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Embedded Systems Design Guide for

Removable USB Flash Drives
ABSTRACT
Implementing an embedded system with a removable USB flash drive can be a difficult task.
Knowing the key concepts and considerations beforehand can make the job much easier.

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................ 2
An Overview of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) ......................... 2
Designing the System............................................................................ 3
Make/Buy .................................................................................................... 3
Compliance Testing................................................................................... 3
Implementation Overview ...................................................................... 4
USB Host Controller Choices ................................................................. 4
USB So"ware Support ............................................................................. 6
Designing Custom USB Hardware.................................................... 8
USB Connectors ......................................................................................... 8
Power Supplies .......................................................................................... 8
Resets & Brownout .................................................................................10
Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) ...................................................10
Controlled Impedance ............................................................................11
Example Host Controller Solutions ...............................................12
Example Bolt-On Host Controller .......................................................12
Example Built-In Host Controller .......................................................14
Implementing the Embedded Firmware ......................................15
The USB Flash Drive File System .......................................................15
Handling Surprise Removal and Power Loss.................................15
File System Licensing ............................................................................15
About Datakey ........................................................................................16
Conclusion ................................................................................................16
Glossary.....................................................................................................16
References ...............................................................................................17

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INTRODUCTION
The removable USB flash drive is a key technology in our embedded computing world. Among other things, it can be
used to store collected data, perform secure authenticated access and automatically update firmware. A removable USB
flash drive simply takes embedded computing to the next level.

Although a removable USB flash drive is easy to use, implementing a USB flash drive can be difficult. There are
many issues that an embedded designer may encounter for the first time when implementing a USB flash drive.
Unfortunately, when you don’t know what you don’t know, your project can get in trouble very quickly.

Designers need to understand the challenges of implementing a removable USB flash drive in an embedded system
before they begin development. First, let’s do a quick review of USB, then walk through the development process step by
step and explore some of the considerations that make this task different from many others.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS #USB$

pÙ 53"ÙISÙAÙSTANDARDÙDEVELOPEDÙINÙTHEÙEARLYÙSÙTOÙMAKEÙITÙFUNDAMENTALLYÙEASIERÙTOÙCONNECTÙEXTERNALÙDEVICESÙTOÙ0#SÙÙÙ
Its development and acceptance consolidated the number and variety of connectors to a single, multi-purpose,
Ù EXTERNALÙPERIPHERALÙBUSÙ!SÙOFÙÙTHREEÙBILLIONÙ53"ÙPRODUCTSÙAREÙSHIPPEDÙINTOÙTHEÙMARKETÙEVERYÙYEARÙ)NTELÙ 

pÙ 4HEÙ53"Ù)MPLEMENTERSÙ&ORUMÙ53" )& ÙADMINISTERSÙTHEÙ53"ÙSTANDARDSÙ$EVELOPERSÙTHATÙDESIREÙTOÙIMPLEMENTÙÙ Ù

Ù PRODUCTSÙTHATÙINCORPORATEÙ53"ÙAREÙENCOURAGEDÙBUTÙNOTÙREQUIRED ÙTOÙBECOMEÙMEMBERSÙOFÙTHEÙ53" )&Ù53" )&ÙÙ Ù
membership requires an annual fee.

pÙ )NÙORDERÙTOÙUSEÙTHEÙ53"ÙLOGOÙAÙCOMPANYÙMUSTÙBECOMEÙAÙSIGNATORYÙTOÙTHEÙ53"Ù!DOPTERmSÙ!GREEMENTÙANDÙITSÙDEVICESÙÙ
must pass compliance testing.

pÙ 53"ÙDEVICESÙAREÙREQUIREDÙTOÙINCORPORATEÙAÙUNIQUEÙ6)$Ù6ENDORÙ)$ ÙANDÙ0)$Ù0RODUCTÙ)$ ÙTOÙUNIQUELYÙIDENTIFYÙTHEMÙTOÙÙ Ù

Ù THEÙHOSTÙSOÙTHATÙTHEÙCORRECTÙDEVICEÙDRIVERSÙMAYÙBEÙLOADEDÙIFÙNECESSARYÙ6ENDORÙ)$SÙAREÙASSIGNEDÙTOÙ53" )&ÙMEMBERSÙÙ
and may be purchased by non-members.

pÙ 53"ÙDEVICESÙCONTAINÙSTRINGSÙTHATÙCANÙBEÙACCESSEDÙBYÙAÙHOSTÙ3TRINGSÙAREÙSTOREDÙASÙ5NICODEÙTOÙSUPPORTÙÙ Ù Ù
internationalization and US English is the default language. Devices are required to implement a manufacturer
string that contains the name of the device manufacturer. Other optional strings include a product name string and
a serial number string. Devices may also implement private strings.

pÙ 53"ÙHASÙSEVERALÙSPEEDÙVERSIONSÙ53"ÙÙLOW SPEEDÙ Ù-BPSÙ,3 ÙFULL SPEEDÙ Ù-BPSÙ&3 Ù53"ÙÙWHICHÙÙ Ù

Ù INCLUDESÙ&3ÙANDÙADDSÙ(I 3PEEDÙ Ù-BPSÙ(3 Ù53"ÙÙWHICHÙINCLUDESÙ&3ÙANDÙ(3ÙANDÙADDSÙ3UPER3PEEDÙÙ Ù
Ù Ù'BPSÙ33 ÙANDÙ53"ÙÙWHICHÙBOOSTSÙ33ÙTOÙ'BPSÙ%ACHÙOFÙTHESEÙSPEEDÙGRADESÙINDICATESÙTHEÙBUSÙWIREÙSPEEDÙÙ Ù
None of them delivers full wire speed performance because of protocol overhead and operating system latency.
Ù !SÙAÙRULEÙOFÙTHUMBÙTHEYÙTYPICALLYÙPROVIDEÙAÙMAXIMUMÙTHROUGHPUTÙOFÙ ÙOFÙTHEÙWIREÙSPEED

pÙ 4HEREÙAREÙTHREEÙTYPESÙOFÙNODESÙALLOWEDÙONÙTHEÙBUSÙAÙHOSTÙAÙDEVICEÙANDÙAÙHUBÙ!ÙHOSTÙHASÙRECEPTACLESÙFORÙHUBSÙANDÙÙ Ù
devices and initiates all USB traffic. A device plugs into hubs and hosts to receive USB traffic and respond. A hub is a
special type of device that connects one upstream port to one or more downstream ports by repeating the traffic on
all the ports and returning responses.

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pÙ 53"ÙSUPPORTSÙEXACTLYÙONEÙHOSTÙPERÙBUSÙANDÙUPÙTOÙÙDEVICESÙINCLUDINGÙHUBS Ù(UBSÙMAYÙBEÙNESTEDÙUPÙTOÙAÙÙ Ù
Ù MAXIMUMÙOFÙSEVENÙLAYERSÙINCLUDINGÙTHEÙROOTÙHUB 

pÙ 53"ÙISÙAÙHOT PLUGGABLEÙBUSÙWHICHÙALLOWSÙDEVICESÙTOÙBEÙPLUGGEDÙORÙUNPLUGGEDÙWHILEÙTHEÙBUSÙISÙPOWEREDÙ53"ÙÙ Ù

Ù PROVIDESÙ6$#ÙNOMINALÙPOWERÙFORÙITSÙDEVICESÙ53"ÙÙTHROUGHÙÙPROVIDEÙUPÙTOÙM!ÙOFÙCURRENTÙFORÙDEVICESÙWHILEÙÙÙ
Ù 53"ÙÙPROVIDESÙUPÙTOÙM!Ù

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as either a USB host or USB device, depending on the type of cabling with which they are connected. This capability
is useful for digital cameras that need to function as a USB flash drive when connected to a computer and need to
function as a host when connected to a printer.

pÙ 53"ÙDEVICESÙMAYÙIMPLEMENTÙAÙ53"ÙCLASSÙ!Ù53"ÙCLASSÙISÙAÙSTANDARDIZEDÙGENERICÙDEVICEÙFUNCTIONÙTHATÙALLOWSÙÙ Ù
devices to operate identically on multiple operating systems without the need for a user-installed driver. OS vendors
must implement a class driver for each class they support.

pÙ 4HEÙ-ASSÙ3TORAGEÙ#LASSÙ-3# ÙISÙAÙ53"ÙCLASSÙTHATÙIMPLEMENTSÙAÙREMOVABLEÙSTORAGEÙDEVICEÙ-3#ÙMAKESÙ53"ÙֶASHÙÙÙ
drives possible.

