Flash manager prolongs CE.NET memory life

The latest release for FlashFX from Datalight incorporates full support for Microsoft Windows CE.NET.

The latest release for FlashFX from Datalight incorporates full support for Microsoft Windows CE.NET.

FlashFX dramatically simplifies the configuration of resident Flash arrays (RFAs) in Microsoft Windows CE.NET-based devices and provides vital capabilities such as wear levelling that can extend the life of embedded devices.

"As Flash media becomes a pervasive technology in the mobile device space, it is critical for it to have a life cycle that matches the customers' needs", said Scott Horn, Director of Marketing for the Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group at Microsoft Corp.

"By installing Datalight's FlashFX 5.10 into the component catalogue for Windows CE.NET within Platform Builder, developers can quickly integrate this cost-effective technology into their cutting-edge Windows CE.NET-based device designs".

For many small, mobile devices including cell phones, in-dash global positioning (GPS) or support systems, and handheld inventory control modules, regular data updates cause constant read-erase cycles to the Flash device.

Over time, those Flash sectors wear out, become unusable, and lose data, effectively ending the useful life of the embedded device.

Datalight's patented technologies extend the life of embedded hardware designs: variable block format (VBF) provides media management, wear-levelling, write-interruption protection, and garbage collection capabilities.

Bad block management (BBM) maps bad blocks dynamically throughout the life of the product.

FlashFX directly supports all popular resident Flash memory devices and installs into the Windows CE.NET Platform Builder's Component Catalogue for all CPUs, allowing integrators to "drag and drop" FlashFX components into their embedded adaptation.

"Windows CE.NET is being considered the ideal operating system for rapidly building the next generation of smart mobile devices", said Robert Krantz, Datalight FlashFX product manager.

"While Flash memory is the ideal storage medium for these devices, it can offer development and product lifecycle challenges.

With FlashFX, developers save development costs, cut their time to market, and evolve their products' capabilities and applications without expensive hardware redesigns".

FlashFX dramatically reduces the programming complexities involved in incorporating resident Flash arrays by simply presenting Flash memory as a disk drive to Windows CE.NET and applications.

With FlashFX 5.10, a programmer can open, read, write, and delete files in the same manner that applications interact with hard disk and floppy disk drives; FlashFX automatically manages the intricate hardware interactions.

This simplifies the application development process, cuts development time, and makes more effective use of system resources.

Datalight's seamless Flash architecture allows the Windows CE.NET operating system image, applications, application data, and registry to be saved in Flash memory as disk files, giving designers complete flexibility in their use of Flash space and eliminating the need to reserve space for future growth.

By emulating a standard disk drive, the software reduces Flash memory allocation granularity to the standard 512byte disk sector size.

This results in significantly more disk space for storing application data while eliminating the need to determine exactly how much space must be reserved in each dedicated partition.

This can dramatically reduce the need for product hardware redesigns caused by a lack of application data storage.

FlashFX is provided as source code in the FlashFX porting kit, available immediately for $2500.

Delivering FlashFX in this form allows integrators complete flexibility to support any microprocessor, operating system, or Flash device.

A license is required to ship the product.

Two licensing options are available: either a per copy royalty, or for high-volume designs, a royalty buyout is available for a specific product.

(This was Electronicstalk's Top Story on 20 August 2002).

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