Nitro Turbocharge

This varies greatly from the FAT file system where some data is overwritten when updating a file, and journaling file systems like ext4, where a log of each transaction is kept at the cost of performance.

With Reliance Nitro’s Dynamic Transaction Point™ settings, transaction points are run-time configurable. Setting options include automatic, timed, or application-controlled options, giving embedded developers the flexibility they need for their specific build.

Because Reliance Nitro always maintains a “known good state,” it has a mount time advantage particularly after power loss. Journaling file systems such as ext3 and ext4 will need to perform random reads to build the journal. Since Reliance Nitro always keeps the disk in a known good state, there is no need to run integrity checks during the file system boot, even after a disorderly shutdown.

Reliance Nitro demonstrates superior file system metadata handling. When reading and writing smaller files, this file system overhead is far more important than the raw throughput available. In our testing on an i.MX6 Sabre SD embedded board, using a PNY 4GB SD card for storage, Reliance Nitro created 1000 files in 24 seconds, compared to almost five minutes for the native file system solution.

In Linux, Reliance Nitro is fully integrated into the kernel caching mechanisms. For non-Linux RTOS solutions, Tuxera provides a fully configurable block device cache, allowing higher performance in some use cases. The chart below shows the impact of this cache on VxWorks read and write operations.

The sequential read and write performance for Tuxera is considerably better than DosFS. While Reliance Nitro has excellent random write performance in its standard configuration, it can be improved even further with cache support.

Eliminate data corruption without sacrificing performance. Reliance Nitro is a copy-on-write transactional file system, meaning live data is never overwritten. This brings rock-solid fault tolerance, even after an uncontrolled system shutdown or failure. Plus our state-of-the-art Dynamic Transaction Point™ technology gives you compile-time and run-time control, allowing you to customize the balance between performance and data at risk.

Rapid performance is a hallmark of any powerful file system. Reliance Nitro delivers throughput as close to the physical maximum of the storage media as possible. The tree-based directory structure of Nitro enables fast file operations, particularly when working with many small files. Our solution also performs better on sequential writes than FAT, and up to 4X faster on random writes as well. Plus our Smart Discard algorithms provide the best overall performance, without increasing latency.

If a power failure should occur, Reliance Nitro has a turbocharged mount time. There’s no need to replay a journal or perform any other file system checks – Reliance Nitro always keeps the disk in a known good state. This and other performance features result in faster mount times.

At the heart of our file system tools are full metadata and optional file data CRCs (Cyclic Redundancy Checks). These diagnostics allow developers to continuously monitor data reliability in any embedded system. Unlike other file systems such as ext4 and TexFAT, Reliance Nitro is capable of monitoring both user data and metadata to detect inconsistencies and provide early warning of imminent flash failure and/or data discrepancies.

Tuxera’s team of file system experts will support you all the way from evaluation to implementation, going above and beyond to ensure your project performs flawlessly and on schedule. Our annual support subscriptions for Reliance Nitro are available with a choice of service level options, so you can select the right degree of support that suits your needs.