DESIGNING THE SYSTEM

Before designing an embedded system that incorporates a removable USB flash drive, you’ll need to know a few things
ANDÙMAKEÙSOMEÙDECISIONSÙLIKEÙTHESE

MAKE/BUY
One of the first things that you need to think about is the decision to make or buy your system. The more likely it is that
someone else might want to do what you need to do, the more likely it is that you can buy something to do it. It’s a sad
day for the designer who built custom hardware to learn a#er the project is complete that what he built could have been
purchased. So take some time to research single-board computers and system-on-module solutions and compare
their costs to that of custom hardware at your expected production quantities. Be sure to account for your development
costs and consider risk, time-to-market and opportunity costs.

COMPLIANCE TESTING
USB compliance testing is a series of tests established by the USB-IF to determine whether a USB product meets the
USB specification requirements. Although USB compliance testing is not mandatory, it is likely in your customers’
BESTÙINTERESTÙ0RODUCTSÙTHATÙPASSÙCOMPLIANCEÙTESTINGÙAREÙNOTÙONLYÙASSUREDÙTOÙWORKÙWITHÙOTHERÙ53"ÙPRODUCTSÙTHEYÙAREÙ
COMPLIANCEÙLISTEDÙBYÙTHEÙ53" )&ÙANDÙAREÙELIGIBLEÙTOÙLICENSEÙTHEÙ53"Ù,OGOÙFORÙUSEÙONÙTHEÙPRODUCTÙPACKAGING

(OWÙDOESÙCOMPLIANCEÙTESTINGÙWORKÙ#OMPLIANCEÙTESTINGÙMAYÙBEÙPERFORMEDÙEITHERÙATÙAÙ53" )& SPONSOREDÙCOMPLIANCEÙ

WORKSHOPÙAKAÙl0LUG&ESTm ÙORÙATÙANÙINDEPENDENTÙTESTÙLABÙ!DDITIONALLYÙYOUÙCANÙPERFORMÙSOMEÙOFÙTHEÙPRELIMINARYÙ
testing yourself using free so#ware tools provided by the USB-IF to help get you ready for compliance testing. You can
download the tools here 2.

For more information about USB compliance testing, visit the USB website here .

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IMPLEMENTATION OVERVIEW
The USB specification dictates that the only way to read from or write to a USB flash drive is through a USB host. A USB
host is specifically designed for other USB devices to be plugged into it and typically has one or more type A receptacle
connectors for that purpose. If you need to implement a removable USB flash drive in an embedded system, you must
implement a USB host.

Not all embedded USB hosts are created equally. In order for a USB host to be able to communicate with a class of
devices, the designer must select the device drivers, class drivers and protocol stacks for the devices and services that
the host will support. For instance, to support a USB flash drive, a USB host should include the components shown in
Figure 1.

Figure 1: USB Flash Drive Implementation Block Diagram

Application
Hardware Middleware System So!ware So!ware

USB Host/ Host Controller USB Stack Mass Storage File System OS/RTOS Your App
OTG Controller Driver Class (optional) (optional)

As you can see in the preceding figure, an embedded host for a USB flash drive is a complex combination of hardware
and so#ware that works together as a system.

!ÙKEYÙCOMPONENTÙOFÙTHISÙSYSTEMÙISÙSOֹWAREÙTHATÙWEÙCALLÙlMIDDLEWAREmÙ-IDDLEWAREÙISÙAÙCOLLECTIONÙOFÙSOֹWAREÙCONSISTINGÙ
of drivers, protocol stacks and class drivers that make it possible to communicate with the USB flash drive via the
USB host controller. For embedded systems with no operating system, it may also include a file system to properly
format the data written to the USB flash drive so that other computers can read it as if it were a disk drive. We’ll talk
more about middleware later, but we mention it now because for our system-level discussion it’s important to know
that middleware is a required part of our system. It is also important to realize that middleware imposes additional
requirements on the system above and beyond the USB host controller hardware.

Now with the basic requirements understood, let’s take a look at the hardware and so#ware options available
to do the job.

USB HOST CONTROLLER CHOICES

,ETmSÙSAYÙTHATÙYOUmREÙUPGRADINGÙANÙEXISTINGÙCUSTOMÙEMBEDDEDÙSYSTEMÙTHATÙDOESÙNOTÙSUPPORTÙ53"ÙSOÙYOUÙNEEDÙTOÙADDÙ
AÙ53"ÙHOSTÙCONTROLLERÙTOÙYOURÙEMBEDDEDÙSYSTEMÙ9OUÙCANÙEITHERÙADDÙORÙBOLTÙON ÙAÙSEPARATEÙ53"ÙHOSTÙCONTROLLERÙCHIPÙTOÙ
your existing system or switch to a new microcontroller that has a USB host controller built-in.

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ADDING A ‘BOLT-ON’ HOST CONTROLLER

!DDINGÙWHATÙWEmREÙCALLINGÙAÙlBOLT ONmÙ53"ÙHOSTÙCONTROLLERÙTOÙYOURÙSYSTEMÙCOMESÙWITHÙSOMEÙBENEֵTSÙANDÙCOSTSÙ/NEÙ
BENEֵTÙOFÙSTICKINGÙWITHÙYOURÙOLDÙPROCESSORÙISÙTHATÙYOUÙCANÙUSEÙYOURÙEXISTINGÙDEVELOPMENTÙTOOLSÙ#OSTSÙTOÙYOURÙSYSTEMÙ
INCLUDEÙTHEÙ53"ÙHOSTÙCONTROLLERÙANYÙNEWÙSYSTEMÙRESOURCESÙSUCHÙASÙ2!-ÙFORÙCODEÙSPACEÙREQUIREDÙBYÙTHEÙMIDDLEWARE Ù
and the OS or RTOS necessary to run it.

USB host controllers can be divided into three types as shown in Table 1ÙANDÙDESCRIBEDÙBELOWÙ

1. ‘Standardized’ USB Host Controllers: These host controllers implement a standard so#ware interface and
Ù TYPICALLYÙREQUIREÙANÙ/3ÙORÙANÙ24/3ÙANDÙMIDDLEWAREÙWHICHÙWILLÙREQUIREÙEXTRAÙ2!-ÙANDÙֶASHÙSTORAGEÙ

2. Proprietary USB Host Controllers: These host controllers implement a vendor-specific so#ware interface and
require the use of vendor-supplied or user-written libraries. These also may require middleware, but the
middleware must include support for the required chip because the interface is proprietary.

3. USB Host Peripherals: These chips are actually self-contained embedded systems that contain a USB host
controller and contain firmware that includes middleware, mass storage class and file system in a single chip. They
are easy to use, and in keeping with their minimalistic system footprint, their feature set and performance are
limited but quite capable for a wide variety of applications.

