Mobile Flash Storage Boot Partition Shadowing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile devices often experience 'device-does-not-boot' issues due to corruption of boot data in flash storage, which is costly and time-consuming to repair, especially in production versions with limited debugging capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method for shadowing boot images, where a shadow control logic section duplicates boot images from a reserved section in non-volatile memory to user partitions, allowing the device to boot from shadowed images in case of corruption, and dynamically manages storage space to minimize impact on user partitions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If boot images are stored only in reserved boot partitions, then the device structure is simple, but the reliability deteriorates when boot data is corrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates shadow copies of boot images in user partitions as backups. When boot images in the reserved boot partition are corrupted, the system can boot from the shadow copies in user partitions, thereby improving boot reliability without requiring a completely separate redundant storage system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the storage into reserved boot partition and user partition, with shadow boot images stored in the user partition section. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simple overall structure while creating protected backup paths for boot operations.
2Ease of repair
If debugging capability is limited in production devices, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ease of repair deteriorates when boot images are corrupted
Solution Approach 1:
By maintaining shadow copies of boot images in user partitions, the system enables repair without complex debugging tools. When boot images are corrupted, the device can boot from shadow copies, and the original boot partition can be repaired or reprogrammed through standard USB debugging capabilities that are already present in production devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The shadow boot images serve as pre-prepared backup copies that can be immediately used when corruption occurs. This preliminary duplication action enables rapid recovery without requiring complex debugging or reprogramming procedures during the repair process.
3Reliability
If shadowed boot images are stored in user partitions, then the reliability is improved, but the storage space for user data is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates shadow copies of boot images in the user partition to provide backup protection. This copying approach improves reliability by maintaining redundant boot images without requiring entirely separate storage infrastructure, thereby minimizing the impact on user partition capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically manages the shadow boot image storage by adjusting the reserved space in user partitions based on available capacity and boot partition size. This parameter adjustment allows the system to maintain adequate backup protection while optimizing user partition capacity for actual user data storage.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the inventive concept include computer-implemented method for shadowing one or more boot images of a mobile device. The technique can include duplicating boot images to shadow partitions in a user area of a non-volatile memory device such as a flash memory. The technique can include detecting boot image corruption, and causing a mobile device to boot from the shadow partitions. The technique can include dynamically shadowing and releasing blocks used by the shadow partitions. The technique can include boot failure recovery and bad image preservation through firmware flash translation layer (FTL) logical to physical mapping updates. Boot image corruption failures can be recovered from and/or debugged using the shadow partitions.