Technique for managing files in telephone switching system

• US 6,304,883 B1
• Filed: 07/29/1997
• Issued: 10/16/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Jung-Gi
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FLEURANTIN, JEAN B
• Application Number:
  US08/902,356
• Time in Patent Office: 1,540 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/205, 707/411, 711/103, 711/104, 379/205, 379/219, 379/280
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/08 in hierarchically structured memory systems, e.g. virtual memory systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/2022 Flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99956 File allocation

Abstract

A file managing apparatus of a switching system includes: a flash memory for storing files used in the switching system: an SRAM for storing the files, which are frequently changed and used, among the files stored in the flash memory; and a central processing unit for storing data in a predetermined area of the SRAM when data related with the files stored in the SRAM is processed, and then reading the stored data periodically, to back up the read data in the flash memory.

Claims

1. An apparatus for managing data of a telephone switching system, said apparatus comprising:

a telephone switching system including program and database files for managing said telephone switching system;

a flash memory storing first data used in managing said telephone switching system, the first data corresponding to infrequently modified files including the program files and the database files;

a random access memory storing temporary data, said temporary data corresponding to frequently modified files including the database files, said temporary data being written to said random access memory more frequently than said first data are written to said flash memory; and

a central processing unit writing said temporary data to a predetermined area of said random access memory, and periodically reading said temporary data from said random access memory and then writing said read temporary data to said flash memory to back up said read temporary data, said central processing unit being coupled directly to said flash memory and to said random access memory without an intervening interface unit.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, said flash memory comprising:

an area for storing disk information, an area for storing firmware information, an area for storing firmware history information, a file allocation table, an area for storing system program directory information, an area for storing system common directory information, an area for storing system node directory information, a reserved area, and an area for storing general data.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, said random access memory comprising:

an area for storing disk information, a file allocation table, an area for storing system common directory information, an area for storing system node directory information, and an area for storing general data.

7. The apparatus of claim 3, said random access memory corresponding to a non-volatile static random access memory.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 said random access memory corresponding to a non-volatile static random access memory.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said random access memory corresponds to a static random access memory.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said telephone switching system corresponds to a private branch exchange system.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said central processing unit controls operations of said private branch exchange system including control of switching of talk connections and providing a plurality of services for subscribers.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a switching circuit being coupled to said central processing unit and switching tones and voice data under control of said central processing unit.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said interface unit corresponds to an input/output controller.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a switching circuit being coupled to said central processing unit and to a plurality of telephones, said switching circuit switching tones and voice data among said telephones under control of said central processing unit.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first data includes said read temporary data.

4. A method of managing data files of a telephone switching system, said method comprising:

storing first data files in a flash memory, said first data files being used in operating said telephone switching system, said first data files including program files and database files, said program files and said database files being for operating said system;

storing temporary data files in a random access memory, and

temporarily buffering data in a predetermined database of said random access memory, and then periodically writing said buffered data to said flash memory.

5. The method of claim 4, said random access memory corresponding to a non-volatile static random access memory.

6. The method of claim 4, said temporary data files being stored in said random access memory being classified by directories and stored, an attribute indicating change of data being put in each directory, and, when data related to said temporary data files is processed, the data being stored, substantially simultaneously, and said attribute being changed.

18. The method of claim 6, wherein said random access memory corresponds to a non-volatile static random access memory.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said telephone switching system corresponds to a private branch exchange system.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising a central processing unit controlling operations of said private branch exchange system including control of switching of talk connections and providing a plurality of services for subscribers.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising a switching circuit being coupled to said central processing unit and switching tones and voice data under control of said central processing unit.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising a switching circuit being coupled to said central processing unit and to a plurality of telephones, said switching circuit switching tones and voice data among said telephones under control of said central processing unit.

8. A file managing apparatus, comprising:

a telephone switching system including program and database files for operating said system;

a flash memory storing infrequently changed files used in operating said telephone switching system, said infrequently changed files including said program and database files;

a random access memory storing frequently changed and used files, said frequently changed files including said database files; and

a central processing unit coupled directly to said flash memory without any intervening input/output controller, storing data in a predetermined area of said random access memory when data related with said files stored in said random access memory is processed, and then reading said stored data periodically, to back up said read data to said flash memory.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, said random access memory comprising:

an area storing disk information;

a file allocation table;

an area storing system common directory information;

an area storing node directory information; and

an area storing general data.

28. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said random access memory corresponds to a static random access memory.

23. A method of managing files of a telephone switching system, including a flash memory and a random access memory, said method comprising:

storing in said flash memory program and database files which are used in said telephone switching system;

temporarily storing in said random access memory said database files which are used in said telephone switching system, said files stored in said random access memory being changed more frequently than said files stored in said flash memory;

temporarily buffering data related with said files in a predetermined database of said random access memory; and

periodically backing up in said flash memory when said data is processed.

24. The method of claim 23, said files being stored in said random access memory being classified by directories and stored, an attribute indicating change of data being put in each directory, and, when data related to said files is processed, the data being stored, simultaneously, and said attribute being changed.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein said telephone switching system corresponds to a private branch exchange system.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising a central processing unit controlling operations of said private branch exchange system including control of switching of talk connections and providing a plurality of services for subscribers.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising a switching circuit being coupled to a central processing unit and to a plurality of telephones, said switching circuit switching tones and voice data among said telephones under control of said central processing unit.

29. A method, comprising:

managing a plurality of program files and database files of a telephone switching system, the plurality of files including a first program file and a first database file, the plurality of files being used in said telephone switching system, said managing further comprising;

storing in a read only memory a first plurality of files used in said telephone switching system, the first plurality of files not being changed frequently, the first plurality of files including the program files and the database files;

storing in a random access memory a second plurality of files used in said telephone switching system, the second plurality of files being changed frequently, the second plurality of files including the database files;

periodically copying at least one of the second plurality of files from the random access memory to the read only memory to back up the at least one of the second plurality of files;

receiving a request to store a first file;

detecting when the first file corresponds to the first program file and when the first file corresponds to the first database file, said detecting being performed by an operating system;

when the first file corresponds to the first program file, requesting storage of the first program file in the read only memory, storing the first program file in the read only memory, and changing an attribute of the first program file to correspond to a directory of the read only memory; and

when the first file corresponds to the first database file, requesting storage of the first database file in the random access memory, storing the first database file in the random access memory, and changing an attribute of the first database file to correspond to a directory of the random access memory.