Table 1: Partial Listing of USB Host Controllers Chips

Vendor Type Part Number(s) Bus References
NXP Standardized SAF1562HL PCI NXP Interface Products 4
Standardized SAF1760BE Generic
Standardized SAF1761BE Generic
Cypress Proprietary SL811HS Generic Cypress USB Hosts 5
Proprietary CYC67200 Generic
Proprietary CYC67300 Generic
FTDI Peripheral VNC1L Parallel, FTDI Products 6
Peripheral VNC2 UART, SPI
Proprietary FT313H Parallel

A deciding factor between these types of chips is whether or not your system has sufficient resources available to
support an OS or RTOS and middleware. If your system requires high-performance such as Hi-Speed or SuperSpeed
and can afford the cost of middleware and an OS or RTOS, perhaps a standardized host controller is a good choice. For a
system that needs higher performance and can support middleware but not an OS or RTOS, a proprietary host controller
may be a better fit. If your system is resource constrained and moderate performance is acceptable, a USB host
peripheral may be the better choice since it is ready-made and puts a lighter load on the existing embedded system.

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BUILT-IN USB HOST CONTROLLER

)FÙTHEÙlBOLT ONmÙHOSTÙCONTROLLERÙDOESNmTÙAPPEALÙTOÙYOUÙYOUÙMAYÙWANTÙTOÙCONSIDERÙDESIGNINGÙYOURÙSYSTEMÙUSINGÙAÙPROCESSORÙ
with a built-in USB host controller. Normally, this would not be a viable option for upgrading an existing system
because it means essentially replacing the whole system, but recent years have seen a flood of low-cost, low-power,
high-performance microcontrollers. Because these new chips include a suite of high-value peripherals, many of them
include built-in USB host support with free middleware and RTOS support included as part of the design so#ware
for the chip. Factory-provided firmware is designed from the start to work with the chip, so integration will be easier.
Another benefit is that there are hundreds of other developers using the same system, which makes it possible to get
free support from other like-minded developers using the same system and tools. Table 2 lists some of the many
MICROCONTROLLERSÙTHATÙHAVEÙBUILT INÙ53"Ù/4'ÙORÙ(OSTÙSUPPORT

Table 2: Partial Listing of Microcontrollers with Built-In Host Support

Supplier Family Architecture USB OTG or Host Support References
NTI Tiva ARM FS/HS Device & OTG Tiva C Series MCU Page 7
TI Hercules ARM LS/FS OHCI, FS Device TI Safety Microcontrollers 8
TI Sitara ARM FS/HS Host & Device TI Sitara Microprocessors 9
TI OMAP ARM FS/HS Host & Device TI OMAP Application Processors 10
Freescale Kinetis ARM FS/HS Host & Device Freescale Kinetis Microcontrollers 11
Freescale Vybrid ARM FS/HS Host & Device Freescale Vybrid Microprocessors 12
Freescale i.MX ARM FS/HS Host & Device Freescale i.MX Series Microprocessors 13
Atmel AVR AVR FS OTG & Device Atmel AVR Microcontrollers 14
Atmel SAM ARM FS Host & Device Atmel ARM Microcontrollers 15
NXP LPC ARM FS/HS Host & Device NXP LPC Microcontrollers 16
Microchip PIC PIC FS/HS Host & Device Microchip PIC Microcontrollers 17

USB SOFTWARE SUPPORT

OPERATING SYSTEM
One option to get USB so#ware support for your system is to use an operating system. From the so#ware point of view,
operating systems are an attractive option in that they include device drivers for most host controllers, the USB stack,
a mass storage class driver and a file system as part of the OS. They also come with very powerful development tools.
4HEÙDOWNÙSIDEÙISÙTHATÙANÙ/3ÙREQUIRESÙCONSIDERABLEÙSYSTEMÙRESOURCESÙLARGEÙAMOUNTSÙOFÙֶASHÙANDÙ2!-ÙANDÙITÙBOOTSÙ
SLOWLYÙ#OMMERCIALÙOPERATINGÙSYSTEMSÙMAYÙHAVEÙAÙPER UNITÙLICENSEÙFEEÙWHEREASÙOPEN SOURCEÙOPERATINGÙSYSTEMSÙ
typically do not. Table 3 lists a few embedded operating systems that include removable USB flash drive support.

Table 3: Partial Listing of Embedded Operating Systems

Name Vendor Architecture License References
Linux N/A Many GNU www.linux.org
Windows Embedded Microso" x86 Windows EULA Windows Embedded 18
NetBSD N/A Many Berkeley www.netbsd.org

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THIRD-PARTY RTOS + MIDDLEWARE

3OMEÙAPPLICATIONSÙREQUIREÙTHEÙUSEÙOFÙANÙ24/3Ù2EALÙ4IMEÙ/PERATINGÙ3YSTEM ÙTOÙMEETÙDETERMINISMÙTHROUGHPUTÙAND
ORÙRESPONSEÙTIMEÙREQUIREMENTSÙ-OSTÙ24/3ÙPRODUCTSÙOִERÙ53"ÙSUPPORTÙTHROUGHÙMIDDLEWAREÙTHATÙISÙPORTEDÙTOÙAÙ
development tool suite. Unfortunately, these middleware products tend to be proprietary, usually do not interoperate
with tools from other suppliers and can cost several thousand dollars to license. Table 4 lists some popular commercial
RTOS solutions.

Table 4: Partial List of Third-Party RTOS + Middleware Solutions

Name Vendor Components References
emWare Segger embOS, emboOS/IP, emWin, emFile, emUSB Embedded Host 19
emUSB Device, emUSB Host, emLib
MDK Keil RTX, CAN, Flash File System, USB Host, Keil ARM Tools 20
USB Device, TCP/IP, GUI
INTEGRITY Green Hills Networking, Cryptography, Green Hills Tools 21
File System, USB, Graphics
MQX Freescale RTOS, RTCS, MFS, USB host/device Freescale MQX Tools 22
uC/OS Micrium RTOS, TCP/IP, USB host/device, CAN, www.micrium.com
Modbus, Bluetooth, Filesystem, GUI

MANUFACTURER RTOS + MIDDLEWARE

)FÙTHEÙlBUILT INmÙ53"ÙHOSTÙCONTROLLERÙOPTIONÙLOOKSÙGOODÙTOÙYOUÙYOUÙMAYÙBEÙABLEÙTOÙGETÙAÙSPECIALÙDEALÙONÙ24/3ÙANDÙ
middleware. As mentioned earlier, microcontroller vendors are eager to encourage you to switch to their new products
and some of them are including free RTOS and middleware to help you decide. Table 5ÙSHOWSÙWHICHÙ24/3ÙÙ-IDDLEWAREÙ
resources are available for a variety of processors.

