The new solution from the leader in storage management is designed to maximize flash lifespan, protect data integrity, and improve performance.

HELSINKI, March 7, 2023 (Newswire.com) – Tuxera, the world-leading provider of quality-assured data storage management software and networking technologies, announces the March 7 release of its new Tuxera Reliance Sense™. This new flash file system is purpose-built for data-logging applications on devices that use NOR flash, such as embedded IoT sensors, wearables, and digital meter devices.

Tuxera Reliance Sense is designed to minimize risks associated with the increasing dependence on data, including operational, financial, cost, and safety-related threats. It also mitigates storage challenges such as data reliability, flash memory wear, hardware costs, and development times in data-logging applications.

Tuxera originally developed Reliance Sense to address the main challenges of logging applications in devices like smart meters, which have become a critical component of managing energy usage and cost and now are in high demand. With post-COVID economic recovery, lingering supply chain problems, and the energy crisis in Europe, energy prices are rising. At the same time, countries are also trying to address global climate challenges. Those trends combine to create a demand for smart meters, with some 225 million expected to be deployed in Europe by 2025.

Although Reliance Sense was designed to meet the data management needs of smart meters, the global demand for sensors and sensing technology is also increasing significantly. A Gartner Semiconductor forecast reports a 6.4% CAGR 2021-2026 for non-optical sensors. “Like digital smart meters, these sensors share a reliance on NOR flash memory technology, and record data in a similar manner. That makes Reliance Sense a vital technology for developers and manufacturers of a wide spectrum of devices and use cases,” said Eva Rio, Product Manager at Tuxera.

“Embedded devices and digital sensors recording real-time or location-based data are the cornerstones of our ‘all things sensing’ future,” said Rio. “While Reliance Sense was designed with smart meters in mind, it maximizes the efficiency and lifespan of memory systems in any data-logging application using NOR flash. It ensures data integrity, while also helping developers bring their projects to market more quickly.”

The data logging and metering applications at the core of those devices continuously generate structured records and require the most recent data to always be available, Rio explained. When the memory is full, old data should be overwritten with more recent data.

“However, general-purpose file systems are not designed to do so efficiently. By default, standard file systems lack logic to store serial data streams and need more flash operations to manage the data. That creates overhead and complexity specifically when storing structured data,” Rio said.

Tuxera’s novel Reliance Sense solves those issues with a unique, database-like approach that efficiently uses the byte-addressable mode of NOR flash memory. It features a circular design to suit continuous recording workloads and a linear setup for storing configuration data. Application developers are in control of defining the database and how to interact with its records.

Reliance Sense simplifies the logging application through its advanced API for record management, which includes read, write, search, and user-defined functions. The result is simpler, more reliable, and more efficient application code. This translates into a reduced number of storage operations – extending flash lifetime, reducing power consumption, and boosting performance.

Customers will see an accelerated time to market with Reliance Sense because of its easy-to-use API, wide NOR part compatibility and advanced tools that simplify the testing process. Reliance Sense ships with a simulator tool for behavior modeling, which allows the application developer to understand the long-term behavior of the flash, validate the system behavior in case of power interruption, and import flash images for diagnostic analysis.

In addition, Reliance Sense reduces supply chain risk because of its extensive NOR part compatibility. If a manufacturer or developer relies on NOR flash hardware that is discontinued or otherwise unavailable, Reliance Sense will work with any replacement.

Reliance Sense is also compatible with any real-time operating system (RTOS) or bare metal. Its minimal CPU usage and low ROM/RAM footprint make it ideal for use in resource-constrained environments. The file system also provides power fail-safe data storage, predictable data integrity, and reliable system recovery every time.

Reliance Sense is the result of decades of experience in storage software working with the most complex embedded environments across a wide range of industries such as industrial, medical, automotive and aerospace. 

Learn more about Tuxera Reliance Sense.