An Efficient B-tree Implementation for Memory-Constrained Embedded Systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a highly memory-efficient B-tree implementation tailored for small embedded devices, enabling data storage and processing with minimal RAM without OS support.

Contribution

The work presents a novel B-tree implementation optimized for extremely constrained embedded systems, functioning on devices with as little as 4 KB RAM and no OS dependency.

Findings

Operates on devices with 4 KB RAM

Handles thousands of records efficiently

Does not require operating system support

Abstract

Embedded devices collect and process significant amounts of data in a variety of applications including environmental monitoring, industrial automation and control, and other Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Storing data efficiently is critically important, especially when the device must perform local processing on the data. The most widely used data structure for high performance query and insert is the B-tree. However, existing implementations consume too much memory for small embedded devices and often rely on operating system support. This work presents an extremely memory efficient implementation of B-trees for embedded devices that functions on the smallest devices and does not require an operating system. Experimental results demonstrate that the B-tree implementation can run on devices with as little as 4 KB of RAM while efficiently processing thousands of records.