A remote directional cooperative firmware upgrade method suitable for HPLC network

Abstract

This invention discloses a remote, targeted collaborative firmware upgrade method suitable for HPLC networks, applied to an electricity information collection system including a master station, a concentrator, and multiple electricity meters. The method includes the following steps: the concentrator receives an upgrade command from the master station containing a list of target electricity meter addresses and a firmware file; it then fragments the firmware and broadcasts a start command frame containing a task identifier, version information, total number of data packets, and a cryptographic digest of the address list; each electricity meter determines whether it is a target node based on this command; target nodes receive and cache data packets, while non-target nodes enter a collaborative relay mode to cache data; if a target node detects packet loss, it can broadcast a packet replacement request locally, and neighboring nodes with corresponding data packets can directly unicast them back. After all data is received, the target node performs the firmware update. This invention utilizes the collaborative capabilities of all nodes within the HPLC network to achieve efficient and reliable targeted firmware distribution.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of power line carrier communication technology, and more specifically to a remote directional collaborative firmware upgrade method suitable for HPLC networks. Background Technology

[0002] With the deepening of smart grid construction, electricity information acquisition systems based on High-Speed ​​Power Line Communication (HPLC) technology have been widely used in low-voltage distribution substations. These systems typically consist of a master station, concentrators, and a large number of distributed energy meter nodes. Relying on power lines as the communication medium, they realize core functions such as remote meter reading, load monitoring, fault diagnosis, and remote control. To ensure the safe and stable operation of the system and support the expansion of new services, remote firmware upgrades for field terminal equipment, especially energy meters, have become a key requirement for operation and maintenance management.

[0003] However, implementing remote firmware upgrades in an HPLC network environment faces multiple technical challenges.

[0004] First, the HPLC channel is characterized by strong time-varying properties, large noise interference, and significant multipath effects, which limits the reliability of data transmission. Especially in long-distance or complex topology structures, packet loss is likely to occur when the concentrator broadcasts firmware data packets unidirectionally to the edge nodes, causing upgrade failure.

[0005] Secondly, traditional upgrade methods typically employ a point-to-point or network-wide broadcast mode between the concentrator and the target node: the former is inefficient and cannot support large-scale concurrent upgrades; the latter, while having wide coverage, results in non-target nodes passively receiving irrelevant data, wasting valuable communication bandwidth and terminal storage resources, and may cause network congestion.

[0006] Furthermore, existing technologies lack effective inter-node cooperation mechanisms. When a target node loses some firmware data packets due to channel fluctuations, it often has to rely on the concentrator for retransmission. However, the concentrator needs to poll and process multiple requests, resulting in high response latency. Moreover, the retransmission process is still constrained by the same channel conditions, leading to low efficiency. Although some solutions attempt to introduce relay forwarding, relay nodes typically only passively forward packets according to a preset route and cannot dynamically participate in packet replenishment cooperation based on the actual reception situation, resulting in insufficient flexibility and robustness.

[0007] Furthermore, the "targeted upgrade" needs for specific groups (such as upgrading only a batch or area of ​​electricity meters) require upgrade commands to have precise addressing capabilities. If the address list is transmitted in plaintext, there is a security risk of eavesdropping or tampering; while without a lightweight verification mechanism, terminals cannot efficiently confirm whether they belong to the upgrade target, affecting the accuracy of the judgment and system security.

[0008] In summary, there is an urgent need for a remote firmware upgrade method that can ensure upgrade reliability and security, improve network resource utilization efficiency, and support intelligent collaboration between nodes, in order to overcome the limitations of existing HPLC networks in firmware distribution and recovery mechanisms and meet the growing remote operation and maintenance needs of smart power terminals. Summary of the Invention

[0009] In view of the above problems, this invention is proposed to provide a remote targeted collaborative firmware upgrade method suitable for HPLC networks that overcomes or at least partially solves the above problems. A single targeted upgrade task is constructed as a distributed data distribution network initiated uniformly by a concentrator and collaboratively participated in by target nodes and non-target nodes. Through a mechanism of "list control, broadcast triggering, and neighbor collaboration," efficient and reliable transmission of firmware data is achieved.

