Thunderbolt is a hardware interface developed by Intel that allows high-speed connection of external devices to computers. It uses the Mini DisplayPort connector and provides 10Gbps of bandwidth per channel, with two channels supported. Originally intended to use optical cabling, it was found copper could provide the necessary bandwidth at lower cost. Thunderbolt supports daisy-chaining of up to six devices and can transmit both data and video over a single cable using PCIe and DisplayPort protocols. It has advantages over USB 3.0 such as higher speed and lower latency. Future versions of Thunderbolt are planned to provide even higher speeds.

1. THUNDERBOLT I/O INTERFACE

2. 1
THUNDERBOLT
B.Tech Colloquium Report
Submitted by
Mr. RAGHAV AGGARWAL
(2010EEC30)
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree
of
BACHLEOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
At
SCHOOL OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION
ENGINEERING
SHRI MATA VAISHNO DEVI UNIVERSITY
KATRA
November- 2013
2010EEC30

3. 2
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University
School of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Student Declaration
I hereby certify that the Colloquium Report entitled “Thunderbolt”, submitted in the partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and
Communication Engineering and to the School of Electronics and Communication
Engineering of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, J&K is an authentic record of my
own study carried out during a period Aug-Nov 2013
The matter presented in this report has not been submitted by me for the award of any
other degree elsewhere. The content of the report does not violate any copyright and due
credit is given in to the source of information if any.
Raghav Aggarwal
2010EEC30
SMVDU Campus
25thNov, 2013
Certificate
This is to certify that the above statement made by the candidate is correct to the best of my
knowledge.
SMVDU Campus
Director School of ECE
25thNov, 2013
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4. 3
ABSTRACT
Thunderbolt (codenamed Light Peak) is a hardware interface that allows for the connection
of external peripherals to a computer with the bandwidth of 10Gbps per channel (with 2
channel). It uses the same connector as Mini DisplayPort (MDP)
Thunderbolt was developed by Intel. The interface is originally intended to run exclusively on
an optical physical Layer using components and flexible optical fiber. However, it was found
that Conventional copper wiring could furnish the desired Thunderbolt bandwidth per
channel at lower cost.
Thunderbolt outclass the nearest rival USB 3.0 in the term of speed by large difference with
its 10Gbps speed as compare to 5Gbps of counterpart. Intel promised to launch Thunderbolt
2 by 2014 which will support 20Gbps
Thunderbolt being an expensive technology, most of the key players of the market taking
time to launch thunderbolt products. But still there be a number of products will be out by
end of 2014
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5. 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER NO.
TITLE
PAGE NO.
CERTIFICATE
ABSTRACT
2.
2.1
3
INTRODUCTION
1.1 What is Thunderbolt?
1.2 Who developed it and why?
1.3 Commercial Launch
1.4 Cost
1.
2
5
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
Different Technical Aspects
2.1.1 Key features
2.1.2 General specifications
2.1.3 Rethinking I/O
2.1.4 Connector Pin Diagram
2.1.5 Copper vs. Optical
2.1.6 Peripherals Devices
2.1.7 Security
6
7
8
9
10
2.2.
Protocol Architecture
2.2.1 P.A continuation
11
12
2.3
Controller Architecture
13
2.4
Thunderbolt Technology Possibilities
14
3.
Early Version of Thunderbolt
3.1 Different Controllers
3.2 Journey of Thunderbolt
15
4.
Thunderbolt vs. Other existing I/O interface
4.1 Thunderbolt vs. USB 3.0
16
5.
Future: Thunderbolt 2
5.1 High Performance Display
5.2 No project is too massive
17
Conclusion
18
Appendices
19
References
21
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1. INTRODUCTION
Thunderbolt™ Technology: The Fastest Connection to your PC
1.1 What is Thunderbolt Technology?
Thunderbolt Technology is a transformational high speed, dual core protocol I/O protocol
which provides unmatched excellent performance over current I/O technologies which are
available in the market with 10Gbps bi-directional transfer speed. It provides flexibility and
simplicity by supporting both data (PCI express) and video (DisplayPort) on a single cable
connection that can daisy-chain up to six devices. Thunderbolt technology enables flexible
and innovative system designs and is ideal for thin profile systems and devices such as Ultra
books.