Table 5: Partial List of Vendor-Supplied RTOS + Middleware Solutions

Vendor Family Architecture References
TI Tiva ARM TivaWare Hardware / So"ware Resources Page 23
Atmel AVR AVR/AVR32 ASF USB Host Stack Application Note 24
Freescale All All MQX So"ware Solutions 25

BARE METAL
If you use a USB host peripheral for your host controller solution, you have the option of implementing what’s known
ASÙAÙlBAREÙMETALmÙEMBEDDEDÙSYSTEMÙ!ÙBAREÙMETALÙEMBEDDEDÙSYSTEMÙHASÙNEITHERÙANÙ/3ÙNORÙANÙ24/3ÙITmSÙJUSTÙAÙPROGRAMÙ
RUNNINGÙONÙAÙMICROCONTROLLERÙ-ODERNÙBAREÙMETALÙEMBEDDEDÙSYSTEMSÙAREÙUSUALLYÙWRITTENÙINÙ#ÙANDÙSENDÙCOMMANDSÙTOÙ
the USB host peripheral directly over standard peripheral interfaces. Bare metal systems tend to support just the bare
essentials due to their minimalistic implementation, but the functions they implement tend to be extremely efficient
BECAUSEÙTHEYÙPAYÙNOÙ/3ÙORÙ24/3ÙOVERHEADÙPENALTYÙINÙCODEÙSPACEÙ2!-ÙORÙCOMPUTATIONALÙRESOURCES

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DESIGNING CUSTOM USB HARDWARE

If you choose to design your own custom USB hardware, you need to consider a number of things. Here are some
HELPFULÙTIPSÙTOÙKEEPÙINÙMIND

USB CONNECTORS
#ONSUMER GRADEÙ53"ÙֶASHÙDRIVESÙUSEÙTHEÙ53"ÙTYPEÙ!ÙPLUGÙANDÙPLUGÙINTOÙAÙTYPEÙ!ÙRECEPTACLEÙ4HEÙSIGNALÙNAMESÙFORÙAÙ
type A receptacle are shown in Figure 2. The type A USB receptacle is a low-cost, consumer-grade connector rated to
LASTÙAÙMINIMUMÙOFÙÙPLUG UNPLUGÙCYCLESÙ!LTHOUGHÙTHEÙ53"ÙSPECIֵCATIONÙINCLUDESÙSPECSÙFORÙCONNECTORSÙTHEIRÙUSEÙ
is not mandated. Special needs, such as high-reliability applications, may require different connectors to meet their
requirements. For instance, type A USB connectors are not waterproof, so third parties have developed variants of
standard USB connectors to meet the needs of their customers. Figure 3 below shows a panel-mount receptacle that
ISÙCAPABLEÙOFÙPLUGGINGÙINTOÙAÙSTANDARDÙ53"ÙTYPEÙ!ÙRECEPTACLEÙBUTÙITÙOִERSÙEXTREMELYÙHIGHÙCYCLEÙLIFEÙANDÙISÙAVAILABLEÙINÙ)0Ù
ANDÙ)0ÙRATEDÙVERSIONSÙ7HENÙYOUÙEVALUATEÙYOURÙEMBEDDEDÙSYSTEMÙREQUIREMENTSÙMAKEÙSUREÙTHATÙYOUÙSPECIFYÙTHEÙRIGHTÙ
connector to meet your needs.

Figure 2: Type A USB Receptacle

Pin Name
1 VBUS
2 D-
3 D+ 1 2 3 4
4 GND

Figure 3: Datakey UR Series Receptacle and RUGGEDrive™ Flash Drive

Figure 3 shows a Datakey UR series receptacle. It connects to standard USB

PORTSÙBUTÙWORKSÙWITHÙ$ATAKEYÙ25''%$RIVEtÙֶASHÙDRIVESÙÙ4HESEÙRECEPTACLESÙ
OִERÙHIGHÙCYCLEÙLIFEÙÙCYCLESÙVERSUSÙONLYÙÙCYCLESÙFORÙAÙTYPICALÙ53"Ù
TYPEÙ!ÙCONNECTOR ÙÙANDÙAREÙAVAILABLEÙINÙ)0 RATEDÙVERSIONS

POWER SUPPLIES
The most important circuit of any electronic product is the power supply. Just as we need clean water to live, electronic
devices need clean power to operate. A properly functioning power supply is an unsung hero, but even the best system
will fail if its power supply goes bad. For embedded USB hosts, the power supply is doubly important because it not only
powers the host, it also powers all the devices connected to it.

53"ÙHOSTSÙMUSTÙPROVIDEÙREGULATEDÙOVERCURRENT PROTECTEDÙPOWERÙONÙTHEÙ6"53ÙLINEÙATÙ6ÙTOÙ6Ù#URRENTÙISÙSPECIֵEDÙINÙ

UNITSÙOFÙlUNITÙLOADmÙWHEREÙAÙUNITÙLOADÙISÙM!Ù%XTERNALLYÙPOWEREDÙ&ULLÙANDÙ(I 3PEEDÙHOSTSÙMUSTÙSUPPLYÙUPÙTOÙֵVEÙUNITÙ
loads of power to devices, and SuperSpeed hosts must supply up to nine unit loads. Battery-powered hosts may supply
as little as one unit load.

POWER REQUESTS
7HENÙAÙ53"ÙDEVICEÙISÙֵRSTÙPLUGGEDÙINTOÙAÙSYSTEMÙITÙSHOULDÙCONSUMEÙAÙMAXIMUMÙOFÙONEÙUNITÙLOADÙM! Ù4HEÙHOSTÙ
queries the device to find out how much power it needs to operate. Then, the device indicates the amount of current that

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it intends to consume. If the amount of current that your host can provide is limited, it may deny a request for current by
failing to send a configuration message to the device. If the device does not receive a configuration message, it simply
will not connect. A user who observes this will not necessarily be able to tell that the connection failed. Therefore, it is
recommended that a USB host notify the user when a power request is denied so the user will know what happened
and potentially take corrective action.

4HEÙSTANDARDÙPRACTICEÙFORÙEXTERNALLYÙPOWEREDÙEMBEDDEDÙ53"ÙHOSTSÙISÙTOÙCONNECTÙ6"53ÙTOÙTHEÙ6ÙRAILÙTHROUGHÙANÙ
overcurrent protection device and acknowledge all requests for power. If your system is battery-powered or has
stringent power consumption requirements, your system design should probably take a more rigorous approach to
POWERÙMANAGEMENTÙ&ORÙCOMPREHENSIVEÙINFORMATIONÙABOUTÙ53"Ù0OWERÙ-ANAGEMENTÙCONSULTÙSECTIONSÙÙANDÙÙOFÙ
THEÙ53"ÙÙSPECIֵCATIONÙANDÙSECTIONÙÙOFÙTHEÙ53"ÙÙ/N 4HE 'OÙANDÙ%MBEDDEDÙ(OSTÙ3UPPLEMENTÙ

OVERCURRENT PROTECTION
The USB specification requires overcurrent protection for all USB hosts, embedded or otherwise. This requirement is
imposed for safety reasons to handle the case where a device or a cable is plugged into the host that shorts the power
LEADÙ6"53 ÙTOÙGROUNDÙ7ITHOUTÙCURRENTÙLIMITINGÙTHISÙSITUATIONÙCOULDÙLEADÙTOÙAÙֵREÙIFÙTHEÙPOWERÙSUPPLYÙISÙPOWERFULÙENOUGH

Figure 4: PTC Resettable Fuses

The requirement states that overcurrent limiting must be resettable without user mechanical intervention, which rules
OUTÙAÙFUSEÙ0#ÙHOSTSÙUSUALLYÙINCORPORATEÙAÙROOTÙHUBÙCHIPÙWITHÙCURRENTÙSENSINGÙCAPABILITYÙANDÙEXTERNALÙ6"53ÙSWITCHESÙ
that turn the power off to devices that draw too much current. Embedded systems can do this too, but to keep costs low
MOSTÙEMBEDDEDÙHOSTSÙINCORPORATEÙAÙ04#ÙRESETTABLEÙFUSEÙLIKEÙTHOSEÙSHOWNÙINÙFigure 4, between the power source and
THEÙ6"53ÙLINEÙ!Ù04#ÙFUSEÙAKAÙPOLYFUSEÙORÙPOLYSWITCH ÙISÙAÙSOLID STATEÙSELF RESETTINGÙCIRCUITÙBREAKERÙDEVICEÙTHATÙGOESÙTOÙAÙ
high resistance state when the current through it exceeds a certain amount then returns to a low resistance state when
the current is removed.

