Posts Tagged ‘file system performance’

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

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.

Reliance Nitro Makes an Impact

Last week one of our customers sent the following evaluation report in an email to Datalight support staff:

Right now we are in the process of testing the impact of Reliance Nitro in our application. Apparently, we noticed some boost in the performance:  faster write speed, significant speed increase of transaction point creation, faster read speed, and significantly faster directory read (we typically have 1000 files in the directory). So, in conclusion, the overall performance of the system is boosted quite significantly.”

Another real world example of how Reliance Nitro boosts performance in directories with a large number of files. To learn how Reliance Nitro does it, check out the whitepaper.

Reliance and Reliance Nitro

Ever since we announced our high performance file system Reliance Nitro, we have been getting questions on how it compares to the original Reliance file system. Below is a quick-reference table noting some of the differences between the two. For a more detailed comparison (including performance benchmarks), please contact us.

Attributes Reliance Reliance Nitro Recommendation
High performance on large number of files  (100+)   If your device stores a large number of files in a single directory, Nitro will perform much faster than Reliance.
High performance on large files   Nitro’s extent based design allows it to perform faster on larger files. For sake of this comparison, files can be considered large if they are 10+ times the block size of the device
Frequent transaction points   Nitro introduces a new structure called Delta transactions which speed up the time taken to conduct transaction points. Depending on how often you conduct transactions points, Nitro can provide significant advantage
Random I/O performance most critical Reliance’s block based design provides an advantage on random I/O on small files. On large files both Reliance and Nitro perform equally well on this metric
Sequential I/O  performance most critical   Nitro outperforms Reliance on sequential I/O due to its extent based design
Support for Windows Mobile   FlashFX Pro 4.0 for Windows Mobile enables a new discard interface that allows Nitro to have much faster write speeds on flash memory
File-size limit 32-bit 64-bit Nitro uses 64-bit variables for file size limits allowing for very large file sizes.
Read-only version   Reliance currently provides a read-only version called Reliance Reader. Nitro currently does not provide a reader application – this is scheduled for v2