1.2 Who developed it and why?
Thunderbolt is developed by Intel partners and at Intel's Silicon Photonics lab. As the
technology advances, every users want workstation performance but demand an Ultra book
form factor. So which leads to need of very fast I/O interface which can transfer data at
lightning speed but at same time being compact. Even majority of users don’t care about cost
factor. The Intel which is one of biggest hardware company takes innovative to develop such
an interface which can meet the need of next generation of I/O data transfer and came up
with the thunderbolt technology which they codename it as “light Peak”. With this
Thunderbolt technology it is now possible to enable the thinnest and lightest laptops can
connected over a single cable to high performance storage, external media drives, multiple
HD displays, HD media and editing systems as well as legacy I/O hubs and devices
1.3 Commercial launch:
Thunderbolt I/O interface was launched by Apple in 2011 using the Apple-developed
connector as Mini DisplayPort, which is electrically identical to DisplayPort, but uses a smaller,
non-locking connector. Though the Thunderbolt trademark was registered by Apple, full
rights belong to Intel which subsequently led to the transfer of the registration from Apple to
Intel. The other companies are planning to launch their thunderbolt compactable devices by
the end of 2013 or in early 2014
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1.4 Why is it so expensive?
The Thunderbolt interface is very costly as compare to other I/O interface. Thunderbolt
requires active cables, which is why they're so expensive (in the $50 range). Each cable end
sports two tiny, low power transceiver chips that are responsible for boosting the signal
passing through to enable 10 Gb/s data rates over runs as long as three meters. . Thunderbolt
being the most innovative I/O interface it gradually making its market despite being expensive
2. Technology Overview
2.1 Different Technical Aspects:
Thunderbolt technology dramatically increases the data transfer rate enabling faster backup,
editing and file sharing, significantly reducing the time to complete key tasks. Thunderbolt
technology was specifically designed with inherently low latency and highly accurate time
synchronization capabilities. These features enable extremely accurate audio and video
creation, playback that no other standard interconnect technology can match
Originally, Thunderbolt was going to be enabled using an optical physical layer and optical
fiber cabling. But Intel discovered that it could achieve its 10 Gbps per channel at a lower cost
using copper wiring. Copper cabling delivers up to 10 W of power to attached devices. When
optical cables do emerge, attached devices will require their own power supplies.
The interface shares certain capabilities with other technologies. For example, it supports hotplugging. And, like FireWire, it is designed to work in daisy chains. Machines that come armed
with Thunderbolt will either include one or two ports, each supporting up to seven chained
devices, two of which can be DisplayPort-enabled monitors.

Five devices and two Thunderbolt-based displays

Six devices and one Thunderbolt-based display

Six devices and one display via mini-DisplayPort adapter

Five devices, one Thunderbolt-based display, and one display via mini-DisplayPort
adapter
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2.1.1 Key Features:
• 10Gbps bi-directional, dual channel data transfer
• Data & Video on single cable with Dual-protocol (PCI Express and DisplayPort)
• Compatible with existing DisplayPort devices
• Low latency with highly accurate time synchronization
• Uses native PCIe and DisplayPort protocol software drivers
• Power over cable for bus-powered devices (electrical cables only)
2.1.2 General Specifications:
Parameters
Specific values
Length
3 metres (9.8 ft) (copper) max
100 metres (330 ft) (optical) max
Width
7.4 mm male (8.3 mm female)
Height
4.5 mm male (5.4 mm female)
Hot Pluggable
Yes
Daisy Chain
Yes, up to 6 devices
Audio/Video signal
Via DisplayPort Protocol
Pins
20
Connectors
Mini-display Port
Max Voltage
18V (bus power)
Max Current
550mA (9.9 W max)
Bit Rate
10 Gbps per channel (20 Gbps in total)
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2.1.3. Rethinking I/O:
As every generation of information technology progresses, I/O technologies evolve to provide
higher bandwidth for getting data into and out of computers. At its simplest, two discrete
types of I/O have resulted – display (with formatted video and audio components), and data.
