Windows 10: Intel releases Thunderbolt 3 protocol to USB Promoter Group

Brink · Mar 4, 2019

In March 2019, Intel Corporation announced that it has contributed the Thunderbolt protocol specification to the USB Promoter Group. The USB Promoter Group also announced the pending release of the USB4 specification, based on the Thunderbolt protocol. The convergence of the underlying Thunderbolt and USB protocols will increase compatibility among USB Type-C connector-based products, simplifying how people connect their devices. (Credit: Tim Herman/Intel Corporation)

What’s New: Intel is well on its way to making the innovation delivered with Thunderbolt™ 3 available to everyone. Today, Intel announced that it contributed the Intel Thunderbolt protocol specification to the USB Promoter Group, enabling other chip makers to build Thunderbolt compatible silicon, royalty-free. In addition, the USB Promoter Group announced the pending release of the USB4 specification, based on the Thunderbolt protocol. The convergence of the underlying Thunderbolt and USB protocols will increase compatibility among USB Type-C connector-based products, simplifying how people connect their devices.
“Releasing the Thunderbolt protocol specification is a significant milestone for making today’s simplest and most versatile port available to everyone. This, in combination with the integration of Thunderbolt 3 into upcoming Intel processors is a win-win for the industry and consumers.”
–Jason Ziller, general manager, Client Connectivity Division at Intel
Why It Matters: Previously, Intel shared plans to integrate Thunderbolt 3 into future Intel CPUs and to release the Thunderbolt protocol specification to the industry. As detailed at CES 2019, Intel’s upcoming 10nm processor code-named “Ice Lake” will be the first to integrate Thunderbolt 3. Processor integration, combined with today’s announcement, is expected to drive large-scale, mainstream adoption of Thunderbolt.

Industry adoption of Thunderbolt 3 is accelerating. Thunderbolt 3 is fully supported in Windows 10*, macOS* and Linux*; volumes of PCs with these ports continue to double every year into the tens of millions; and all the latest Macs* have Thunderbolt 3 ports. More than 400 PC designs have been enabled with Thunderbolt 3. Peripheral device volumes also continue to double annually with more than 450 certified devices from a wide number of product categories, including docks, displays, storage and external graphics.

“Realizing HP’s vision for the office of the future requires seamless connectivity, powerful performance and total simplicity to enable people to unleash their creativity wherever their workday takes them,” said Bill Gorden, vice president, Commercial Notebook Management at HP. “Thunderbolt 3 is a powerful addition to our new notebooks and docks that delivers the flexibility sought by IT departments and the experiences people love.”

“Samsung Electronics is responding to increasing consumer demand for Thunderbolt 3 by offering sleek and powerful notebooks and other peripheral devices,” said Mincheol Lee, vice president, PC Strategic Marketing at Samsung Electronics. “We look forward to our ongoing collaboration with Intel to bring more innovative Thunderbolt 3 products to market.”

How Thunderbolt Leads with Best-in-Class Solutions: Thunderbolt delivers world-class performance, ease-of-use and quality by unifying multiple industry specifications into an industry leading set of product capabilities. Thunderbolt is supported by an end-to-end solution enabling program for computer, peripheral device and cable makers to help ensure a consistent experience for all Thunderbolt connected products. Intel works with the industry to define product capabilities, validation testing and rigorous certification requirements, including:

Working closely with Microsoft* to deliver built-in Windows 10 support for Thunderbolt 3, optimized for plug and play, platform power management, system charging and system wake features

Intel CPU platform and peripheral reference design validation

Extensive end-to-end testing to help ensure interoperability across a wide range of product types and manufacturers

Mandatory Thunderbolt certification for all computers, peripheral devices and cables

Cable enabling and cable quality audits for Thunderbolt cable manufacturers

Intel and other industry leaders continue to innovate on Thunderbolt technology to deliver a leading connectivity solution, from silicon and cables to PCs and peripheral devices.

More Context: Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt certified products
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Source: Intel Takes Steps to Enable Thunderbolt 3 Everywhere, Releases Protocol | Intel Newsroom

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Brink · Mar 4, 2019

Intel Announces Plans to Integrate Thunderbolt 3 into Future CPUs

Intel has a long history of leading the industry in I/O innovation. In the late 1990s, Intel developed USB, which made it easier and faster to connect external devices to computers, consolidating a multitude of existing connectors. Intel continues its I/O innovation leadership with Thunderbolt™ 3, one of the most significant cable I/O updates since the advent of USB.

