Data Matters - A blog about flash memory

ONFI Announces EZ-NAND at Flash Memory Summit: OEMs Rejoice (or they should!)

michele — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:16:03 +0000

Last week’s Flash Memory Summit was a whirlwind of tutorials, announcements and networking, including a presentation by our very own CEO Roy Sherrill, but if you missed the announcement by ONFI (the Open NAND Flash Interface organization) that its new ONFI 2.3 specification will include the EZ-NAND protocol, take a few minutes to soak it in. The news about EZ-NAND, which stands for error correction code (ECC) Zero NAND, is especially welcome for manufacturers of smart phones and other high-performance, price-competitive embedded devices. The EZ-NAND protocol dictates that ECCs are done by the NAND itself rather than by the NAND controller or device driver, a much more efficient method (as we’ve been blogging for nearly two years now). Also, in this era of fast-changing ECC NAND requirements, not having to keep up with the rapidly changing NAND ECC requirements by using costly high-end NAND controllers is a major competitive advantage for OEMs.

In current raw NAND implementations, the host controller is responsible for managing ECC and all other NAND functions like wear leveling, bad block management and compaction. ECC is notoriously difficult to implement in software, and EZ-NAND decouples it from the rest of these functions, allowing device designers to use the system processor for these functions and avoid the use of expensive NAND controllers. This setup, combined with a high-performance flash manager like FlashFX Tera, offers OEMs the ultimate combination of performance, flexibility and low cost to make those high-octane smart phone processors (MIPS, PowerPC, iMX-31 and OMAP families, etc.) really shine. While eMMC, with its hardware-based ECC seems to offer good compromise, the reality is that the other NAND functions (wear-leveling, bad block management and compaction) have to contend with the inexpensive controller found in the eMMC device. Translation: less-than-optimal use of the flash and seriously bogged-down performance in many use cases.

We would love to hear what you thought of this year’s Flash Memory Summit, what you learned, what surprised you and what you liked or didn’t like. Also, let us know if you have comments or questions about EZ-NAND using the comment field below.

Datalight Blasting Into Space Again with SpaceX Falcon 9 Project

michele — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:59:21 +0000

Earlier this month (June 4th) SpaceX sent the Falcon 9 rocket on its maiden voyage from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with a successful orbital insertion. Falcon 9 is a reusable spacecraft which will be used to resupply the International Space Station under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. We are delighted that SpaceX selected Datalight Reliance and FlashFX Pro to protect mission-critical data from the rigors of space travel, such as shock, vibration, temperature extremes and radiation. Emily Shanklin,Director, Marketing and Communications for SpaceX had this to say: “Datalight software enables reliable flash-based embedded computing for SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft missions in the data-hostile conditions of space.”

Datalight XCFiles File System for SDXC Removable Storage Helps OEMs Get Consumer Devices to Market Quickly

michele — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:06:38 +0000

Earlier this week we announced XCFiles, a design-ready exFAT-compatible file system for next-generation extended capacity SD (SDXC) cards. Visit Datalight.com to read the full announcement or learn more about our exFAT implementation

Datalight Introduces Software Support for Micron’s 4-Gigabit 34-nanometer NAND, Offering On-Die Error Correction Code

michele — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:51:26 +0000

Bothell, WA, – June 15, 2010 – Today Datalight announced support for Micron Technology’s 4-gigabit (Gb) 34-nanometer (nm) NAND flash with on-die error correction code (ECC) within its popular flash managers, including FlashFX Pro and FlashFX Tera.

Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/9xn2DW

Datalight Flash File System Supports Linux Kernel Version 2.6.34

michele — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:27:36 +0000

We just announced support for Linux Kernel Version 2.6.34. Read the full announcement here: http://bit.ly/c3UqXk

Datalight Chosen for Blackboard Campus Card Reader Systems

michele — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:26:23 +0000

Blackboard is the standard-bearer for student ID systems around the world. Their contactless cards serve as campus ID, building access, and point-of-sale accounts for meals and other services, and are rapidly replacing the old magnetic stripe systems. The cards and readers use a Windows Embedded CE-based platform. When Blackboard’s BSP provider learned that the systems would be responsible for keeping track of sensitive financial transactions, they recommended Datalight software to make certain that the system will function with bullet-proof reliability. To read more about our work with Blackboard, check out the full success story.

Booting Linux Using Reliance Nitro and FlashFX Tera as the Root File System

michele — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:32:28 +0000

Recently we developed a sample project to demonstrate how to boot Linux from flash on an embedded system. Booting NAND with a single (root) file system can be a challenge, even when using a NOR chip to initialize as this project did. So how did we do it? In order to simplify the process, we loaded our Datalight bootloader into the NOR flash and programmed the monitor that comes with the board to jump directly to it. So if you use the sample project with a Freescale i.MX31, a single command starts the loader and allows it to load the kernel and the initial RAM disk from flash managed by FlashFX Tera with Reliance Nitro. It will then read them into memory, jump to the kernel, and the kernel will start running code from the initial RAM disk which loads the FlashFX Tera and Reliance Nitro drivers into the kernel. Next, it mounts the flash as the root file system and the system is powered up and running. Within about ten seconds your i.MX31 is up and running with FlashFX Tera running the flash and Reliance Nitro running as the root file system. If you’d like to try it for yourself, we’ve included sample code for this project with our latest product release. In addition, our sample loader could just as easily be loaded into memory other ways.

