Understanding File Systems: Types & Benefits - Essay Sample

Introduction

Operating systems use file systems to define how files, folder, and directories are organized, stored and retrieved in storage locations. Different types of file systems are used today depending on their make, the operating system they run on and how their mode of operation; for instance, Microsoft Windows uses NTFS to format hard drives and FAT to format flash drives (Arpaci-Dusseau & Arpaci-Dusseau, 2015). Another example is the embedded file systems which according to Armkeil (2018), are used in NOR flash memories due to its ability to allow optimization for increased performance, reduced allocation information and quick file access rates. However, various types of file systems can be equated to super-class and subclasses in programming because although each type has its characteristics and functionality, they all have one same nature; they define how data is stored and retrieved from a storage volume. This survey paper discusses the embedded file system (EFS), the file system used by Optimized Systems Engineering (OSE) real-time operating systems and its use in microcontrollers.

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Just like other file systems, embedded file systems provide a structured way for data storage and retrieval, but in an OSE environment. The EFS has six components, which are, format managers, volume managers, function library, File System Server (FSS), blocked device managers and character device drivers. While format managers mount and format storage volumes, the volume manager, which are created by format managers, are responsible for maintaining the available volumes. The function library carries out the system call, and it is responsible for providing clients with a standardized Application Program Interface, and the file system server is responsible for managing various embedded file system resources. Finally, blocked device drivers handle blocked storage media, such as hard disks, while character device drivers are accountable for handling serialized media, for example, terminal connections. (OSE Systems, 2001). These components share a relationship and interact with each other to communicate within a system.

The embedded file system root does not files, folders or directories; it contains volume names and has an absolute pathname containing volume name, name of the directory, a file name, and labels, all separated with a slash. The volume name refers to the name given to the mounted storage volume while a label is a name string that is stored on devices that can be mounted as storage volumes (OSE Systems, 2001). The function library of the embedded file system has about ninety functions, and each of them performs its essential operation. Some of the functions that are most commonly used include a formatting function, such as disk partition, a function to export file system status from process to process, a function to name a mounted volume, and a function for assigning a label string to volumes. Other common functions are used to unmount volumes, validate users and to share a file descriptor (OSE Systems, 2001).

The format managers in embedded file systems use device drivers to access devices and to apply a format structure on them. The other different types of format managers used in operating systems are File Allocation Table (FAT), Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT), and the console terminal format manager. FAT comes in different versions; however, two of them are not used in modern machines, but they were used in earlier Windows versions and the one used today is FAT32. The FAT file system is used in storage devices with low storage capacity since it cannot support the creation of partitions that are larger than 32 GB in Windows, it cannot allow storage of files larger than 4 GB, and its performance is not as good as the one offered by Extended FAT. The Extended FAT file system is superior to FAT in many ways; it can allow huge disk partitions, compared to FAT, and it can allow storage of files up to limit the size of 16 EiB ("File System Overview," 2014).

Both format and volume managers respond to all signals, but in case of an invalid operation, they can respond with an error message that gives information about the denied operation. The typical operations available are mounting a volume, unmounting a volume, formatting operation, the create, remove, rename, and change attributes operations, and terminal connections operations (OSE Systems, 2001). Each of these operations performs a specific task; for instance, the mount volume operation creates volume managers and a format volume operation label volumes and sets it to one particular file system type. In an embedded file system, device drivers are used in accessing storage devices since they can manage block-structured data; for instance, the Random Access Memory device driver accesses RAM and enables it to use the File Allocation Table File (FAT) System. (OSE Systems, 2001).

The embedded file system technology has its advantages and disadvantages, but the benefits outweigh the cons. The main advantage of the embedded file system is it enables files encryption; hence it protects data, and it does not allow data access to users without proper permissions. The user allowed to access the encrypted data can also access and decrypt the files without any restrictions, while other users are restricted from viewing the files. The EFS technology uses an encryption chain technique that makes the operating system to collapse in case password is forgotten, or changed; therefore, even if the operating system is replaced, it becomes impossible to gain access to files encrypted using the embedded file system. The main disadvantage of the embedded file system and the file encryption technique it uses is it can lead to permanent data loss in case password is forgotten or reset. Users of this file system can also lose data in case of operating system breakdown; a system administrator changes user passwords, a user profile gets deleted and in cases where operating systems gets reinstalled as an update to the current version (Elcomsoft, n.d.).

Although data encryption in embedded file systems can cause loss of the same data, a recovery agent can be used to recover the data successfully. The EFS recovery agent requires administrator permission to run, to decrypt stored data and make it available for the user. Also, in case of system failure, data encrypted by embedded file system techniques are stored in a location on the hard drive where the operating system does not affect it, and the user can access it. Finally, if data is encrypted in a Windows XP machine, an advanced EFS data recovery software can be used to decrypt and recover the data in a short period (Elcomsoft, n.d.). Therefore, the methods stated above add to the importance of using the embedded file system since they minimize the risk of data loss.

The embedded file system is used in embedded file systems since it guarantees no file corruption. Hence it provides maximum data security. It supports storages devices such as NOR flash memory, NAND memory, and SD cards, in addition to its high performance. In NAND memory, it performs better in dynamic and static level, as well as in the NOR memory. The embedded file system uses the emFile library to enable the embedded system to store data in various devices, with high reliability and security. The emFile library mentioned can be downloaded and used in multiple computer architectures, for different windows machines ("emFile - The Embedded File System," n.d.).

The embedded file system is also used in microcontrollers, which act as microprocessors but with several processing cores and their memory, designed to save on cost that would be incurred in using many microprocessors. The main features of microcontrollers are, they are used to accomplish a single task, they do not allow addition of memory units such as ROM and RAM by external means, they are designed to perform specific tasks, they are cheaper compared to microprocessors, hence saving on cost and they consume less energy, and still give high quality results. These microcontrollers support very little external memory, of up to only 64 KB since they use an 8 KB data bus (Tutorialspoint, 2015).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the embedded file system provides the right way of organizing and protecting data just like any other file system. The added advantage with it is that it is faster, allows formatting of storage devices with limited storage capacities and also provides encryption, which facilitates advanced data protection. In its use chosen by a user with excellent skills in file systems, it can be beneficial, but if used by users without adequate knowledge, it can be disastrous to them due to data loss problems.

References

Armkeil. (2018, November 12). File System Component. Retrieved from https://www.keil.com/pack/doc/mw/FileSystem/html/emb_fs.html

Arpaci-Dusseau, R.H., & Arpaci-Dusseau, A.C. (2015). Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces (Vol. 1). Arpaci-Dusseau Books.

Elcomsoft. (n.d.). Advantages and Disadvantages of EFS. Retrieved from https://www.elcomsoft.com/WP/advantages_and_disadvantages _of_efs_and_effective_recovery_data_en.pdf

emFile - The Embedded File System. (n.d). Retrieved from https://www.segger.com/products/file-system/emfile/

File System Overview. (2014, March 19). Retrieved from https://kb.wisc.edu/helpdesk/page.php?id=11300

Tutorialspoint. (2017). Embedded Systems Tutorial. Retrieved from http://www.tutorialspoint.com/embedded_systems/