February 2016
12
C
hips
& C
omponents
can also extend system functionality. The user
can load a new encrypted firmware version
from an external environment into the con-
troller. This triggers encryption through the
development environment – such as DAVE
4.0 from Infineon. Therefore, an appropriate
plug-in is installed in DAVE. DAVE Version
4 is available for download as a free develop-
ment tool. This professional Eclipse-based
development platform supports the user in
developing software, from evaluation to final
product. Among other things, an extensive
peripheral- and application-oriented, com-
ponent-based code repository is available.
DAVE also generates appropriate code for the
peripherals of XMC microcontrollers. With
DAVE, the user can take advantage of com-
mercial third-party tools for ARM to translate,
link, and load the C source code configured
and generated in DAVE onto the MCU. That
covers the entire development cycle from
evaluation to first prototype to final product,
giving users maximum freedom in fast, effi-
cient, platform-oriented software and product
development. After transfer to the XMC4000
microcontroller, the firmware is decrypted and
stored in the flash memory. The XMC4000
handles the decoding. The microcontroller
can generate a request with its unique finger-
print for later upgrades. This encrypted request
is then transmitted to the manufacturer, who
generates an appropriately licensed update and
sends it back. The licensing update transmitted
to the microcontroller can be used to provide
new licenses or new functionality. The inte-
gration of this solution into DAVE as a plug-in
permits its use in a variety of application cases
based on a technology or development envi-
ronment with efficient firmware protection.
Functional upgrades can be carried out with-
out changes to the firmware, while secure firm-
ware updates are possible even in insecure
environments. The solution is also easy to han-
dle and customer-friendly, while using the lat-
est in encryption technology.
CodeMeter μEmbedded is a security variant
specifically developed for Field Programma-
ble Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and microcontrol-
lers.The software is characterized by extremely
small space requirements (footprint) of less
than 60 Kbytes. This was achieved by reduc-
ing the functional scope of the solution to the
absolute minimum. The licenses generated
are compatible with any CodeMeter vari-
ants. Each license is bound to a unique ID of
the FPGS or microcontroller. Licenses can
be activated in the production environment
directly during production, or afterwards by
file exchange in a features-on-demand system.
CodeMeter μEmbedded can also be used for
the secure storage of symmetric and asym-
metric keys. The key material is placed in
protected storage and can be used only on a
device with the correct ID. Typical applica-
tion cases include: license control on devices
(microcontrollers and FPGAs), monitoring of
production quantity by licensing of individual
devices, and the secure encrypted transmis-
sion of application code to the device. With
CodeMeter μEmbedded, customers on the
microcontroller family XMC4000, that uses
the ARM Cortex M4 processor, get a secure
solution for updating the firmware on embed-
ded systems already installed in the field, or to
Figure 2. The 32-bit microcontrollers in the XMC4000 family offer appropriate performance and
peripherals with powerful communications interfaces for use in IoT designs.
Figure 3. CodeMeter μEmbedded permits efficient firmware protection for systems based on
XMC4000 microcontrollers. Secure functional upgrades to the XMC4000 microcontroller are also
provided.