Press Release: Latest Datalight Flash File System Brings 20 Millisecond Mount Times to Linux through Kernel Versions 2.6.33

michele — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:02:56 +0000

Bothell, WA, – May 5, 2010 – Today Datalight announced support for Linux kernel versions up to 2.6.33, the most recently released Linux versions available. FlashFX Tera, the file-system independent flash memory manager and Reliance Nitro, the highly-reliable, high-performance file system offer much faster mount times than UBIFS, YAFFS, or JFFS2. In addition, the Datalight products boost write speed over the standard file systems and provide out-of-the-box support for over 300 different flash memory parts from all the leading suppliers. Linux is finding its way into more devices such as smart phones, automotive infotainment, and industrial equipment which require both responsiveness and 100% data reliability.

“With the growth in adoption of Linux for data-intensive embedded devices, OEMs need a flash file system that better supports their reliability and performance requirements.” said Roy Sherrill, Datalight CEO. “By supporting the most recent kernel versions of Linux we’re filling that gap in the market with a robust, commercial-grade solution backed by our reputation for responsive, high-quality support.”

FlashFX Tera supports the full range of flash technologies including NAND, NOR, and MLC NAND flash in a single driver. Its patented wear-leveling and bad block management extend the useful life of devices using flash. While FlashFX Tera can be used with virtually any file system, pairing it with Reliance Nitro provides an optimized data storage software stack to simplify system development.

FlashFX Tera 1.2 and Reliance Nitro 1.2 are available immediately from Datalight and the Datalight worldwide network of channel partners. Please visit us at http://www.datalight.com/partners/worldwide-sales-partners to find a reseller near you.

The Reliance family of file systems and FlashFX family of flash media managers comprise the Datalight flash file system solution. Reliance was designed from the ground up for high reliability applications. Dynamic Transaction Point™ technology gives developers full control over performance and data protection characteristics, protecting users from file system corruption, even after unexpected system interruption. Embedded applications can benefit from faster boot times that remain consistent for the life of the product, regardless of disk size. FlashFX™ Tera features pre-written support for over 300 flash parts, works with virtually any NAND controller, and features wear leveling, bad block management, and background compaction for unrivaled performance.

For information, contact:
Kerri McConnell, Director of Marketing
425.686.1069
kerri.mcconnell@datalight.com

About Datalight

Datalight, Inc. headquartered just north of Seattle, Wash., develops technologies to enable risk-free mobile data. Datalight file system and device driver software ensures reliability, performance and flexibility, and is used worldwide on many of today’s most well-known devices. For more information, visit http://www.datalight.com/, call 800.221.6630 or visit blog at http://blog.datalight.com

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DATALIGHT, Datalight, the Datalight Logo, FlashFX, FlashFX Pro, FlashFX Tera, Reliance, Reliance Nitro, ROM-DOS, One-Boot, One-Boot+File, and Sockets are trademarks or registered trademarks of Datalight, Inc. All other product names are trademarks of their respective holders. Specification and price change privileges reserved.

Digital Payment: Come for the Flash Management, Stay for the Reliability

michele — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:59:05 +0000

We recently had the opportunity to work with Digital Payment to solve a NAND flash corruption issue by using the validation tools that come standard in FlashFX Pro. You’ve probably seen their shiny parking meters around town, including many remote locations that have no permanent power and no easy access to service. That’s why when Digital Payment learned of the reliability benefits of Reliance, they saw an opportunity to improve up-time and lower service costs. Reliability is just one of many reasons their parking meters are popular with parking lot owners and municipalities looking for dependable, user-friendly machines. Be sure to check out the full case study for more information about Digital Payment’s experience with FlashFX Pro and Reliance.

Psst! Datalight is the “secret sauce”

michele — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:59:34 +0000

Customers tell us the performance and reliability benefits of our products are important competitive advantages for them. So with hundreds of Datalight customers shipping millions of products, why don’t you see more glowing reviews and fact-driven case studies on our website? As one top-tier consumer OEM recently told us, “If our competitors know that we use Datalight, they may use it too, and we don’t want to lose that advantage.” What a fantastic endorsement – Datalight is an ingredient of this customer’s “secret sauce!” Just last week an OEM building a metering product expressed reluctance to have us publish a case study. They were concerned competitors googling their name would find it and learn about the problem Datalight solved for them. One the one hand, it’s wonderful that our products are a factor in customers beating their competition; on the other hand it’s frustrating to not be able to tell the world about the role we’re playing in market leading devices. For now, our solution is to take the “Dragnet” approach and change the names to protect the innocent. And now you know the rest of the story: behind each example we use in marketing our products sits an organization driving fantastic innovation in the embedded industry with a real-world problem that Datalight solved.

Here are a few case studies that we are allowed to share: