SparkCore independence

Firmware
1

Asking these because have seen some threads about heavy dependence on Cloud

  1. Will SparkCore run without WiFi connection at all? ETA if not
  2. Will SparkCore run without internet connection? ETA if not
  3. Can I update my programs in Spark using Wifi, but with no internet? ETA if not

Internet dependency is something that I would like to completely remove from my projects

1 Like
2

I need wifi without internet as well, internet dependence doesn’t help you in areas where a VPN connection is a requirement and a login screen is there to make matters worse!

3

You can run the Spark Core without a Wi-Fi connection and without an internet connection by building locally and undefining SPARK_WLAN_ENABLE.

You will be able do over-the-air firmware updates from your own local machine once we release the open source cloud, which will be in the next few weeks.

4

And what about WiFi minus internet? I understand correctly it is not available right now as WiFi automatically requires cloud connection? I need to communicate only in local LAN

1 Like
5

Will the open source cloud also host a local web IDE?
I assume the cloud will be able to operate with and without an internet connection.

Off topic: Is there anything that can be done for users in the middle of nowhere in terms of speed with Spark’s cloud? Another server in a different geographical region perhaps?

It really forces the use of the local toolchain when it takes minutes to upload.

Will the cloud be able to run on the raspberry pi by any chance?

6

Hi @Mike43110,

We’ve been thinking about changes we could make that would help over-the-air flashing performance on very high-latency connections, we’ve also been planning about adding servers worldwide as capacity expands.

The local cloud will definitely run happily on the raspberry pi :slight_smile: But I’m guessing version 1 won’t have a local web IDE, since that requires a bunch of database stuff, and it runs in a different environment from the device and api services, but I could be wrong.

Thanks,
David

7

That is great to hear!

At least the local tool-chain works great for now. (Also editing in Visual Studio is great!)

If there is no local IDE though, how will the new firmware be created and be set to upload?
(Yes I do ask a lot of questions sorry!)

8

Good questions all!

You can actually upload compiled binaries directly to the Core without using the IDE:

http://docs.spark.io/#/api/verifing-and-flashing-new-firmware-flash-a-core-with-a-pre-compiled-binary