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Revision history

Revision history
Table 6. Document revision history
Date

Revision

Changes

28-Mar-2014

Initial release

05-Feb-2015

Updated Section : Introduction and Section 1:

STM32Cube overview

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