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CompuLab
Introduces a New NAND Flash Disk Driver
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HAIFA,
ISRAEL – DECEMBER 20, 2004 – CompuLab
introduced the FD3 - the third generation of NAND Flash Disk Drivers.
The new driver supports NAND Flash sizes up to 512 MBytes - four
times larger than the previous version. It also provides a new write
protection mechanism, maximizing reliability in mission-critical
applications.
Why a NAND Flash Driver ?
NAND Flash components are widely used
today in consumer applications such as digital cameras and cellular
phones. High consumption and competition has driven NAND prices
down, making them the most attractive compact storage media. On the
other hand, embedded system developers have found the initial
investment incurred by NAND integration into their systems prohibitive.
Working directly with a NAND flash requires the development of
complicated drivers, an effort judged by many companies as not
cost-efficient.
Drivers' complexity drove developers
to seek third party solutions. These solutions are known as
"Disk-on-chip", "Compact Flash",
"Disk-on-key" and many other combinations of a NAND flash
with a controller providing an easy-to-use interface. But the
involvement of a third party means a higher price, eventually rolled
onto the customer.
Taking a long-term perspective,
CompuLab made the initial investment in NAND Flash Driver technology
since the beginning of the CORE module product line's launch, back
in 1999. Over the past years, the driver has been continually
improved and its capabilities extended. Today, hundreds of companies
around the globe benefit from the advantages of the inexpensive
flash disk technology implemented on CORE modules by a combination
of NAND components and CompuLab's flash driver.
Driver's Specifications
The NAND Flash Disk
Driver emulates disk-like behavior using the NAND Flash memory
component. The driver's core code is operating system independent -
the same code is used for all operating systems. Since each
operating system requires the driver to be integrated through a
different interface, CompuLab provides a Flash Disk Driver kit per
operating system. Driver code is also included in BIOS and ARMmon,
to provide Flash Disk service during operating system startup. The
driver performs the following functions:
- Translation of sector read/write
requests from the operating system to block access operations on
physical media (flash)
- Buffering and consolidation of
sector write operations
- Mapping and swapping-out of bad
blocks
- Error correction using ECC
- Anti-wearing
- Crash / power fail protection
The latest FD3 version adds two benefits:
- Support of new, larger NAND components, up
to 512 MBytes
- Region write protection. This feature
allows flash disk partitioning on the operating system level and
write protection of one partition on the driver level - for
extended reliability essential in mission critical applications.
About CompuLab
Established in 1992, CompuLab
Ltd. develops and manufactures tiny System-on-Module (SOM) single board
computers. CompuLab's customers
include more than
300
companies in 50 countries. The company's
offices are located in Haifa, Israel.
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