Intel’s vision for Thunderbolt was not just to make a faster computer port, but a simpler and more versatile port available to everyone. We envision a future where high-performance single-cable docks, stunning photos and 4K video, lifelike VR, and faster-than-ever storage are commonplace. A world where one USB-C connector does it all – today, and for many years to come. With this vision in mind, Intel is announcing that it plans to drive large-scale mainstream adoption of Thunderbolt by integrating Thunderbolt 3 into future Intel CPUs and by releasing the Thunderbolt protocol specification to the industry next year.

With Thunderbolt 3 integrated into the CPU, computer makers can build thinner and lighter systems with only Thunderbolt 3 ports. For the first time, all the ports on a computer can be the same – any port can charge the system and connect to Thunderbolt devices, every display and billions of USB devices. Designs based on Intel’s integrated Thunderbolt 3 solution require less board space and reduce power by removing the discrete component needed for existing systems with Thunderbolt 3.

In addition to Intel’s Thunderbolt silicon, next year Intel plans to make the Thunderbolt protocol specification available to the industry under a nonexclusive, royalty-free license. Releasing the Thunderbolt protocol specification in this manner is expected to greatly increase Thunderbolt adoption by encouraging third-party chip makers to build Thunderbolt-compatible chips. We expect industry chip development to accelerate a wide range of new devices and user experiences.

“Apple and Intel have collaborated on Thunderbolt from the beginning, and as the industry leader in its adoption, we applaud Intel’s efforts to integrate Thunderbolt technology into its CPUs and open it up to the rest of the industry,” said Dan Riccio, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering.

Microsoft has enhanced Thunderbolt 3 device plug-and-play support in the now available Windows 10 Creators Update. Intel and Microsoft plan to continue to work together to enhance the experience in future versions of the Windows operating system.

“Microsoft and Intel are working together to enable Thunderbolt 3 on Windows PCs to deliver on the ‘if it fits, it works’ potential of USB-C,” said Roanne Sones, general manager, Strategy and Ecosystem for Windows and Devices at Microsoft. “The Windows 10 Creators Update enhanced plug-and-play support for Thunderbolt 3 devices, with additional enhancements planned for future OS releases.”

In addition to support from Apple and Microsoft, Thunderbolt 3 has already gained significant adoption with more than 120 PC designs on systems with 7th Generation Intel® Core™ processors, the latest MacBook Pros and dozens of peripherals – expected to ramp to nearly 150 by the end of 2017.

Well on our way to achieving our vision, let’s explore a few scenarios where Thunderbolt 3 is changing the PC experience and creating new expectations for what’s possible.

State-of-the-Art Single-Cable Docks

Mobile platforms continue to get thinner, lighter and more powerful. The challenge? A simple and universal way to unleash the full performance of these mobile devices when docked. Today, business and home users are forced to choose between performance and mobility.

Thunderbolt 3 docks enable mobility without compromise. Some people are more productive with a large high-resolution monitor, and others with multiple monitors. Only Thunderbolt 3 docks support both, while simultaneously transferring large files and charging the notebook. Other people want a simple way to play and create, and Thunderbolt 3 docks can connect to any compatible peripheral or display, avoiding confusion. The power Thunderbolt 3 brings to docking is speed and simplicity. Some of these products are available now for less than $200.

Faster-than-Ever Storage

The amount of data the average person creates, uses and saves these days is exploding. For example, taking 1,000 high-resolution photos can quickly create over 20GB of data. Likewise, shooting an hour of 4K video from a drone can generate a jaw-dropping 1.5TB of data. It could take hours to transfer this data to storage via conventional methods.

In order to speed up data transfer, storage makers are shifting from slower Serial ATA (SATA) drives to non-volatile memory (NVMe) SSDs for higher speed and lower latency storage solutions. For any media lover or YouTuber generating large amounts of data, there is often a great need for external storage that is as fast as the internal SSD to expand capacity. Since only Thunderbolt can connect NVMe SSDs to your PC, Thunderbolt 3 storage fulfills this need and enables people to save time with data transfers that happen in a snap. A full 4K movie can be transferred in less than 30 seconds.

Epic Gaming

Gaming desktops will continue to offer best-in-class performance for the ultimate gaming experience. And gamers who want to combine mobility and performance gaming in one device can use Thunderbolt 3 to do so.

With Thunderbolt 3, gamers can travel, work or enjoy long hours at a coffee shop with a thin and light notebook. Then, when it’s time for epic gaming, the notebook can be paired with a Thunderbolt 3 external graphics box to get a GPU boost for higher resolution and settings experience.

