Tackling the challenges associated with network communications

The powerful new generation of connected IoT micro-controllers and applications bring a new set of challenges requiring careful thought and engineering. Networked communications entails data security risks and storing data in flash can cause problems both with data security and reliability. As things stand today, most file systems can’t ensure reliable, safe flash storage and many network stacks are vulnerable to security risks. Responsible development requires an assessment of how data can be communicated and stored safely, reliably and securely.

Safe, reliable storage:

HCC supplies an expensive range of file systems, media drivers, flash translation layers (FTL), smart-meter software, bootloaders and encryption technology. These products are designed to operate securely and reliably with any type of flash or storage medium including NAND, NOR, SSD, eMMC or any removable media. Developers often use inadequate, general-purpose file systems with only vague references to quality, reliability and security. HCC storage products can be optimised for any hardware and the detailed requirement specifications that ensure a system is reliable by design are always provided. Without these specifications it is not possible to create a system that can cope with power-fail or unexpected reset.

TCP/IPv4, IPv6, Encryption, TLS/SSL, IPSec/IKE:

The key to a successful embedded application is to use high-quality software that is verifiably developed and ensures a stable, low- risk development platform. HCC’s TCP/IP stack was developed with a rigorous approach to quality using a strongly typed subset of the ‘C’ language. The approach incorporates a strong adherence to the MISRA-C:2004 standard and was validated using advanced verification tools. All software is provided with optimised Ethernet drivers and will integrate easily with any RTOS. The implementation was designed for high performance on a micro-controller. There are no unnecessary copies, well thought out static memory management and dedicated memory areas and cache are fully exploited. HCC’s networking solution provides a significant range of protocols as well as support for both IPv4 and IPv6, providing flexibility and long-term network compatibility.

Upgrade any RTOS, Flash, network, processor or toolchain:

All storage and communications products are written using modern coding techniques and are completely portable and target independent. This means that they can be used to upgrade almost any processor, flash or RTOS to be fail-safe, reliable and secure. All software comes with highly efficient abstractions that can easily be changed to ensure it is a long-term investment that can be carried forward to future projects. Thanks to the investment in V model design, most software components can be applied to areas of technology where reliability and certification standards are high such as medical, transport, industrial, aerospace and power generation.