Traditional approaches to this evolution have been to make an existing technology faster.
Thunderbolt technology combines the next step in higher Performance with the innovation
of mapping two of the most fundamental I/O protocols at the heart of computing (PCI Express
and DisplayPort), onto a single highly efficient meta protocol, transmitting them over a single
cable, and managing the traffic routing (supporting daisy chaining and hot-plugging devices)
with intelligent hardware controllers. The choice of PCI Express was clear, providing for offthe-shelf controller use to attach to nearly any technology imaginable, and the choice of
DisplayPort was equally clear for meeting the needs of the PC industry with capabilities like
support for multiple HD displays, and support for up to 8 channels of high-definition audio
Figure 1. Thunderbolt cable (technology) expands thin and light laptop to a higher resolution display and high performance
storage in a simple daisy-chain manner
Some users need workstation performance but demand an Ultrabook form factor. With
Thunderbolt technology it is now possible to enable the thinnest and lightest laptops
connected over a single cable to high performance storage, external media drives, multiple
HD displays, HD media and editing systems as well as legacy I/O hubs and devices. Giving users
the ability to have thin and light ultrabook systems but also the power, capability and
expandability of a traditional workstation
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2.1.4 Connector Pin Diagram:
PIN NO.
SIGNAL
FUNCTION
PIN 1
GND
Ground
PIN 2
HPD
Hot plug detect
PIN 3
HS0TX(P)
High speed transmitter 0 (positive)
PIN 4
HSORX(P)
High speed receiver 0 (positive)
PIN 5
HS0TX(N)
High speed transmitter 0 (negative)
PIN 6
HS0RX(N)
High speed receiver 0 (negative)
PIN 7
GND
Ground
PIN 8
GND
Ground
PIN 9
LSR2P TX
Low speed transmit
PIN 10
GND
Reserved
PIN 11
LSR2P RX
Low speed receiver
PIN 12
GND
Reserved
PIN 13
GND
Ground
PIN 14
GND
Ground
PIN 15
HS1TX(P)
High speed transmitter 1 (positive)
PIN 16
HS1TX(P)
High speed receiver 1 (positive)
PIN 17
HS1TX(P)
High speed transmitter 1 (negative)
PIN 18
HS1TX(P)
High speed receiver1 (negative)
PIN 19
Ground
Ground
PIN 20
DPPWR
power
2.1.5 Copper vs. Optical:
The interface was originally intended to run exclusively on an optical physical layer using
components and flexible optical fiber cabling developed by Intel partners and at Intel's Silicon
Photonics lab. However, it was discovered that conventional copper wiring could furnish the
desired bandwidth at lower cost which lead Intel switched to electrical connections to reduce
costs and to supply up to 10 W of power to connected devices.
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11. 10
Intel and industry partners are still developing optical Thunderbolt hardware and
cables. The optical fiber cables are to run "tens of meters" but will not supply power, at least
not initially. The conversion of electrical signal to optical will be embedded into the cable
itself, allowing the current MDP connector to be forward compatible, but eventually Intel
hopes for a purely optical transceiver assembly embedded in the PC.
2.1.6 Peripheral devices:
While the first computer to feature the interface is released by Apple in early 2011, it took
some time for peripheral devices supporting the Thunderbolt interface to hit the market
place, with initial ones not starting to hit retail stores until late 2011. Storage manufacturer
Promise Technology was the first company to release large-sized RAID storage devices, with
their Pegasus R4 (4 drive) and Pegasus R6 (6 drive) enclosures, however they were reasonably
expensive for the average consumer.
By the third quarter of 2012, other manufacturers started to release cables of varying length
up to the maximum supported length of three meters, whilst some who were releasing
storage enclosures started to include a Thunderbolt cable with their devices.