INRUSH CURRENT PROTECTION

When a device connects to a USB host, the host must charge up the bypass capacitance in the device while also
powering the device. This scenario results in large inrush currents that, if le# unmitigated, can lead to system instability
caused by power supply voltage droops that result from high inrush currents.

/NEÙWAYÙFORÙ53"ÙHOSTSÙTOÙHANDLEÙHIGHÙDEVICEÙINRUSHÙCURRENTSÙISÙTOÙHAVEÙABOUTÙU&ÙOFÙCAPACITANCEÙONÙTHEÙHOSTÙSIDEÙOFÙ
6"53Ù,ARGEÙBULKÙCAPACITANCEÙSERVESÙASÙAÙCHARGEÙRESERVOIRÙTOÙSUPPLYÙCURRENTÙDURINGÙDEVICEÙPLUG INÙTHATÙMAYÙNORMALLYÙ
swamp the host power supplies. Another mitigation to be used in combination with a large bulk capacitance is to
PROVIDEÙAÙLOWÙVALUEÙSERIESÙRESISTORÙBETWEENÙTHEÙHOSTÙBULKÙCAPACITANCEÙANDÙTHEÙDEVICEÙ6"53Ù4HISÙTECHNIQUEÙLIMITSÙTHEÙ
maximum amount of inrush current that a device can be supplied. It will also introduce a constant voltage drop across
the series resistor during normal operation. The voltage drop can be ignored as long as the output voltage of the host
PORTÙISÙBETWEENÙÙTOÙ6

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RESETS & BROWNOUT

Every microcontroller-based system should incorporate reset and brownout control. Reset control can be as simple as
ANÙ2#ÙCIRCUITÙBETWEENÙPOWERÙANDÙGROUNDÙTOÙGENTLYÙBRINGÙYOURÙMICROCONTROLLERÙOUTÙOFÙRESETÙONCEÙTHEÙPOWERÙSUPPLYÙISÙUPÙ
and stable.

Did you know that without a reset controller, your microcontroller keeps right on running even a#er the power has
been turned off? That’s right. A#er the power supply has been turned off and while the supply voltage is bleeding down
from its nominal voltage toward ground, your microcontroller still has enough voltage at its power supply pins to
keep running. Some parts of the microcontroller don’t use much power and they keep working for a long time while
other more power-hungry parts of the microcontroller stop working relatively quickly. This phenomenon is known
as brownout. Brownout is the condition where parts of the system work and other parts shut down as the power
supply ramps up or down. This can be a big problem for flash-based microcontrollers because during brownout the
microcontroller can execute random code that is capable of corrupting flash memory. Figure 5 illustrates how a
supervisor protects your microcontroller by resetting it when the input voltage is too low.

Figure 5: Brownout Due to Power Supply Glitch28

HOW A SUPERVISOR PROTECTS AGAINST BROWNOUT

VDD

reset reset
/RESET delay delay

Undefined Reset asserted low Reset asserts low

output at for some time during immediately during
low VDD rising VDD falling VDD

/NEÙSOLUTIONÙFORÙBROWNOUTÙISÙAÙSUPERVISORÙORÙRESETÙCONTROLLERÙ!ÙRESETÙCONTROLLERÙISÙAÙSIMPLEÙ)#ÙTHATÙCONTROLSÙRESETÙBASEDÙ
on the power supply voltage rather than time. A number of companies provide reset controllers that put an end to
brownout. The diagram above in Figure 5 SHOWSÙHOWÙ4EXASÙ)NSTRUMENTSmÙ3UPERVISORÙANDÙ2ESETÙ)#SÙOPERATEÙ"EÙSUREÙ
that you design one into your system.

ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE (EMI)

4HEREÙAREÙAÙVARIETYÙOFÙREGULATIONSÙEGÙ&##Ù#%ÙETC ÙTHATÙREQUIREÙELECTRONICÙPRODUCTSÙTOÙMINIMIZEÙ%-)ÙRADIATIONÙANDÙ
SUSCEPTIBILITYÙ%-)ÙCANÙBEÙRADIATEDÙFROMÙTHEÙDATAÙSIGNALSÙORÙFROMÙTHEÙSYSTEMÙGROUNDÙCONNECTIONSÙBETWEENÙYOURÙSYSTEMÙ
ANDÙTHEÙOUTSIDEÙWORLDÙ(EREÙAREÙSOMEÙQUICKÙTIPSÙTOÙHELPÙMINIMIZEÙRADIATEDÙ%-)Ù

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10
 Embedded Systems Design Guide
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Ù 5SEÙPOWERÙANDÙGROUNDÙPLANESÙONÙYOURÙ0#"SÙ0LANESÙPROVIDEÙTHEÙLOWESTÙINDUCTANCEÙPATHÙFORÙPOWERÙANDÙGROUNDÙANDÙÙÙ

Ù LOWERÙ%-)

2. Use grounded polygon pours on the top and bottom layers to provide a return path for unbalanced return currents.

Ù 0ROPERLYÙBYPASSÙALLÙ)#SÙWITHÙLOWÙ%32ÙCERAMICÙCAPACITORS

Ù 5SEÙANÙ%-)ÙֵLTERÙONÙTHEÙ$$ ÙLINESÙOFÙYOURÙ53"ÙCONNECTIONSÙ-AKEÙSUREÙTHATÙTHEÙֵLTERÙISÙDESIGNEDÙFORÙTHEÙSPEEDÙÙ Ù

of your USB connection.

Ù 5SEÙFERRITEÙBEADSÙONÙYOURÙ6"53ÙANDÙ'.$ÙLINESÙTOÙֵLTERÙNOISEÙGENERATEDÙBYÙYOURÙSYSTEMÙFROMÙGETTINGÙINTOÙTHEÙÙ Ù
power leads of the USB cable.

Ù $OÙNOTÙCONNECTÙTHEÙ53"ÙSHIELDÙDIRECTLYÙTOÙGROUNDÙ4IEÙITÙTOÙGROUNDÙTHROUGHÙAÙÙ-ƆÙRESISTORÙINÙPARALLELÙWITHÙAÙ
Ù ÙP&ÙCERAMICÙCAPACITORÙ4HISÙSHOULDÙPROVIDEÙSUַCIENTÙֵLTERINGÙTOÙAVOIDÙRADIATINGÙNOISEÙTHROUGHÙTHEÙSHIELD

Ù 5SEÙAÙMETALÙORÙMETALLIZEDÙPLASTICÙENCLOSUREÙTOÙACTÙASÙAÙl&ARADAYÙCAGEmÙTOÙENCLOSEÙ%-)ÙRADIATEDÙBYÙYOURÙELECTRONICS

Ù )FÙYOUÙUSEÙAÙMETALÙORÙMETALLIZEDÙPLASTICÙENCLOSUREÙMAKEÙSUREÙTHATÙTHEÙSHIELDÙCONNECTIONSÙONÙYOURÙ53"ÙCONNECTORÙÙ Ù

are electrically connected to your enclosure. This will help reduce radiated emissions.