Lifelike Virtual Reality

When a person experiences virtual reality, they are fully immersed in a different world. The higher the resolution, the better the experience. To date, that has required multiple cables to transfer the experience from the PC to the headset in real time for 2K resolution. Only Thunderbolt 3 can deliver up to 4K resolution in virtual reality with a single cable.

The benefits are endless – simplicity to performance to versatility – as Thunderbolt 3 becomes an essential part of our digital world by creating a universe of possibilities.

More on Thunderbolt 3: Thunderbolt Overview (PDF) | Thunderbolt Technology Website | Thunderbolt Technology Consumer Website

Chris Walker
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Source: Envision a World with Thunderbolt 3 Technology Everywhere

btarunr · Mar 4, 2019

USB 3.0 Promoter Group Announces Plan to Release New Power Delivery Specification

The USB 3.0 Promoter Group is announcing that it is creating a new power delivery specification which will significantly extend the capabilities and usages of cable bus power in USB applications. The new specification will enable delivery of more power via the familiar USB connectors and cables, and will coexist with the USB Battery Charging 1.2 specification and existing USB bus-powered applications.

“Building on the rapidly increasing industry momentum for using USB bus power to charge a broad range of mobile devices, the new USB Power Delivery specification extends USB’s cable power delivery capabilities beyond simple battery charging,” said Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 Promoter Group Chairman. “For example, charging the battery of a notebook PC, or simply powering that notebook PC while actively using the USB data connection, would be possible. Conceivably, a notebook PC could rely solely on a USB connection for its source of power.”

Key characteristics of the forthcoming USB Power Delivery solution include:

Compatible with existing cables and connectors

Enables voltage and current values to be negotiated over the USB power pins

Enables higher voltage and current in order to deliver power up to 100W

Switchable source of power delivery without changing cable direction

Coexists with USB Battery Charging 1.2 and works equally well with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0

“Building on the rapidly increasing industry momentum for using USB bus power to charge a broad range of mobile devices, the new USB Power Delivery specification extends USB’s cable power delivery capabilities beyond simple battery charging,” said Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 Promoter Group Chairman. “For example, charging the battery of a notebook PC, or simply powering that notebook PC while actively using the USB data connection, would be possible. Conceivably, a notebook PC could rely solely on a USB connection for its source of power.”

The USB Power Delivery specification is targeted for industry review during the final quarter of this year. Further information regarding the specification and plans for a pre-release industry review will be provided at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), September 13-15, 2011 in San Francisco, California. Early in 2012, the USB 3.0 Promoter Group intends to transition the final specification to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) for publication and establishment of the ecosystem and associated compliance program.

btarunr · Mar 4, 2019

PCI Takes on Thunderbolt, Big Worries for its Promoters

Did you know what lies behind the USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt controller? It's of course the bus that connects it to the rest of the system, PCI-Express. It is the 500 MB/s per lane interconnect that is indirectly responsible for the awesome bandwidth that today's plug and play interfaces such as eSATA 6 Gb/s, USB 3.0, and Thunderbolt 10 Gb/s enjoy. What if you could eliminate the protocol overhead that comes with any of those protocols, and make PCI-Express directly an interconnect? So thought the PCI Special Interest Group (SIG), the body that decides the fate of PCI. The SIG is planning to create a cabled version of PCI-Express Gen 3, that has no secondary protocol overhead, not even of the kind Infiniband has.

A single PCI-Express 3.0 lane can provide 8 Gbps (1 GB/s) of bandwidth in each direction, the new cabled interconnect can supply bandwidth of four Gen 3 lanes, totaling 32 Gbps, over three times that of the current version of Thunderbolt. Apart from that bandwidth, cabled PCI-E will be designed to supply 20W of power to its devices, plenty of power for even a small 3-bay HDD rack. The connector itself will be designed to be very compact and flat, so it can be fitted into notebooks and tablets. PCI SIG plans to have the first specifications of cabled PCI-Express ready before June 2013. By 2013, Intel will be about 2 years away from releasing its proposed 50 Gbps version of Thunderbolt, but even then, Thunderbolt is an additional protocol that sits over the system bus (again, PCI-Express), unless Intel designs Thunderbolt controllers to somehow talk to CPU over QPI.

Source: EETimes

Windows 10: Intel releases Thunderbolt 3 protocol to USB Promoter Group

Intel releases Thunderbolt 3 protocol to USB Promoter Group

Intel releases Thunderbolt 3 protocol to USB Promoter Group

Intel releases Thunderbolt 3 protocol to USB Promoter Group

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