[0010] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0011] This invention provides a remote, targeted, collaborative firmware upgrade method suitable for HPLC networks, applied to an electricity consumption information collection system including a master station, a concentrator, and multiple electricity meters; the method includes the following steps: The concentrator receives an upgrade command from the master station; the upgrade command includes the firmware file to be upgraded and a list of target electricity meter addresses. The concentrator divides the firmware file into multiple ordered data packets and broadcasts an upgrade start command frame to the HPLC network; the upgrade start command frame includes a task identifier, firmware version information to be upgraded, total number of data packets, and a cryptographic digest of the target energy meter address list. Each electricity meter receives the upgrade start command frame and determines whether its own electricity meter is a target node based on the matching relationship between its own electricity meter communication address and the target electricity meter address list. If it is the target node, the firmware receiving process is activated to receive and buffer data packets from the concentrator or other nodes; if it is not the target node, it enters the cooperative relay mode to listen for and buffer the received data packets. During firmware reception, if any target node detects a missing data packet, it broadcasts a cooperative packet replacement request within the local HPLC communication range. The cooperative packet replacement request includes the sequence number of the missing data packet. Any energy meter that has cached the data packet with the corresponding sequence number will directly unicast the corresponding missing data packet to the target node that issued the request. After the firmware is received, the target node performs a firmware update operation.

[0012] Furthermore, the method for determining whether its own electricity meter is a target node includes: The communication address of its own electricity meter is compared with the target electricity meter address list item by item to determine whether its own electricity meter belongs to the target node. and / or Based on the cryptographic digest of the target electricity meter address list, combined with a local preset key or verification algorithm, it is determined whether its own electricity meter belongs to the target node.

[0013] Furthermore, the non-target node uses a sliding window mechanism to cache several received data packets in the cooperative relay mode, and clears the cached content when the upgrade task times out or is completed.

[0014] Furthermore, when sending multiple ordered data packets, the concentrator distributes them using either a broadcast method or a multicast method based on HPLC network topology awareness.

[0015] Furthermore, the cryptographic digest of the target electricity meter address list is generated using a hash algorithm.

[0016] Furthermore, the collaborative packet replacement request also includes a task identifier.

[0017] Furthermore, after receiving all data packets, the target node performs integrity verification and version consistency verification on the reconstructed firmware file, and performs firmware update operation after the verification is passed.

[0018] Furthermore, if the target node fails to acquire all data packets within a preset time, it shall report an upgrade failure status to the concentrator.

[0019] Furthermore, the target node performs a random backoff delay when broadcasting the cooperative packet replacement request.

[0020] As can be seen from the above technical solution, compared with the prior art, the present invention discloses a remote directional collaborative firmware upgrade method suitable for HPLC networks, which has the following beneficial effects: The upgrade is precise and efficient with high resource utilization: This invention performs precise upgrades based on a target address list, with non-target nodes acting only as cooperative relays. This avoids the waste of channel bandwidth and terminal resources caused by the indiscriminate reception of all nodes in the network under the traditional broadcast method, and realizes refined management of operation and maintenance.

[0021] The intelligent distribution mechanism significantly accelerates upgrade speed: Through a hybrid mechanism of "broadcast initial distribution + neighbor cooperative packet replenishment," the retransmission load, traditionally concentrated in the concentrator, is distributed to the parallel cooperation of a large number of edge nodes. This distributed packet replenishment mode effectively alleviates network bottlenecks, especially in areas with dispersed target nodes and poor channel conditions, and can significantly shorten the overall upgrade time.

[0022] The system is highly robust, ensuring a high success rate for upgrades: the dynamic multi-source relay response mechanism provides redundant data acquisition paths for target nodes. Even if the quality of a local link is poor, the node can still obtain missing data from multiple neighboring nodes, significantly reducing the impact of a single link failure on the upgrade task and improving the success rate of network-wide upgrades in complex noisy environments.

[0023] Minimal impact on business operations and stable network operation: The replacement traffic was effectively offloaded to the network edge, ensuring the available bandwidth of the concentrator and backbone channels, enabling critical services such as meter reading and rate switching to operate normally during the upgrade, and achieving efficient coordination between upgrade tasks and daily business. Attached Figure Description

[0024] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without creative effort.

[0025] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a remote, targeted, collaborative firmware upgrade method for HPLC networks provided in this embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 This is a diagram of the electricity information collection system architecture provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] This invention discloses a remote, targeted, collaborative firmware upgrade method for HPLC networks, applicable to an electricity consumption information acquisition system including a master station, concentrator, and multiple electricity meters; see reference. Figure 1 As shown, the method includes the following steps: The concentrator receives an upgrade command from the master station; the upgrade command includes the firmware file to be upgraded and a list of target electricity meter addresses. The concentrator divides the firmware file into multiple ordered data packets and broadcasts an upgrade start command frame to the HPLC network; the upgrade start command frame includes a task identifier, firmware version information to be upgraded, total number of data packets, and a cryptographic digest of the target energy meter address list. Each electricity meter receives the upgrade start command frame and determines whether its own electricity meter is a target node based on the matching relationship between its own electricity meter communication address and the target electricity meter address list. If it is the target node, the firmware receiving process is activated to receive and buffer data packets from the concentrator or other nodes; if it is not the target node, it enters the cooperative relay mode to listen for and buffer the received data packets. During firmware reception, if any target node detects a missing data packet, it broadcasts a cooperative packet replacement request within the local HPLC communication range. The cooperative packet replacement request includes the sequence number of the missing data packet. Any energy meter that has cached the data packet with the corresponding sequence number will directly unicast the corresponding missing data packet to the target node that issued the request. After the firmware is received, the target node performs a firmware update operation.

