Mender to Pantavisor
Mender updates the image: it keeps two copies of the rootfs (an A/B slot pair) and writes a full Artifact into the inactive slot, then switches the bootloader flag. Pantavisor replaces that model entirely — it owns PID 1 and ships every change as a content-addressed revision, transferring only the objects that actually changed. There is no A/B duplication of the whole rootfs and no separate updater running on top of the OS.
See also: Pantavisor vs Mender for the capability comparison.
How the concepts map
| Mender | Pantavisor | Notes |
|---|---|---|
meta-mender Yocto layer | meta-pantavisor | Swap the layer; Pantavisor builds the BSP, kernel, and containers. |
| A/B rootfs slots | Revisions in the trail | Rollback is to the previous revision, not a mirrored partition — no doubled storage for the full rootfs. |
Mender Artifact (.mender) | A pvr revision (pvr commit + pvr post) | The unit of update is a signed, diffable revision. |
mender-binary-delta (commercial delta) | Object-level diffs (built in) | Only changed content-addressed objects are transferred — no separate delta add-on. |
| Update Modules (partial/app updates) | Containers | Every component is already an independent container; app updates never touch the base. |
| Mender client (a service on the OS) | Pantavisor is PID 1 | No agent layered on top — the runtime and the updater are the same process. |
| Mender server / Hosted Mender | Pantahub (optional) | Or deploy directly over the local network with pvr; the cloud is not required. |
| Bootloader bootcount rollback | Health-gated commit + bootloader try/rollback | A trial revision must pass health checks before it is marked good. |
Migration path
- Rebuild with
meta-pantavisor. Replacemeta-menderin your Yocto configuration. See Build with Yocto and Get started with meta-pantavisor. - Decompose the rootfs into containers. What was a single Mender rootfs becomes a BSP container plus one or more application containers. See Concepts and Develop applications.
- Flash a Pantavisor image to your board. See Install on hardware.
- Wire up deployments. Push revisions over the local network with
pvr, or claim the device on Pantahub for remote OTA.
What changes for your team
- App fixes stop being full-image events. A one-line change ships as a small container layer, not a full rootfs Artifact. See the benchmarks for the size and time difference.
- The base and kernel are updated the same way — as containers in a revision — so you do not run an A/B image updater underneath Pantavisor.
- Rollback is automatic and health-gated, not just a bootcount flip.
⚠️ Warning — No hybrid stacks
Do not keep Mender updating the rootfs/kernel while Pantavisor handles apps. That reintroduces whole-image updates and breaks the single signed-revision model. Pantavisor replaces Mender, it does not run alongside it.