Thunderbolt by amit

THUNDERBOLT- AN INCREDIBLY FAST I/O TECHNOLOGY 2015 – 2016

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Intel introduced Light Peak at the 2009 Intel Developer Forum (IDF), using a

prototype Mac Pro motherboard to run two 1080p video streams plus LAN and storage

devices over a single 30-meter optical cable with modified USB ends. The system was

driven by a prototype PCI Express card, with two optical buses powering four ports. At

the show, Intel claimed that Light Peak equipped systems would begin to appear in 2010.

On 4 May 2010, in Brussels, Intel demonstrated a laptop with a Light Peak connector,

indicating that the technology had shrunk to small enough to fit inside such a device, and

had the laptop send two simultaneous HD video streams down the connection, indicating

that at least some fraction of the software/firmware stacks and protocols were functional.

At the same demonstration, Intel officials said they expected hardware manufacturing to

begin around the end of 2010. In September 2010, some early commercial prototypes

from manufacturers were demonstrated at Intel Developer Forum 2010.

1.1 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 (Display Port) 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.

Fig 1.1:- Thunderbolt port

E&C Dept., NCET, Bangalore


1.2 Developed By

Thunderbolt began at Intel Labs with a simple concept create an incredibly fast

input/output technology that just about anything can plug into. After close technical

collaboration between Intel and Apple, Thunderbolt emerged from the lab to make its

appearance in Mac computers. 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.Intel co-invented USB and PCI Express, which have become widely adopted

technologies for data transfer. Apple invented FireWire and was instrumental in

popularizing USB. Their collective experience has made Thunderbolt the most powerful,

most flexible I/O technology ever in a personal computer.

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.

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.



CHAPTER 2

TECHNOLOGICAL OVERVIEWThunderbolt 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

hot-plugging. 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 Display Port-enabled monitors.

Five devices and two Thunderbolt-based displays

Six devices and one Thunderbolt-based display

Six devices and one display via mini-Display Port adapter

Five devices, one Thunderbolt-based display, and one display via mini-Display

Port adapter

2.1 Key Features: 10Gbps bi-directional, dual channel data transfer

Data & Video on single cable with Dual-protocol (PCI Express and Display Port)

Compatible with existing Display Port devices

Low latency with highly accurate time synchronization

Uses native PCIe and Display Port protocol software drivers

Power over cable for bus-powered devices (electrical cables only)



2.2 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) Table 2.1:- General Specification

2.3. 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 Display Port), 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 off-the-shelf controller

use to attach to nearly any technology imaginable, and the choice of Display Port 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



Fig 2.1:- Thunderbolt cable expands 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

2.4 Connector Pin Diagram:

The Thunderbolt is the proprietary interface allows the connection of external peripherals

to a computer. It combines PCI Express and Display Port into one serial signal alongside

a DC connection for electric power, transmitted over one cable.

Thunderbolt controllers multiplex one or more individual data lanes from connected PCIe

and Display Port devices for transmission via one duplex Thunderbolt lane, then de-

multiplex them for consumption by PCIe and Display Port devices on the other end.

Fig 2.2:- 20 pin Apple Thunderbolt connector



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 HSORX(P) High speed transmitter 0 (negative)

PIN 6 HSORX(P) 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 Table 2.2:- Connector pin diagram

2.5 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. 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.

2.6 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.

2.7 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 high-speed expansion buses, including PC Card, Express Card and FireWire. Data

transfer for backup, sharing and editing are tremendously accelerated Using thunderbolt

procducts significantly reducing time to complete the task. Transfer a full-length HD

movie in less than 30 seconds. Backup 1 year of continuous MP3 playback in just over 10

minutes.

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.



CHAPTER 3

PRPTOCOL IN THUNDERBOLT

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.

Fig 3.1:- Thunderbolt Protocol

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 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 Display

Port devices is provided by an interoperability mode between host devices and Display



Port products; if a Display Port device is detected, a Thunderbolt controller will drive

compatibility mode Display Port signals to that device. Support for Display Port also

enables easy connectivity to other display types, such as HDMI, with an adapter.

Thunderbolt technology leverages the native PCI Express and Display Port 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.

The main focus of Thunderbolt comes on two layers, Physical layer and Transport layer.

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. Hot-plugging means, plug-in a

peripheral or another computer to a computer while the machine is hot, while the machine

is working, Physical layer is actually responsible for that. With thunderbolt, can be made

a daisy chain network of up to 7 elements. The link maintains is comes under the physical

layer, including data encoding to provide high efficient data transfer, to enable the

amazing speed of thunderbolt. The heart of the Thunderbolt protocol architecture is the

transport layer. Some of the key innovations introduced by the transport layer include:

A high-performance, low-power, switching architecture.

A highly efficient, low-overhead packet format with flexible QoS support that

allows multiplexing of bursty PCI Express transactions with isochronous Display

Port communication on the same link.

A symmetric architecture that supports flexible topologies (star, tree, daisy

chaining, etc.) and enables peer-to-peer communication (via software) between

devices.

3.1 PROTOCOL ARCHITECTURE:

Thunderbolt technology is based on 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 bandwidth

between ports or between upstream and downstream directions. The Thunderbolt protocol

architecture can be abstracted into four layers as shown in Figure. A Thunderbolt

connector is capable of providing two full-duplex channels. Each channel provides bi-



directional 10 Gbps of bandwidth. A Thunderbolt connector on a computer is capable of

Connecting with a cable to Thunderbolt products or to Display Port devices.

The Thunderbolt connector is extremely small, making it ideal for thin systems and

compact cables. Compatibility with Display Port devices is provided by an

interoperability mode between host devices and Display Port products; if a Display Port

device is detected, a Thunderbolt controller will drive compatibility mode Display Port

signals to that device. Thunderbolt cables may be electrical or optical; both use the same

Thunderbolt connector. An active electrical-only cable provides for connections of up to

3 meters in length, and provides for up to 10W of power deliverable to a bus-powered

device. And an active optical cable provides for much greater lengths; tens of meters. 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.

In thunderbolt, both PCIe and Display port are transferred through same cable based on

the switched fabric architecture with full-duplex links. The heart of the Thunderbolt

protocol architecture is the transport layer. Some of the key innovations introduced by the

transport layer include:

Fig 3.2:- Protocol Architecture



A high-performance, low-power, switching architecture.

A highly efficient, low-overhead packet format with flexible QoS support that allows

multiplexing of bursty PCI Express transactions with isochronous Display Port

communication on the same link.

A symmetric architecture that supports flexible topologies (star, tree, daisy chaining,

etc.) and enables peer-to-peer communication (via software) between devices.

A novel time synchronization protocol that allows all the Thunderbolt products

connected in a domain to synchronize their time within 8ns of each other. Display Port

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.

3.2 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

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.



Fig 3.3: Block diagram of PC system showing Thunderbolt controller connections.

As the building block to Thunderbolt technology, Thunderbolt controllers contain a high

performance cross bar Thunderbolt protocol switch, a PCI Express switch, and one or

more Thunderbolt ports, Display Ports, and PCI Express protocol adapter ports. By

integrating all the features necessary to implement Thunderbolt into a single chip, the

host-side controller enables system vendors to easily incorporate Thunderbolt technology

into their designs. Thunderbolt cables may be electrical or optical; both use the same

Thunderbolt connector. An active electrical-only cable provides for connections of up to

3 meters in length, and provides for up to 10W of power deliverable to a bus-powered

device. And an active optical cable provides for much greater lengths; tens of meters.



CHAPTER 4

THUNDERBOLT TECHNOLOGIES AND POSIBILITES

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

Display Port 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 Display Port 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



4.1 No project is too massive.

With Thunderbolt, you’re just as likely to build a professional video setup around your

MacBook Pro or iMac as your Mac Pro. If you’re a video editor, imagine using a single

port to connect high-performance storage, a high-resolution display, and high-bit-rate

video capture devices to handle all the post-production for a feature film. Thunderbolt I/O

technology allows you to daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt peripherals, including an

Apple Thunderbolt Display and the Promise Pegasus RAID or LaCie Little Big Disk.1

You can even add an Apple LED Cinema Display to the end of the chain.

And that’s just the beginning. With Thunderbolt technology, peripheral manufacturers

finally have what they need to take high-performance devices from workstations and top-

of-the-line desktops to just about any computer.

4.2 Changing the PC industry

Leveraging the I/O protocols on a single transport enables engineers to innovate new

system design configurations, allowing for standalone performance expansion

technologies that use existing native device drivers. Thunderbolt technology also enables

the introduction of thinner and lighter laptops without sacrificing I/O performance, and

extends to reach other I/O technologies by using PCIe-based adapters, making Gigabit

Ethernet, FireWire, or eSATA easy to create.