CONTROLLED IMPEDANCE
53"ÙSIGNALSÙAREÙDIִERENTIALÙANDÙMUSTÙBEÙROUTEDÙUSINGÙAÙÙƆÙ ÙÙDIִERENTIALÙIMPEDANCEÙDESIGNÙ4HEÙSIGNALSÙ
THATÙMUSTÙBEÙCONTROLLEDÙAREÙTHEÙ$ÙANDÙ$ ÙLINESÙBETWEENÙTHEÙCONNECTORÙANDÙYOURÙHOSTÙCONTROLLERÙ0ROPERLYÙCONTROLLEDÙ
impedance design is a good idea for low and full-speed designs, but it’s absolutely required for Hi-Speed and
SuperSpeed designs. Without it, the circuits simply won’t work. If your design will be compliance tested, it will undergo
4$2Ù4IME $OMAINÙ2EֶECTOMETER ÙIMPEDANCEÙMEASUREMENTÙTOÙASSUREÙTHATÙYOURÙDESIGNÙHASÙTHEÙCORRECTÙIMPEDANCE

#ONTROLLEDÙIMPEDANCEÙDESIGNÙISÙRELATIVELYÙSTRAIGHTFORWARDÙ4HEÙGENERALÙPRINCIPLEÙISÙTHATÙTHEÙ$ ÙANDÙ$ÙSIGNALSÙSHOULDÙBEÙ

routed side by side using a fixed spacing from beginning to end and over a continuous ground plane for the whole route.
4RYÙTOÙKEEPÙ$ÙANDÙ$ ÙONÙTHEÙSAMEÙLAYERÙANDÙTHEÙSAMEÙLENGTHÙ4HEÙROUTINGÙTOPOLOGYÙMAYÙBEÙEITHERÙMICROSTRIPÙORÙSTRIPLINEÙ
as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: PCB Layout of Differential Pairs

PCB EDGE VIEW

Microstrip Stripline

#YPRESSÙ3EMICONDUCTORÙHASÙPREPAREDÙAÙGREATÙapplication note for Hi-Speed USB layout that is definitely worth

readingÙ!NOTHERÙUSEFULÙTOOLÙFORÙCONTROLLEDÙIMPEDANCEÙ0#"ÙDESIGNÙISÙANÙIMPEDANCEÙCALCULATORÙPROGRAMÙSUCHÙASÙ
the 3ATURNÙ0#"Ù4OOLKIT.

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11
 Embedded Systems Design Guide
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!NOTHERÙTECHNIQUEÙTOÙGETÙYOURÙ0#"ÙBUILTÙWITHÙTHEÙPROPERÙCONTROLLEDÙIMPEDANCEÙ53"Ù$$ ÙTRACESÙISÙTOÙSPECIFYÙ
THEÙCONTROLLEDÙIMPEDANCEÙSIGNALSÙTOÙYOURÙ0#"ÙMANUFACTURERÙASÙPARTÙOFÙYOURÙFABRICATIONÙINSTRUCTIONSÙ-OSTÙ0#"Ù
manufacturers have the so#ware necessary to calculate impedance precisely and they can test the impedance of your
0#"ÙTRACESÙUSINGÙAÙ4$2Ù4HISÙISÙAÙRELATIVELYÙCOMMONÙPRACTICEÙANDÙISÙNOTÙAÙBIGÙCOSTÙADDERÙSOÙITÙISÙAÙGREATÙWAYÙTOÙGETÙ
CONTROLLEDÙIMPEDANCEÙ0#"SÙWITHÙVERYÙLOWÙRISKÙ$ESIGNÙTHEÙDIִERENTIALÙTRACESÙUSINGÙTHEÙAPPLICATIONÙNOTEÙANDÙTHEÙRESULTSÙOFÙ
THEÙIMPEDANCEÙCALCULATORÙ.EXTÙADDÙFABRICATIONÙINSTRUCTIONSÙTOÙYOURÙ0#"ÙDRAWINGÙINSTRUCTINGÙTHEÙMANUFACTURERÙTOÙBUILDÙ
FORÙÙOHMSÙDIִERENTIALÙIMPEDANCEÙFORÙ53"ÙTRACESÙ9OUÙSHOULDÙCLEARLYÙMARKÙTHEÙAִECTEDÙTRACESÙINÙYOURÙDRAWINGSÙSOÙTHEÙ
manufacturer will tune the correct lines.

)NÙSUMMARYÙYOUÙCANÙGREATLYÙSIMPLIFYÙTHEÙTASKÙOFÙACHIEVINGÙTHEÙCORRECTÙCONTROLLEDÙIMPEDANCEÙONÙYOURÙ0#"ÙBYÙUSINGÙANÙ
IMPEDANCEÙCALCULATORÙANDORÙENLISTINGÙTHEÙHELPÙOFÙYOURÙ0#"ÙSUPPLIER

PCB TRACE WIDTH SIZING

0#"ÙTRACEÙWIDTHSÙFORÙSIGNALÙLINESÙAREÙGENERALLYÙLIMITEDÙBYÙTHEÙMINIMUMÙTRACEÙGEOMETRYÙFORÙTHEÙ0#"ÙPROCESSÙ"UTÙFORÙ0#"Ù
power traces, the trace width can have a significant impact on how well the circuit performs. The amount of current that a
0#"ÙTRACEÙCANÙCARRYÙDEPENDSÙONÙTHEÙACCEPTABLEÙAMOUNTÙOFÙTEMPERATUREÙRISEÙ4EMPERATUREÙRISEÙISÙDETERMINEDÙBYÙTHEÙTHICKNESSÙ
OFÙTHEÙTRACEÙCOPPERÙANDÙTHEÙWIDTHÙOFÙTHEÙTRACEÙ!NÙEASYÙWAYÙTOÙSIZEÙYOURÙ0#"ÙTRACESÙISÙTOÙUSEÙAÙCALCULATORÙLIKEÙTHEÙONEÙ
found hereÙ#ALCULATINGÙ0#"ÙPOWERÙTRACEÙWIDTHÙMAYÙSEEMÙLIKEÙOVERKILLÙBUTÙITmSÙBETTERÙTHANÙGETTINGÙSURPRISEDÙLATERÙON

EXAMPLE HOST CONTROLLER SOLUTIONS

4HEÙNEXTÙTWOÙSECTIONSÙSHOWCASEÙTWOÙTYPESÙOFÙ53"ÙHOSTÙCONTROLLERÙSOLUTIONSÙINÙAÙBITÙMOREÙDETAILÙ4HEÙֵRSTÙWILLÙUSEÙAÙlBOLT
on’ host controller and the second uses a microcontroller with a built-in USB host controller.

EXAMPLE BOLT-ON HOST CONTROLLER

&ORÙTHEÙl"OLT ONmÙHOSTÙCONTROLLERÙEXAMPLEÙCIRCUITÙWEmLLÙTAKEÙAÙLOOKÙATÙTHEÙ&4$)Ù6$)0Ù4HEÙMODULEÙISÙAÙLITTLEÙSMALLERÙ
than a stick of chewing gum, yet it contains all the circuitry needed for a USB host controller including the connector as
shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: V2DIP1 USB Host Module

4HEÙMODULEÙISÙBASEDÙONÙTHEÙ6INCULUMÙ))ÙAÙSECOND GENERATIONÙFULL SPEEDÙ53"ÙHOSTÙSYSTEM ON A CHIPÙTHATÙCONTAINSÙTHEÙ

host controller, middleware and FAT file system firmware all in a single chip.

From the hardware perspective, you may design the module or the chip into your circuit. Either way, you need to provide
POWERÙANDÙWIREÙTHEÙ5!24ÙPARALLELÙ&)&/ÙORÙ30)ÙINTERFACEÙTOÙYOURÙMICROPROCESSORÙ%VENÙTHOUGHÙTHEREÙISÙONLYÙONEÙ53"ÙHOSTÙ
connector, the module actually supports two USB host ports. All you need to do is wire up the second port if you need it.
4HEÙSCHEMATICÙFORÙTHEÙ6$)0ÙISÙFOUNDÙINÙFigure 8.

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53"ÙHOSTÙCONTROLLERÙFUNCTIONSÙAREÙEXECUTEDÙWHENÙYOURÙMICROCONTROLLERÙSENDSÙHIGH LEVELÙCOMMANDSÙTOÙTHEÙ6INCULUMÙ
))ÙOVERÙTHEÙMICROCONTROLLERÙINTERFACEÙ&ORÙEXAMPLEÙINÙORDERÙTOÙREADÙTHEÙDIRECTORYÙOFÙAÙ53"ÙֶASHÙDRIVEÙYOUÙSENDÙTHEÙl$)2mÙ
command over the microcontroller interface and the module sends a list of filenames in response. The command
PROTOCOLÙSUPPORTSÙEITHERÙ!3#))ÙORÙBINARYÙCOMMANDS

All in all, a USB host peripheral is a clever solution for applications where resources are limited and the required data
rates are relatively low.

Figure 8: V2DIP1 Schematic

Image used with permission from FTDI.

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EXAMPLE BUILT-IN HOST CONTROLLER

&ORÙTHEÙBUILT INÙHOSTÙCONTROLLERÙEXAMPLEÙWEmLLÙBEÙLOOKINGÙATÙTHEÙMBEDÙ.80Ù,0#ÙDEVELOPMENTÙBOARDÙ)TÙISÙAÙMINIATUREÙ
SINGLEÙBOARDÙCOMPUTERÙBASEDÙONÙTHEÙ.80Ù,0#Ù!2-Ù#ORTEX -Ù-#5ÙFigure 9 shows a top view of the module
ALONGÙWITHÙDESCRIPTIONSÙFORÙEACHÙPINÙ4HEÙHARDWAREÙANDÙSOֹWAREÙAREÙLICENSEDÙTOÙUSERSÙUNDERÙTHEÙ!PACHEÙÙLICENSEÙ
which allows royalty-free use for personal and commercial products.

4HEÙMINI 53"ÙPORTÙONÙTHEÙMODULEÙISÙAÙDEVICEÙPORTÙTHATÙCONNECTSÙTOÙAÙ0#ÙFORÙSOֹWAREÙDOWNLOADSÙANDÙDEBUGGERÙFUNCTIONSÙ
To use this board as a USB host controller, you need to wire up the USB host connector to the ports indicated in the
mbed HDK as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 9: mbed NXP LPC1768 Development Board

Image used with permission from mbed.

The so#ware development tools for mbed are free and online, so developing code is as easy as creating a web account.
The IDE, compilers, version control system and libraries are all online. The system is designed to make it easy to import
source code from other developers who share their work. For instance, one developer has designed and shared a
PROJECTÙNAMEDÙ-3#5SB(OSTÙfound here. The program uses the included libraries, middleware and FAT file system to
read the directory of a USB flash drive, write a test file and read back the contents of the test file. This code can be easily
imported into your online account to help you get started right away.

7HENÙITÙCOMESÙTOÙBUILDINGÙYOURÙOWNÙHARDWAREÙUSINGÙTHEÙ.80Ù,0#ÙYOUÙCANÙDOWNLOADÙTHEÙMBEDÙ.80Ù,0#Ù
development board schematics from www.mbed.org.

Figure 10: mbed NXP LPC1768 USB Host Connection

CON4
D+ D+
D- D-
USB

VBUS_TGT VBUS
GND
15k

15k

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 Embedded Systems Design Guide
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IMPLEMENTING THE EMBEDDED FIRMWARE

Once the hardware is built or bought and system so#ware is installed, it is time to write or modify your application. Here
AREÙSOMEÙTHINGSÙTOÙKEEPÙINÙMINDÙ

THE USB FLASH DRIVE FILE SYSTEM

-OSTÙ53"ÙֶASHÙDRIVESÙSHIPÙPREFORMATTEDÙWITHÙTHEÙ&!4ÙORÙ%X&!4ÙֵLEÙSYSTEMÙ)NÙALLÙLIKELIHOODÙTHEÙ53"ÙֶASHÙDRIVESÙTHATÙ
plug into your system will be formatted with one of these file systems. ExFAT is not compatible with the FAT file system,
so if your system only supports FAT, you will need to be able to detect whether newly inserted USB flash drives are
formatted using FAT or not, and possibly prompt to reformat them.

HANDLING SURPRISE REMOVAL AND POWER LOSS

As convenient as a removable USB flash drive may be, that convenience introduces an element of uncertainty to the
embedded application developer. The simple fact is that a removable USB flash drive opens up the possibility for the
flash drive to be removed during a read or write operation. Embedded systems may also be subject to unpredictable
power loss.

The FAT file system helps with surprise removal and power loss by maintaining two copies of the File Allocation Table
&!4 Ù)NÙCASEÙAÙREMOVALÙORÙPOWERÙLOSSÙHAPPENSÙWHILEÙWRITINGÙTHEÙTABLEÙCHANCESÙAREÙTHATÙONLYÙONEÙTABLEÙWILLÙBEÙCORRUPTEDÙSOÙ
the disk can be recovered. ExFAT only maintains one copy of the FAT, so recovery is less likely with ExFAT.

Another way to minimize the possibility of media corruption due to disconnection or power loss is to design your
so#ware to perform file access operations in a manner that minimizes the duration of the file access. Rather than
opening a file at the beginning of the program and leaving it open for a long period of time, it is better to open the
file, read or write the data, then close the file immediately a#erwards. By adopting this approach, the possibility of file
corruption is minimized.

If your file system implements a caching scheme, it is best to disable write caching because it can lengthen the duration
of a write operation due to asynchronous cache flushing.

FILE SYSTEM LICENSING

The FAT file system is one of the most popular file systems in use today. The FAT and ExFAT file systems are covered
UNDERÙSOֹWAREÙPATENTSÙOWNEDÙBYÙ-ICROSOֹÙ)FÙYOURÙPRODUCTÙIMPLEMENTSÙAÙ&!4ÙֵLEÙSYSTEMÙYOUÙSHOULDÙCHECKÙWITHÙ
-ICROSOֹÙTOÙSEEÙIFÙYOUÙNEEDÙAÙLICENSEÙTOÙUSEÙITÙINÙYOURÙPRODUCTÙ)FÙYOURÙPRODUCTÙNEEDSÙTOÙUSEÙ%X&!4ÙYOUÙDEֵNITELYÙÙ
need to purchase a license. For more information, visit -ICROSOֹmSÙ4ECHNOLOGYÙ,ICENSINGÙ0ROGRAMS page.
.

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 Embedded Systems Design Guide
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ABOUT DATAKEY
!4%+Ù!CCESSÙ4ECHNOLOGIESmÙ$ATAKEYÙBRANDÙHASÙAÙLONGÙANDÙDISTINGUISHEDÙHISTORYÙDATINGÙBACKÙTOÙ ÙOFÙPRODUCINGÙ
RUGGEDÙPORTABLEÙMEMORYÙPRODUCTSÙFORÙTHEÙEMBEDDEDÙELECTRONICSÙINDUSTRYÙ4HEÙCOMPANYmSÙ25''%$RIVEtÙPRODUCTÙLINEÙ
includes a variety of USB flash drive devices that addresses many of the weaknesses found in consumer USB flash
DRIVESÙ4HEÙ25''%$RIVEtÙLINEÙINCLUDESÙ53"ÙֶASHÙDRIVESÙWITHÙRUGGEDIZEDÙPACKAGINGÙEXTENDEDÙTEMPERATUREÙOPERATIONÙ
READ ONLYÙOPERATIONÙANDÙOTHERÙSECURITYÙANDÙ/%- CUSTOMIZABLEÙFEATURESÙ4HEÙLINEÙALSOÙINCLUDESÙHIGHÙCYCLE LIFEÙ)0ÙANDÙ
)0 RATEDÙRECEPTACLESÙFORÙDEMANDINGÙHARSH ENVIRONMENTÙAPPLICATIONSÙ&ORÙMOREÙINFORMATIONÙONÙTHEÙ25''%$RIVEtÙ
line or other Datakey portable memory products, please visit www.datakey.com.