2.1.7 Security:
Since Thunderbolt extends the PCI Express bus, which is the main expansion bus in current
systems, it allows very low-level access to the system. PCI devices need to have unlimited
access to memory, and may thus compromise security. This issue exists with many highspeed expansion buses, including PC Card, Express Card and FireWire.
An attacker could, for example, maliciously configure a Thunderbolt device. On connecting
to a computer, the device, through its direct and unimpeded access to system memory and
other devices, would be able to bypass almost all security measures of the OS and have the
ability to read encryption keys or install malware
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12. 11
2.2 Protocol Architecture:
Thunderbolt technology is based on a switched fabric architecture with full-duplex links.
Unlike bus-based I/O architectures, each Thunderbolt port on a computer is capable of
providing the full bandwidth of the link in both directions with no sharing of band- width
between ports or between upstream and downstream directions. The Thunderbolt protocol
architecture can be abstracted into four layers
Figure 2: The architecture of thunderbolt technology
A Thunderbolt connector is capable of providing two full duplex channels. Each channel
provides bi-directional 10Gbps of band-width, as shown in Figure A. A The Thunderbolt
Connector is extremely small, making it ideal for Ultra-books, plus it is enables connection to
Thunderbolt products or to Display Port devices. Compatibility to DisplayPort devices is
provided by an interoperability mode between host devices and DisplayPort products; if a
DisplayPort device is detected, a Thunderbolt controller will drive compatibility mode
DisplayPort signals to that device. Support for DisplayPort also enables easy connectivity to
other display types, such as HDMI, with an adapter
Thunderbolt technology leverages the native PCI Express and DisplayPort device drivers
available in most operating systems today. Native software support means no additional
software development is required to use a Thunderbolt technology enabled product.
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13. 12
2.2.1 Protocol Architecture continuation:
The Thunderbolt protocol physical layer is responsible for link maintenance including hot-plug
detection, and data encoding to provide highly efficient data transfer. The physical layer has
been designed to introduce very minimal overhead and provides full 10Gbps of usable
bandwidth to the upper layers. The heart of the Thunderbolt protocol architecture is the
Transport layer.
DisplayPort and PCI Express protocols are mapped onto the transport layer. The mapping
function is provided by a protocol adapter which is responsible for efficient encapsulation of
the mapped protocol information into transport layer packets. Mapped protocol packets
between a source device and a destination device may be routed over a path that may cross
multiple Thunderbolt controllers. At the destination device, a protocol adapter recreates the
mapped protocol in a way that is indistinguishable from what was received by the source
device.
The advantage of doing protocol mapping in this way is that Thunderbolt technology-enabled
product devices appear as PCI Express or DisplayPort devices to the operating system of the
host PC, thereby enabling the use of standard drivers that are available in many operating
systems today
Figure 3: PCI Express and DisplayPort transported between Thunderbolt controllers over a Thunderbolt cable
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2.3 Controller Architecture:
A Thunderbolt controller is the building block used to create Thunderbolt products. A
Thunderbolt controller contains:
• A high-performance, cross-bar Thunderbolt protocol switch
• One or more Thunderbolt ports
• One or more DisplayPort protocol adapter ports
• One or more Thunderbolt ports
• A PCI Express switch with one or more PCI Express protocol adapter port
Figure 4: Block diagram of PC system showing Thunderbolt controller connections.
The external interfaces of a Thunderbolt controller that are connected in a system depend on
the application for which the system is designed. An example implementation of a host-side
Thunderbolt controller. Host side Thunderbolt controllers have one or more DisplayPort input
interfaces, a PCI Express interface along with one or more Thunderbolt technology interface.
By integrating all the features necessary to implement Thunderbolt into a single chip, the
host-side controller enables system vendors to easily incorporate into their designs.
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2.4 Thunderbolt Technology Possibilities:
With Thunderbolt products, performance, simplicity and flexibility all come together. Users
can add high-performance features to their PC over a cable, daisy chaining one after another,
up to a total of 6 devices, including up to 2 high resolution DisplayPort v1.1a displays. Because
Thunderbolt technology delivers two full-bandwidth channels, the user can realize high
bandwidth on not only the first device attached, but on downstream devices as well.
Users can connect to their other non-Thunderbolt products as well by using Thunderbolt
technology adapters (e.g., to connect to native PCI Express devices like eSata, Firewire). These
adapters can be easily built using a Thunderbolt controller with off-the-shelf PCI Express-to“other technology” controllers
With Thunderbolt technology, workstation-level performance and feature expansion can
supported with various Thunderbolt devices that are in the market. By leveraging the
inherently tight timing synchronization (within 8ns across 7 hops downstream from a host)
and low latencies of Thunderbolt technology, broadcast quality media can be produced using
Thunderbolt products. Thunderbolt technology gives you access to a world of high-speed
peripherals and high-resolution displays via one simple port and a cable that carries both
DisplayPort and PCIe.
The new initiative “Thunderbolt ready” enables PC manufacturers to offer Thunderbolt
upgradeable motherboards within desktop and workstation computers. By using a
Thunderbolt card, Thunderbolt’s blazing fast speed and uncompressed video capabilities can
now be added to any motherboard that includes a GPIO header, so even if your system
doesn’t have Thunderbolt it is now possible to “upgrade” to it.
The addition of a Thunderbolt ready card to a PC is a simple and straight forward process. All
a user needs to do is connect the Thunderbolt card into the designated PCIe slot, connect a
cable to the GPIO header, and utilize an available DP (DisplayPort) out connector from the
motherboard processor graphics, or an external graphics card, depending on the system. And
since a Thunderbolt card comes with all the necessary cables, software, and instructions,
upgrading is a breeze
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3. Early versions of thunderbolt:
It was rumoured that the early-2011 MacBook Pro update would include some sort of new
data port, and most of the speculation suggested it would be Light Peak (Thunderbolt).At the
time, there were no details on the physical implementation, and mock-ups appeared showing
a system similar to the earlier Intel demos using a combined USB/Light Peak port. Apple's
introduction came as a major surprise when it was revealed that the port was based on Mini
DisplayPort, not USB. As the system was described, Intel's solution to the display connection
problem became clear. Older displays, using DP 1.1a or earlier, have to be located at the end
of a Thunderbolt device chain, but native displays can be placed anywhere along the
line. Thunderbolt devices can go anywhere on the chain.
3.1 Journey of thunderbolt:
3.2 Controllers:
MODEL
CHANNEL
POWER
FAMILY
RELEASING TIME
FEATURES
82523EF
4
3.8 W
Light Ridge
Q4 2010
DEMO
82523EFL
4
3.2 W
Light Ridge
Q4 2010
DEMO
L2310
2
1.85 W
Eagle Ridge
Q1 2011
L2210
1
0.7 W
Port Ridge
Q4 2011
DEVICE ONLY
L3510H
2
3.4 W
Cactus Ridge
CANCELLED
HOST ONLY
L3310
4
2.2 W
Cactus Ridge
Q2 2012
L4410
2
-------
Redwood Ridge
Q4 2013
HOST ONLY
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4. Thunderbolt vs. other existing I/O interfaces:
Thunderbolt gives you two channels on the same connector with 10 Gbps of throughput in
both directions. Ultra-fast, ultra-flexible Thunderbolt 2 pushes that to 20 Gbps. You can move
data to and from peripherals up to 20 times faster than with USB 2 and up to 12 times faster
than with FireWire 800. You also have more than enough bandwidth to daisy-chain multiple
high-speed devices without using a hub or switch. For example, you can connect several highperformance external disks, a video capture device and even a display to a single Thunderbolt
chain while maintaining maximum throughput
Figure 5: speed of different I/O interfaces
4.1 Thunderbolt vs. USB 3.0:
Intel’s Thunderbolt with its promise of 10Gbps‑per‑channel throughput, it’s quite fast as
compare to its natural competitor, USB 3.0 which is at presently at 5Gbps standard and shortly
will update to 3.1 which will be at 10Gbps standard. Even then Thunderbolt will outclass in
the term of speed as being two channel total speed will around 20Gbps as compare to USB
which is single channel.
USB has major advantage that USB ports are so common, they’re in cars and wall plugs and
are as ubiquitous as an AC outlet these days. Even if they doesn’t support USB 3.0, we can still
access your data via USB 2.0. That’s not the case with Thunderbolt, which is extremely rare
even on the Macintosh platform
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5. Future-Thunderbolt 2:
In June 2013, Intel announced that the next generation of Thunderbolt, based on the
controller codenamed "Falcon Ridge" (running at 20 Gbps), is officially named "Thunderbolt
2" and slated to begin production before the end of 2013. The data-rate of 20 Gbps is made
possible by joining the two existing 10 Gbps-channels. This does not change the maximum
bandwidth itself but makes using it more flexible. Thunderbolt 2 was announced by Apple in
June 2013 on their developer-conference WWDC to be shipped in the next generation of Mac
Pro. Thunderbolt 2 is shipping in the 2013 MacBook Pro, released on October 22, 2013
At the physical level, the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 1 and Thunderbolt 2 are identical, and
Thunderbolt 1 cabling is thus compatible with Thunderbolt 2 interfaces. At the logical level,
Thunderbolt 2 enables channel aggregation, whereby the two previously separate 10 Gbps
channels can be combined into a single logical 20 Gbps channel.
Thunderbolt 2 incorporates DisplayPort 1.2 support, which allows for video streaming to a
single 4K video monitor or dual QHD monitors. Thunderbolt 2 combines the two 10Gbps bidirectional channels of the original Thunderbolt specification into a single logical, bidirectional channel with 20Gbps of bandwidth. This higher throughput makes it possible for
Thunderbolt 2 systems to transfer and display 4K video simultaneously, a feat that today’s
10Gbps Thunderbolt can’t match. The connectors and cables remain the same between the
two versions of Thunderbolt.
5.1 High performance on display:
Thunderbolt 2 gives you access to the latest 4K monitors. In fact, we can connect up to three
4K displays at once. And because Thunderbolt is based on DisplayPort technology, it provides
native support for the Thunderbolt Display and Mini DisplayPort displays. DVI, HDMI and VGA
displays connect through the use of adapters.
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5.2 No project is too massive:
A single port to connect high-performance storage, a 4K display and high-bit-rate video
capture devices. Thunderbolt I/O technology allows you to daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt
peripherals, including an Apple Thunderbolt Display and the Promise Pegasus 2 RAID or LaCie
2big disk.
And with Thunderbolt standard on every Mac, you can easily share high-performance
peripherals between your Mac computers. You can even use a Thunderbolt cable to create a
fast 10 Gbps link between Mac computers, thanks to IP over Thunderbolt support in OS X
Mavericks.
Conclusion
Thunderbolt technology brings a new balance of performance, simplicity and flexibility to end
users and product designers alike. As the fastest PC I/O technology, combining two key
technologies (PCI Express and DisplayPort) on one shared high performance transport,
Thunderbolt technology opens doors to entirely new system and product designs. It’s hardly
taken to its limit by peripherals, Due to cost factor, it is out of reach for an average product
for now, USB still more popular which practically free. But the technology is spreading
gradually and more key players planning to launch their Thunderbolt products. At present it
is running at electrical standard but it will be at optical standard in long run
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Appendices
Appendices 1: DisplayPort
DisplayPort is a digital display interface developed by the Video Electronics Standards
Association (VESA). The interface is primarily used to connect a video source to a display
device such as a computer monitor, though it can also be used to carry audio, USB, and other
forms of data
The VESA specification is royalty-free VESA designed it to replace VGA, DVI and FPD-Link
Backward compatibility to VGA and DVI by using active adapters, enables users to use
DisplayPort fitted video sources without replacing existing display devices
Appendices 2: PCIe
PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe, is a
high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard designed to replace the older PCI, PCI-X,
and AGP bus standards. PCIe has numerous improvements over the aforementioned bus
standards, including higher maximum system bus throughput, lower I/O pin count and smaller
physical footprint, better performance-scaling for bus devices, a more detailed error
detection and reporting mechanism (Advanced Error Reporting (AER)), and native hot-plug
functionality. Recent revisions of the PCIe standard support hardware I/O virtualization
Appendices 3: Mini DisplayPort connector
Mini DisplayPort (mDP) is a standard announced by Apple in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Shortly after announcing the Mini DisplayPort, Apple announced that it would license the
connector technology with no fee. The following year, in early 2009, VESA announced that
Mini DisplayPort would be included in the upcoming DisplayPort 1.2 specification
Appendices 4: Firewire 800
FireWire 800 is ideal for anyone dealing with bandwidth-intensive projects, such as highspeed data storage or professional video capture and editing. For high-speed data storage,
users will see double the transfer rate that they did with original FireWire and two times the
usable bandwidth of USB 2.0. Users will also enjoy true plug and play connectivity, real-time
data delivery and the ability to power external devices through the bus.
Appendices 5: USB 3.0
The USB 3.0 specification is similar to USB 2.0 but with many improvements and an alternative
implementation. Earlier USB concepts like endpoints and four transfer types (bulk, control,
isochronous and interrupt) are preserved but the protocol and electrical interface are
different. The specification defines a physically separate channel to carry USB 3.0 traffic.
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Appendices 5: Thunderbolt Ready
'Thunderbolt ready' program that will allow users to add Thunderbolt to their PC with the
addition of a simple card. The company is hoping the upgrade program will expand the
footprint of Thunderbolt and is working with PC manufacturers to label motherboards
'Thunderbolt ready,' which means users without Thunderbolt can add it at a later date
themselves.
Appendices 5: Solid State Drive
A solid-state drive (SSD) (also known as a solid-state disk or electronic disk, though it contains
no actual "disk" of any kind, nor motors to "drive" the disks) is a data storage device using
integrated circuit assemblies as memory to store data persistently. SSD technology uses
electronic interfaces compatible with traditional block input/output (I/O) hard disk drives,
thus permitting simple replacement in common applications. Also, new I/O interfaces like
SATA Express are created to keep up with speed advancements in SSD technology.
Appendices 6: RAID
RAID is now used as an umbrella term for computer data storage schemes that can divide and
replicate data among multiple physical drives: RAID is an example of storage virtualization
and the array can be accessed by the operating system as one single drive. The different
schemes or architectures are named by the word RAID followed by a number (e.g. RAID 0,
RAID 1). Each scheme provides a different balance between the key goals: reliability and
availability, performance and capacity.
Appendices 7: 4K Display
4K resolution is a generic term for display devices or content having horizontal resolution on
the order of 4,000 pixels. Several 4K resolutions exist in the fields of digital television and
digital cinematography. In the movie projection industry, Digital Cinema Initiatives is the
dominant 4K standard.
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REFERENCES:
[1] “Thunderbolt Technology brief”, www.thunderbolttechnology.net, 2012
[2] Apple-India, “Thunderbolt next generation high speed technology”, Apple website,2011
[3] Andrew Ku,” everything you need to know about thunderbolt” Tom’s hardware, 2013
[4] Intel, ”Thunderbolt Ready-upgrade program for PC, Motherboard, workstation
computers”, Benchmark review.com, 16 Nov 2013.
[5] James Gilbraith, “Promise preps for MAC Pro with Thunderbolt 2” macworld.com, 16 Sep
2013
[6] Thunderbolt (interface), Wikipedia, Retrieved Nov 18, 2013
[7] Jason Ziller, “Thunderbolt Technology update” Intel, 8 April, 2013
[8] Gordon Mah Ung, “Thunderbolt vs. USB 3.0 “maximumpc.com, 29 Jan 2013
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