Wibu-Systems White Paper | Page 6

White Paper

Made for Industry

Device availability and reliable operations are the prime directive for industrial applications. For integrated flash memory, this means that no data can be lost in case of power outages. Data integrity must be guaranteed even after many accesses. Wibu-Systems has decided to use only SLC flash memory with high-end industrial flash memory controllers made by Hyperstone, Europe’ s only maker of flash memory controllers. Hyperstone is a specialist for industrial applications; Swissbit makes industrial-grade memory, produced in Germany. Swissbit manufactures the CmCards for Wibu-Systems. It uses Common Criteria certified smart card chips like Infineon’ s SLx97 with EAL5 + certified hardware and Cryptolib. The electronic components and manufacturing partners are selected with long life, reliable operations, and the constant availability of identical CmDongles with flash memory in mind, supported by specific design decisions. CmDongles have industrial-grade properties and are designed for use in a wide range of temperatures. They can be delivered with Conformal Coating. The MTBF( Mean Time Between Failures) of the CmStick / MI( industrial) with SLC flash memory is over three million hours, that is, more than 350 years. In commercial terms, the costs of machine stoppages or service repairs as a result of faulty memory far exceed the costs of long-life, high-reliability SLC cards. There are certain applications with less stringent requirements and more emphasis on value for price, which can benefit from the CmStick / MC( commercial) with high-quality 2-Bit MLC memory of Samsung’ s eMMC-2000 series.

Reasons for using SLC Memory

Investment Costs vs. Risks

The life expectancy of a memory card depends on its internal design and technology. There are Multi- Level-Cell-flash memory technologies that can distinguish between two states of the cell, meaning that four or eight different charge states( in the case of the TLC Triple Level Cell) are identified when writing to or reading from the floating gate transistor, compared to the regular two states. A cell can hold more than one bit with this technology. Such Multi-Level-Cells are cheaper, because more bits are available per square inch, but they are more susceptible to disruption. Bit errors and catastrophic failure become more likely. In the end, the life expectancy of the memory shrinks. Processes to correct bit errors become increasingly complex when more than one bit is expressed in each cell.

Designing for Industry vs. Price and Performance

At the chip level, manufacturers need to know which objectives they are pursuing. If the goal is to save costs or achieve high write speeds, as in the case in most consumer-grade flash memory products, durability, MTBF, electric stability, or power consumption are not as important. Since Hyperstone has committed itself to industrial-grade designs, its goals are long-lasting availability, reliability, data integrity after power failures, and power consumption. That requires other resources and intelligent capabilities in the controller. Special firmware manages internal controller functionality, such as early acknowledgement, in an industry-ready manner to ensure that no data is lost when the power supply is disrupted.

Hyperstone hyReliability™ Flash Memory Management- Overview selective Features

“ When using flash memory in industrial applications, our customers require endurance and reliability. Fast SLC memories and flash memory controllers both with long-term availability are key. Hyperstone flash memory controllers match these mission profiles perfectly by offering essential NAND flash memory management features. Ensuring data integrity and prevention of data loss upon power outages are necessary in order to guarantee safe operation of critical machinery.” says Steffen Allert, VP Sales Hyperstone.

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