Memory system and related method using software-defined radio with write-protected, non-volatile memory

1. A software-defined radio, comprising:

a radio circuit;

an executable radio software system operable with the radio circuit and conforming to the Software Communications Architecture (SCA) specification and defining an operating environment that allows a waveform application to operate with the radio circuit for transmitting and receiving voice and data; and

a write protected non-volatile memory operable with the radio circuit and executable radio software system and having a write enable controlled by a non-driver program for deferring a wear leveling correction sequence and further comprising a RAM, a writeable non-volatile memory, and a file system and driver for reading transaction requests on pages in blocks, wherein said file system and driver are configured to:

retrieve a block as a suspect block upon detection of an Error Correction Code (ECC) after a page read;

copy the suspect block into RAM where it is maintained for fulfilling file requests;

copy the subject block into the writeable non-volatile memory;

erase the stored data corresponding to the subject block from the write-protected non-volatile memory after entering a write enabled mode; and

replace the erased data with a copy of the data stored in the writeable, non-volatile memory.

2. The software-defined radio according to claim 1 , wherein said write protected non-volatile memory comprises a NAND memory.

3. The software-defined radio according to claim 1 , wherein said write protected non-volatile memory includes a write enable pin that is disabled by a third party outside the control of a driver used normally for wear leveling correction sequences.

4. The software-defined radio according to claim 1 , wherein said radio circuit is operable as an Internet protocol (IP) data radio.

5. The software-defined radio according to claim 1 , and further comprising an integrity assurance program that erases the suspect block and replaces any erased data within the write protected non-volatile memory from data within the writeable non-volatile memory.

6. The software-defined radio according to claim 1 , wherein an ECC correction triggers a copyout routine.

7. The software-defined radio according to claim 1 , wherein said file system is operable for providing a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) error detection.

8. A method for controlling memory within a software-defined radio that includes a radio circuit and an executable radio software system operable with the radio circuit and conforming to the Software Communications Architecture (SCA) specification and defining an operating environment that allows a waveform application to operate with the radio circuit for transmitting and receiving voice and data, said radio circuit further comprising a write protected non-volatile memory operable with the radio circuit and executable radio software system and having a write enable controlled by a non-driver program for deferring a wear leveling correction sequence comprising:

returning an error correction code (ECC) after reading the write protected non-volatile memory,

reading transaction requests on pages in blocks and retrieving a block as a suspect block upon detection of an Error Correction Code (ECC) after a page read;

copying the suspect block into a RAM where it is maintained for fulfilling file requests and also into a writeable non-volatile memory;

erasing the suspect block from the write-protected non-volatile memory after entering a write enabled mode; and

replacing any erased data within a write protected non-volatile memory from data in the writeable non-volatile memory.

9. The method according to claim 8 , which further comprises disabling a write enable pin normally used for wear leveling correction such that the write enable pin is controlled by a third party outside the control of a driver normally used in controlling the wear leveling correction.

10. The method according to claim 8 , which further comprises triggering a copyout routine after an ECC correction.

11. The method according to claim 8 , which further comprises providing a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) error detection.

12. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the memory comprises a NAND memory.

13. The method according to claim 8 , which further comprises operating the radio circuit as an internet protocol (IP) data radio.

14. A memory system, comprising:

a write protected, non-volatile memory having a write enable controlled by a non-driver third party program outside the control of any driver used normally for wear leveling correction sequences;

a RAM;

a writeable non-volatile memory;

a driver;

a file system wherein the file system and driver are operative for retrieving a block as a suspect block upon detection of an Error Correction Code (ECC) after a page read and copying the suspect block into RAM where it is maintained for fulfilling file requests and into the writeable non-volatile memory wherein said file system and driver are configured to:

erase the suspect block from the write-protected non-volatile memory after entering a write enable mode; and

replace any erased data within the write protected non-volatile memory from data in the writeable non-volatile memory.

15. The memory system according to claim 14 , wherein said write protected non-volatile memory comprises a NAND memory.

16. The memory system according to claim 14 , and further comprising an integrity assurance program that erases the suspect block and replaces any erased data within the write protected non-volatile memory from data within the writeable non-volatile memory.

17. The memory system according to claim 14 , wherein an ECC correction triggers a copyout routine.

18. The memory system according to claim 14 , wherein said file system is operable for providing a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) error detection.