CONCLUSION
We have covered many topics with regard to implementing an embedded system with USB flash drive support. A#er
discussing high-level system design, we looked at many practical system implementation options available to you at
the hardware, system so#ware and application levels. It is our hope that this paper is helpful to you as you undertake
your development and that you will avoid many difficulties that you may have encountered otherwise.

GLOSSARY
EHCI: %(#)ÙISÙANÙACRONYMÙFORÙ%NHANCEDÙ(OSTÙ#ONTROLLERÙ)NTERFACEÙ%(#)ÙISÙAÙREGISTER LEVELÙINTERFACEÙFORÙAÙ53"ÙÙHOSTÙ
CONTROLLERÙ4HEÙ%(#)Ù3PECIֵCATIONÙMAYÙBEÙFOUNDÙHEREÙ
WWWINTELCOMCONTENTWWWUSENIOUNIVERSAL SERIAL BUSEHCI SPECIֵCATIONHTML

OHCI: /(#)ÙISÙANÙACRONYMÙFORÙ/PENÙ(OSTÙ#ONTROLLERÙ)NTERFACEÙ/(#)ÙISÙAÙREGISTER LEVELÙINTERFACEÙFORÙAÙ53"ÙÙHOSTÙ

CONTROLLERÙ4HEÙ/(#)ÙSPECIֵCATIONÙMAYÙBEÙFOUNDÙHEREÙ
ֹPֹPCOMPAQCOMPUBSUPPORTINFORMATIONPAPERSHCIR?APDF

Device Driver: A device driver is a so#ware component that implements a predefined set of functions that allows an
operating system to communicate with hardware devices in a uniform manner.

Class Driver: A class driver is a device driver for USB devices that provides a device-independent interface to an
operating system subsystem.

Protocol Stack: A protocol stack is a collection of so#ware components that implements a communication protocol.

Middleware: A collection of so#ware or firmware that provides a so#ware service that may not be provided by the
operating system.

RTOS: RTOS is an acronym for Real Time Operating System. An RTOS is a special type of operating system specifically
DESIGNEDÙFORÙSYSTEMSÙTHATÙHAVEÙSPECIֵCÙDETERMINISMÙTHROUGHPUTÙANDORÙRESPONSEÙTIMEÙREQUIREMENTS

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16
 Embedded Systems Design Guide
for Removable USB Flash Drives
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REFERENCES
ÙÙ
Universal Serial Bus Overview , Intel Website,
HTTPWWWINTELCOMCONTENTWWWUSENIOUNIVERSAL SERIAL BUSUNIVERSAL SERIAL BUSHTML
2
USB-IF Hardware and So#ware Tools, USB-IF Website, WWWUSBORGDEVELOPERSTOOLS
ÙÙ
53" )&Ù#OMPLIANCEÙ0ROGRAMÙ53" )&Ù7EBSITEÙWWWUSBORGDEVELOPERSCOMPLIANCE
ÙÙ
.80Ù)NTERFACEÙANDÙ#ONNECTIVTYÙ0RODUCTSÙ.80Ù7EBSITEÙÙ Ù Ù Ù Ù Ù Ù Ù Ù
WWWNXPCOMPRODUCTSINTERFACE?AND?CONNECTIVITYUSB?HOST?CONTROLLERSPRODUCTS
ÙÙ
#YPRESSÙ53"Ù(OSTSÙ#YPRESSÙ7EBSITEÙHTTPWWWCYPRESSCOMID
ÙÙ
&4$)Ù0RODUCTSÙ&4$)Ù7EBSITEÙWWWֹDICHIPCOM0RODUCTS)#SHTM
ÙÙ
4IVAÙ#Ù3ERIESÙ-#5SÙ4)Ù7EBSITEÙWWWTICOMLSDSTIMICROCONTROLLERTIVA?ARM?CORTEXC?SERIESOVERVIEWPAGE
ÙÙ
4)Ù3AFETYÙ-ICROCONTROLLERSÙ4)Ù7EBSITEÙWWWTICOMLSDSTIMICROCONTROLLERSAFETY?MCUOVERVIEWPAGE
ÙÙ
4)Ù3ITARAÙ-ICROPROCESSORSÙ4)Ù7EBSITEÙWWWTICOMLSDSTIARMSITARA?ARM?CORTEX?A?PROCESSOROVERVIEWPAGE
ÙÙ
4)Ù/-!0Ù!PPLICATIONÙ0ROCESSORSÙ4)Ù7EBSITEÙWWWTICOMLSDSTIOMAP APPLICATIONS PROCESSORSOVERVIEWPAGE
ÙÙ
&REESCALEÙ+INETISÙ-ICROCONTROLLERSÙ&REESCALEÙ7EBSITEÙWWWFREESCALECOMWEBAPPSPSSITEHOMEPAGEJSPCODE+).%4)3
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&REESCALEÙ6YBRIDÙ-ICROPROCESSORSÙ&REESCALEÙ7EBSITE WWWFREESCALECOMWEBAPPSPSSITEHOMEPAGEJSPCODE69"2)$
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!TMELÙ!62Ù-ICROCONTROLLERSÙ!TMELÙ7EBSITEÙWWWATMELCOMPRODUCTSMICROCONTROLLERSAVRDEFAULTASPX
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.80Ù,0#Ù-ICROCONTROLLERSÙ.80Ù7EBSITEÙWWWNXPCOMPRODUCTSMICROCONTROLLERS
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HTTPWWWMICROCHIPCOMPAGEHANDLEREN USTECHNOLOGYUSBMICROCONTROLLERSHOMEHTML
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7INDOWSÙ%MBEDDEDÙ-ICROSOֹÙ7EBSITEÙWWWMICROSOֹCOMWINDOWSEMBEDDED
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WWWTICOMLSDSTIMICROCONTROLLERTIVA?ARM?CORTEXC?SERIESTOOLS?SOֹWAREPAGETIVAWARE
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0#"Ù4RACEÙ#ALCULATORÙ!DVANCEDÙ0#"Ù7EBSITE HTTPWWWPCBCOMTRACE WIDTH CALCULATORHTML
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mBED HDK, mbed Website, HTTPMBEDORGTEAMSMBEDCODEMBED ($+
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HTTPWWWMICROSOֹCOMEN USLEGAL)NTELLECTUAL0ROPERTY)0,ICENSING0ROGRAMS$EFAULTASPX

204-0000-000 Rev. A 5/14

ATEK Access Technologies PH: 1.800.523.6996

10025 Valley View Road, Ste. 190 FAX: 1.800.589.3705 www.atekaccess.com
Eden Prairie, MN 55344 U.S.A. +1.218.829.9797

©2014 ATEK Accesss Technologies, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Images and marketing materials are protected by various patents, copyrights and/or
trademarks. ATEK assumes no responsibility for any errors which may appear in this document, reserves the right to change devices or specifications
detailed herein at any time without notice, and does not make any commitment to update the information contained herein. No licenses to patents or
other intellectual property of ATEK are granted by the Company in connection with the sale of products, expressly or by implication.