[0028] The electricity consumption information collection system in this embodiment refers to... Figure 2 As shown, the system includes a master station, a concentrator, and numerous electricity meters connected to the same power line distribution area; in this embodiment, there are m such meters. The master station is the operation and maintenance management unit, the concentrator is the HPLC network master node, and the numerous electricity meters are HPLC slave nodes. Based on a specific upgrade task, the electricity meters are divided into target nodes (requiring upgrades) and non-target nodes (not requiring upgrades but participating in the collaboration).

[0029] In this embodiment, the concentrator's workflow is as follows: Receiving and parsing instructions: The concentrator receives remote upgrade instructions from the master station and parses out the firmware file F and the target energy meter address list L.

[0030] Local storage and preparation: Securely store F and L. Divide firmware F into multiple numbered data packet sequences {P1, P2, ..., P...}. n}

[0031] Upgrade Announcement: An "Upgrade Start Command Frame" is periodically broadcast via the HPLC channel. This frame contains metadata such as the task identifier (upgrade task ID), the firmware version number to be upgraded, the total number of data packets n, and the hash value H(L) of the target electricity meter address list L. The hash value H(L) is a cryptographic digest generated using SM3, SHA-256, or other national / international standard hash algorithms, used to ensure the integrity and tamper-proof nature of the target electricity meter address list L during transmission.

[0032] Firmware data distribution: Firmware data packets are sent to the network via broadcast or, more efficiently, multicast using network routing tables. The concentrator's primary responsibility is to perform the initial, and as wide a, data flooding as possible.

[0033] Monitoring and summarizing: Receive and record the final upgrade success or failure results reported by the target node, but do not actively intervene in or lead the specific patching process unless clear feedback of collaboration failure is received.

[0034] In this embodiment, the workflow of the target energy meter (target node) is as follows: Listening and Authentication: Upon receiving an "upgrade start command frame," the system listens to the channel and verifies whether its own address belongs to the target of this upgrade; for example, by verifying through a locally stored list or through a brief interactive verification with the concentrator. If not, it immediately switches to "cooperative relay mode."

[0035] Entering receiving state: If it is the target node, it sends an acknowledgment to the concentrator and enters the firmware receiving state.

[0036] Receive and verify data packets: Receive data packets from the concentrator or other sources, sort and verify them according to their sequence numbers.

[0037] Initiate a collaborative packet replacement request: When a gap is found in the data packet sequence (e.g., missing packet P) x )hour: a. Wait for a random backoff time to reduce the probability of channel collisions caused by concurrent requests from multiple target nodes.

[0038] b. Broadcast a "cooperative packet replacement request" on the local HPLC channel, declaring the required data packet sequence number x.

[0039] c. Listen for and receive packet replacement responses from any neighboring nodes.

[0040] Assembly and upgrade execution: After all data packets are received and verified, the complete firmware is assembled, a final security verification is performed, and after successful verification, the firmware update operation is executed and the firmware is restarted to take effect.

[0041] In this embodiment, the workflow of the non-target energy meter (non-target node) is as follows: Mode switching: When it confirms that it is not the target node, it automatically enters the collaborative relay mode.

[0042] Listening and caching data: In this mode, continue listening for and receiving firmware data packets broadcast by the concentrator. Successfully received data packets are temporarily stored in a dedicated buffer. Buffer management can employ strategies such as sliding windows to retain a number of recently received data packets. When caching data packets, both target and non-target energy meters retain only data packets that match their own task identifier, avoiding buffer pollution in multi-task concurrent scenarios.

[0043] Listen for collaboration requests: Continuously listen for "collaboration packet replenishment requests" on the HPLC channel.

[0044] Execute relay forwarding: When a valid packet replacement request is detected, and the cache contains the requested packet (e.g., P), x When the request is made, the data packet P is immediately unicasted directly to the source address of the request frame (i.e., the target node that issued the request). x .

[0045] Resource cleanup: After the preset upgrade task timeout period expires, all relevant cached data will be automatically cleared, the collaborative relay mode will be exited, and normal business functions will be restored.

[0046] In this embodiment, within an HPLC zone, the concentrator needs to upgrade 50 specific energy meters (target nodes), while there are a total of 200 energy meters in the zone.

[0047] During the broadcast distribution phase, the concentrator begins broadcasting firmware data packets. All 200 electricity meters can receive the signal at the physical layer. Among them, 50 target meters begin receiving and storing data; the remaining 150 non-target meters, after recognizing their own status, switch to cooperative relay mode, but also selectively buffer the data packets they hear.

