Recovering Multiple Xbox One Development Consoles
Recovering multiple consoles simultaneously from a single PC is a common need for those who manage test labs and other environments that have multiple consoles. This can be accomplished using the same recovery and update tools that you use to recover a single dev kit.
This topic covers recovering multiple consoles using the command line tools, Xbox One Manager can also be used to recover multiple consoles. For more information on using Xbox One Manager to recover multiple consoles, see Updating a Console with Xbox One Manager.
Note There are no caps or limits in the update tools or the underlying communications infrastructure that will determine the maximum number of consoles that you can recover simultaneously from a given PC. However, this operation is subject to limitations in normal PC performance factors (such as RAM and hard drive performance), as well as the performance characteristics of your network infrastructure. Your results, in terms of the number of dev kits that you can update simultaneously, will depend heavily on those hardware factors.
Procedure and examples
The process for recovering multiple consoles uses the /X parameter to specify the address of the console to be updated. By using /X, you are not limited to communicating with the single default console you set with xbConnect. This parameter works across the command line tools (xbdir, xbapp, xbcp, and so on), and it accepts an IP address or host name as shown in the following examples. Using /X does not change the default console you may have set with xbconnect.exe.
To update three dev kits on the network from a single PC, you could use these commands in an Xbox One command window, pressing the Enter key after each line:
start cmd /c xboxoneupdate.bat /X:192.168.45.3
start cmd /c xboxoneupdate.bat /X:192.168.45.4
start cmd /c xboxoneupdate.bat /X:192.168.45.5
This causes all three console updates to run at the same time from a single PC.
This same approach could be extended by using a batch file and logging the output to a file. Create the batch file as shown in the following example.
echo start cmd /c %XBOX_UPDATE_PATH%\XboxOneUpdate.bat /X:%DEVKIT1_IP% >> %LOGFILE%
start cmd /c %XBOX_UPDATE_PATH%\XboxOneUpdate.bat /X:%DEVKIT1_IP%
echo start cmd /c %XBOX_UPDATE_PATH%\XboxOneUpdate.bat /X:%TESTKIT1_IP% >> %LOGFILE%
start cmd /c %XBOX_UPDATE_PATH%\XboxOneUpdate.bat /X:%TESTKIT1_IP%
Before executing the batch file, set the environment variables as described in the following table.
| Environment variable | Description of value |
|---|---|
| XBOX_UPDATE_PATH | Path to the update that you want to install on the dev kits. |
| DEVKIT1_IP | IP address of the dev kit. |
| TESTKIT1_IP | IP address of the dev kit that you want to update.Note Exclusive app test kits are no longer available for purchase. However, any test kits that you have previously acquired are still supported. |
| LOGFILE | Path and file name of the log file to which output will be written. |
Adapting to your needs
Every development environment is unique. By using /X as part of xboxoneupdate.bat, you can create a variety of scripted approaches to multiple-console recovery that work for your specific situation. Using this approach, the number of recoveries you can drive at the same time is limited only by your PC and network capabilities.