Storage Device Checksum Offloading for Firmware Update Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Firmware updates for embedded devices from mass storage devices are slow due to significant time spent verifying authenticity and consistency, with up to half of the update time dedicated to checking hash and signature, leading to bottlenecks in transfer speed.
Innovation Solution
A system and method where the storage device, equipped with a controller and a private key etched onto it, performs verification and signing of firmware updates, allowing the storage device to handle authentication checks and hashing, thereby reducing the need for the host to perform these time-consuming tasks, and enabling faster updates by utilizing faster transfer speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If firmware updates are verified by checking hash and signature on the embedded device, then security and authenticity are ensured, but update time increases significantly (up to half of update time)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-computing and storing checksums and cryptographic signatures of firmware images on the mass storage device before the update process begins. This allows the embedded device to verify firmware authenticity quickly during the update without performing time-consuming hash and signature verification calculations, thus ensuring security while reducing update time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary approach by using pre-computed checksums and signatures stored on the mass storage device as mediators for verification. Instead of the embedded device directly performing verification calculations, it uses these pre-prepared verification data structures that were generated in advance, enabling fast authentication without sacrificing security.
2Productivity
If firmware updates are transferred from mass storage device to embedded device, then firmware updates can be applied, but transfer speed is limited by verification overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-computing and storing checksums and cryptographic signatures of firmware images on the mass storage device before the update process begins. This allows the embedded device to verify firmware authenticity quickly during the update without performing time-consuming hash and signature verification calculations, thus ensuring security while reducing update time.
3Reliability
If verification processes are performed on the embedded device, then authentication is ensured, but device processing load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the computationally intensive verification processes from the embedded device and performs them in advance on the mass storage device. The verification logic and calculations are removed from the embedded device's workload, with only the results (pre-computed checksums and signatures) being stored and used for quick comparison during the update process.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for validation check of a file to be transferred from a storage device to an embedded device comprising reading the file to be transferred using a controller on the storage device, receiving a stored public key from the embedded device at the storage device, prior to transferring the file, verifying the stored public key using a controller and a private key on the storage device, and upon verification of the stored public key, transferring the file from the storage device to the embedded device. The storage device having a controller may be an external mass storage device or an eMMC memory controller.