[0048] During the cooperative packet replenishment phase, target table A loses packet P3 due to power line channel interference. Instead of directly contacting the concentrator, table A broadcasts locally: "I am A, I need P3." This request is heard by several nodes near its power line, such as target table B and cooperating table C. Previously, both table B and table C had correctly cached P3. Therefore, table B and table C send packet P3 to table A almost simultaneously (or under some priority mechanism). Table A retrieves the missing packet from the first correct response that arrives. The entire process is completed locally, without consuming concentrator resources or remote uplinks.

[0049] This embodiment combines the inherent broadcast characteristics of HPLC networks with the collaborative capabilities between nodes to create an efficient, flexible, and robust remote directional firmware upgrade solution, which is particularly suitable for large-scale, high-density power line communication scenarios with variable channel environments.

[0050] This invention, firstly, introduces a node-to-node collaborative packet replacement mechanism. When the target energy meter detects a missing firmware data packet, it can broadcast a packet replacement request to neighboring nodes (including non-target nodes) within the local HPLC communication range. The node that has the data packet in its cache can then directly unicast it back. This effectively avoids the inefficiency and link fragility issues caused by relying solely on concentrator retransmission in traditional solutions, and significantly improves the upgrade success rate.

[0051] Secondly, non-target nodes selectively cache data packets in a cooperative relay mode and respond only when a request is received. This saves channel bandwidth and terminal storage resources while avoiding network congestion caused by network-wide broadcasting. Furthermore, the upgrade command uses a cryptographic digest of the target address list to achieve secure and precise targeted upgrades, preventing address information leakage or tampering.

[0052] The entire solution requires no modification to the existing HPLC protocol stack, has strong compatibility, is easy to deploy on the existing network, and significantly improves the reliability, security and efficiency of remote operation and maintenance of large-scale electricity information collection systems.

[0053] In this invention, electricity meters that do not require upgrades are no longer idle resources, but are transformed into active distributed data caching and forwarding units. They cache received broadcast data packets and respond to packet replenishment requests from nearby target nodes, distributing replenishment traffic from the centralized "concentrator-meter" uplink to numerous "meter-meter" parallel links. This significantly reduces the communication load on the concentrator, alleviates congestion on the backbone channel, and significantly improves the success rate and speed of data distribution in complex power line noise environments by utilizing multi-path redundancy.

[0054] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other.

[0055] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A remote, targeted, collaborative firmware upgrade method suitable for HPLC networks, characterized in that, The method is applied to an electricity consumption information collection system that includes a main station, a concentrator, and multiple electricity meters; the method includes the following steps: The concentrator receives an upgrade command from the master station; the upgrade command includes the firmware file to be upgraded and a list of target electricity meter addresses. The concentrator divides the firmware file into multiple ordered data packets and broadcasts an upgrade start command frame to the HPLC network; the upgrade start command frame includes a task identifier, firmware version information to be upgraded, total number of data packets, and a cryptographic digest of the target energy meter address list. Each electricity meter receives the upgrade start command frame and determines whether its own electricity meter is a target node based on the matching relationship between its own electricity meter communication address and the target electricity meter address list. If it is the target node, the firmware receiving process is activated to receive and buffer data packets from the concentrator or other nodes; if it is not the target node, it enters the cooperative relay mode to listen for and buffer the received data packets. During firmware reception, if any target node detects a missing data packet, it broadcasts a cooperative packet replacement request within the local HPLC communication range. The cooperative packet replacement request includes the sequence number of the missing data packet. Any energy meter that has cached the data packet with the corresponding sequence number will directly unicast the corresponding missing data packet to the target node that issued the request. After the firmware is received, the target node performs a firmware update operation.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The method for determining whether its own electricity meter is a target node includes: The communication address of its own electricity meter is compared with the target electricity meter address list item by item to determine whether its own electricity meter belongs to the target node. and / or Based on the cryptographic digest of the target electricity meter address list, combined with a local preset key or verification algorithm, it is determined whether its own electricity meter belongs to the target node.

3. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The non-target node uses a sliding window mechanism to cache several received data packets in the cooperative relay mode, and clears the cached content when the upgrade task times out or is completed.

4. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The concentrator distributes multiple ordered data packets using either a broadcast method or a multicast method based on HPLC network topology awareness.

5. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The cryptographic digest of the target electricity meter address list is generated using a hash algorithm.

6. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The collaborative packet replacement request also includes a task identifier.

7. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, After receiving all data packets, the target node performs integrity and version consistency verification on the reconstructed firmware file, and executes firmware update operation after the verification is passed.

8. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, If the target node fails to acquire all data packets within a preset time, it shall report an upgrade failure status to the concentrator.

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