Design and Implementation of ATA-Based Virtual Storage System for Mobile Device

Mobile technology is an essential element in constructing a ubiquitous computing environment. However, the storage limitation on mobile devices has become a significant problem due to the rapid development of data-intensive mobile applications nowadays. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a new block-level storage network protocol, iATA (Internet Advanced Technology Attachment) as a counter to the above problem. This protocol enables the ATA device commands to be transported over the TCP/IP network and hence allows an ATA hard disk to be mounted remotely from a wireless connected mobile device. Due to the popularity of wireless infrastructures and ATA technologies, iATA is considered as a relatively cost effective and lightweight solution if compared to card storages or other network storage protocols. The result of prototype implementation shows that our proposed solution is feasible to be applied on a resource limited device.