Flash Manager

Introduction

Seamlessly integrated into RobustOS Pro, Robustel's Flash Manager is an innovative software tool compatible with all Robustel IoT Edge Gateways. These gateways often utilize eMMC flash storage, which has a finite number of write/erase cycles (typically around 3000 for MLC NAND Flash). Applications involving frequent data logging or system updates can lead to excessive writes, potentially causing premature failure of the storage and, consequently, the entire system before its intended operational lifetime is over. Flash Manager is designed to help users assess and mitigate the potential risk of this premature wear and tear on their onboard solid-state storage.

Once the final software image for a project is established, Flash Manager can be run for a period (e.g., a day or a week) to record granular details about how the application software and the OS interact with the system drive. This data allows users to extrapolate and estimate the endurance or 'useful lifetime' of the solid-state drive under real-world operating conditions.

Key Advantages

• Lifespan Assessment: Enables users to record detailed information on how their application software and OS interact with the eMMC flash storage, allowing estimation of the drive's 'useful lifetime' under specific, real-world conditions.

• Risk Mitigation for Premature Wear: Helps identify if an application's write behavior poses a risk of premature wear-out to the eMMC storage.

• Informed Optimization Strategies: If premature wear is a concern, insights from Flash Manager can guide various endurance-enhancing strategies, such as:

• Optimizing application software to write data to disk more efficiently.
• Considering over-provisioning by using a larger capacity drive for more total read/write cycles.
• Exploring the use of pSLC (pseudo SLC) mode to enhance an existing flash drive's write endurance.
• Making other OS-level optimizations to reduce unnecessary write operations.

• Integrated Solution: As a tool seamlessly integrated into RobustOS Pro, Flash Manager provides a convenient, built-in method for storage management across all compatible Robustel IoT Edge Gateways.

• Understanding Write Behavior: Provides detailed information on data throughput, offering a clear picture of the write intensity generated by the deployed application.