Understanding the Role of Firmware in the HAL System

All the devices in a HAL System—RADs, DRs, Expansion Units, and the HAL device itself—contain firmware that is essential to the operation of the system. You're likely not too interested in the mind-numbing details of what this firmware does and how it does it, but you do need to understand that changes are sometimes needed in the firmware. When you install a version of the Halogen software, it always contains the compatible firmware version for all devices.

It is also important to understand that the firmware and Halogen software must always be synchronized. In other words, their versions must match. Rane simplifies this requirement by packaging firmware and software updates together. There may still be situations, however, when your computer is out of sync with the HAL device:

• The Halogen version on your computer is older than the firmware on the HAL. Perhaps someone else used another computer to update the system and now your computer is out of sync. In this situation, you would need to either update the Halogen version on your computer (the preferred approach in most situations) or roll back the firmware on the HAL.
• The Halogen version on your computer is newer than the firmware on the HAL. Perhaps someone rolled back the HAL version from another computer and now your computer is out of sync. In this case, you could either run an older version of Halogen on your computer or update the HAL firmware.

The bottom line is that the firmware and software versions must match for the system to work.

note: Updating the HAL firmware requires taking the system down for a short amount of time—typically five minutes or less.

warning! When you roll back the firmware, your current HAL configuration is lost. When you update the firmware, your current HAL configuration is maintained.