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Reliance

High Reliability File System


From consumer devices to tools for industrial testing and control, embedded devices may be treated with the utmost care or be dropped regularly. Most embedded systems operate without the support of a plug in the wall, and they could be at risk for unexpected power loss. The rules and assumptions that apply to the PC environment are tossed out the window in the embedded world.

Reliance is a file system that was developed specifically for embedded systems. Engineers who choose Reliance do so because they cannot take a chance that data could be lost due to file system corruption. Reliance's transactional architecture ensures high reliability against data corruption and its Dynamic Transaction Point™ technology allows developers the flexibility to tune file system performance. Reliance file system is fully exchangeable with Microsoft Windows based machines using the Reliance Windows Driver (RWD).

How Reliance Works

Datalight Reliance™ is a two state file system, the Working State and the Committed State. Original data (the Committed State) is preserved until the new data (the Working State) is written and a transaction point is performed. During operation on the Working State, all file system modifications - including changes to directories, files and metadata - are stored on an area of the media that is currently unused and does not contain Committed State data. The possibility of corruption is eliminated because the data of the new transaction is written to an unused portion of the media. Writing to an unused portion of the media allows the previous state of the file system to be untouched. Valid data from the previous transaction is always available.

Features and Benefits

Feature
Benefit

Dynamic Transaction Point technology - Customize the balance between reliability and performance All writes are atomic.

 Take Control of Device Reliability
Eliminate data corruption without sacrificing performance

No CHKDISK utility necessary, even after unexpected power loss.

 Fast Boot Time
Reliance boots in under one second

Multi-threaded architecture reduces latency between multiple file access requests.  

Uninterrupted Media Playback
High-quality multi-media experience

A performance-enhancing discard interface is provided for NAND and NOR; other block device drivers are supported (incl. RAM, DOC, SD/MMC, USB).

Full ANSI C source code is available  

Design Flexibility
Freedom of choice

Best in class, highly responsive technical support

SDKs available for VxWorks, Nucleus, and Windows CE.
RTOS Porting (with POSIX-like functions) for any 32-bit RTOS, including proprietary operating systems. 

Faster Time to Market
Save development costs
Reliance-formatted media can be accessed from a Windows desktop system when the Reliance Windows Driver is installed on the target. Data Exchangeability
Allows for seamless data exchange between the device and the host PC

Product Specifications

Datalight Reliance with Dynamic Transaction PointTM technology is a multi-threaded, fault-tolerant file system, offering control of performance and reliability. Reliance integrates easily into your system without application modifications. Its unique application-controlled transaction points lets Reliance users achieve ultimate reliability and performance, responsive to every nuance of your unique use cases.  Unlike default solutions, such as FAT-based file systems which are built on the faulty foundation of 1980’s desktop file systems, Datalight Reliance has been specifically designed for flawless operation on the full range of modern storage technologies, including flash memory.

 

Reliance is Highly Reliable
  • Prevents data corruption in the event of power loss or other system crashes
  • Transaction-based approach offers the user an "always consistent" file system
  • Preserves both the file system's metadata and user data
  • Transaction points are atomic - power loss at any point will not corrupt the file system
Reliance Architecture is Fast and Efficient
  • Allows multi-threaded read operations
  • A proprietary data format ensures reliability without sacrificing performance
  • Reliance provides discard interface for flash memory ? this allows extremely high sustained write speeds on resident flash when used with Datalight FlashFX Pro
  • Reliance provides performance comparable or faster to FAT-based and other unreliable file systems
  • Unlike FAT or logging file systems, there is no need for a chkdsk utility or journal reconstruction to check the integrity of the file system at boot time - allowing Reliance to offer a faster mount times
Reliance is Flexible and Easy to Use
  • Works with virtually any block device driver, including those for flash memory, DiskOnChip, ATA, and SCSI devices
  • Includes an automatic transaction mode so that application changes are not required
  • Offers API functions that give the developer complete control over how transactions are performed
  • Reliance is written in 100% ANSI C and ships in source code form
Reliance supports any 32-bit OS
  • Ships as a drop-in replacement for the native file system under VxWorks, Nucleus, and Windows CE
  • An RTOS Porting Kit enables developers to port Reliance to any 32-bit operating system
  • Reliance is a "drop in" replacement for the FAT native file system and can be built into the bootable images
Reliance Development Specifications
Target system  
Block device and 70 KB RAM (architecture and configuration dependent)
Development system Windows 32 out of the box, others available
Supported media
 Flash memory, RAM, rotating disk, DiskOnChip
In-system memory space
70 KB to 120 KB (nominal)
Media volume size Each partition (or disk) can be scaled from 64 KB to 2 TB
File Size To 4 GB
Directory Size To 4 GB
Logical Block size Selectable from 512 bytes to 64 KB
Transaction settings Event-based (i.e. file close), manual (i.e. application controlled), or timed
FREE 30-day Source Evaluation Enables developers to integrate Reliance with a limited number of transactions into their design. A Datalight source code agreement is required.

Getting Started

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