4.3 Performance and expansion made faster and smarter.

Thunderbolt I/O technology gives you two channels on the same connector with 10 Gbps

of throughput in both directions. That makes Thunderbolt ultrafast and ultraflexible. You

can move data to and from peripherals up to 20 times faster than with USB 2.0 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 high-performance external disks, a video capture device, and even a

display to a single Thunderbolt chain while maintaining maximum throughput



CHAPTER 5

EARLY VERSION 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.

5.1 Evolution of Speed:-

Protocol Speed Year Released

USB 1.0 12 Mbps 1996

USB 2.0 480 Mbps 2000

USB 3.0 5 Gbps 2008

Thunderbolt 10 Gbps 2011

USB 3.1 10 Gbps 2013

Thunderbolt 2 20 Gbps 2013

USB Type-C — 2014

Thunderbolt 3 40 Gbps 2015

Table 5.1:- Evolution of Speed



5.2 THUNDERBOLT TECHNOLOGY Developed by Intel (under the code name Light Peak), and brought to market with

technical collaboration from Apple. Thunderbolt technology is a new, high-speed, dual-

protocol I/O technology designed for performance, simplicity, and flexibility. This high-

speed data transfer technology features the following:

Dual-channel 10 Gbps per port

Bi-directional

Dual-protocol (PCI Express* and Display port*)

Compatible with existing Display Port devices

Daisy-chained devices

Electrical or optical cables

Low latency with highly accurate time synchronization

Uses native protocol software drivers

Power over cable for bus-powered devices

Thunderbolt is an interface for connecting peripheral devices to a computer via an

expansion bus. Thunderbolt was developed by Intel and brought to market with technical

collaboration from Apple Inc. It was introduced commercially on Apple's updated

MacBook Pro line up on February 24, 2011, using the same port and connector as Mini

Display Port. Though initially registered with Apple Inc., full rights of the Thunderbolt

technology trademark belong to Intel Corp., and subsequently led to the transfer of the

registration.

Thunderbolt I/O technology gives you two channels on the same connector with 10 Gbps

of throughput in both directions. That makes it ultra fast, and ultra flexible. You can move

data to and from peripherals up to 20 times faster than with USB 2.0 and more than 12

times faster than with FireWire 800.

Intel's Thunderbolt controllers interconnect a PC and other devices, transmitting and

receiving packetized traffic for both PCIe and DisplayPort protocols. Thunderbolt

technology works on data streams in both directions, at the same time, so users get the

benefit of full bandwidth in both directions, over a single cable. With the two independent

channels, a full 10 Gbps of bandwidth can be provided for the first device, as well as

additional downstream devices.



CHAPTER 6

THUNDERBOLT VS EXISTING I/O INTERFACE

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 high-performance external disks, a video capture device

and even a display to a single Thunderbolt chain while maintaining maximum throughput.

Fig 6.1:- speed of different I/O interfaces

6.1 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.

6.2 Ethernet

Moving on to other Ethernet type connections, Apple first used Gigabit Ethernet on the

"Mystic" Power Mac G4 in 2000. It gives a full 1 Gb/s. The fastest Ethernet on the market

is 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GBase-T), and 100 Gigabit Ethernet is under development. You

won't find 10G Ethernet on many computers. The standard also makes use of fibre optic

cable to achieve these transfer rates.

6.3 FireWire

FireWire was an important competitor to USB, but it has been losing popularity. Still, the

FireWire standard is still progressing. FireWire S3200 is planned to reach 3.2 Gb/s. That

keeps it comparable to USB 3.0, but still much slower than Thunderbolt. I doubt we'll see

many devices that use it.

6.4 Hard Drives SATA 6 Gb/s

Hard drives need to be speedy, and a new SATA protocol was recently released, SATA 6

Gb/s. As the name implies, it can go 6 Gb/s. The nice thing with this protocol is it

remains compatible with older systems and hard drives. You do need to have the right

motherboard to take advantage of the latest speed increase.

6.5 Thunderbolt Covers All the Bases

The chart shows how Thunderbolt compares to all of these other protocols. At 10 Gb/s, it

can cover a whole range of transfer protocols. The magic of Thunderbolts is that it can

become the cable of choice for all these protocols with no significant loss in transfer

speed. They plan to push the specification up to 100 Gb/s, with some stops along the way.



CHAPTER 7

THUNDERBOLT 2

Thunderbolt 2 is an update to the original Thunderbolt specification and takes the

original’s two 10 Gbps bi-directional channels and combines them into a single 20 Gbps

bi-directional channel. The amount of data able to go through a Thunderbolt connection

hasn’t increased, but the throughput of a single channel has been doubled.

7.1 What does Thunderbolt 2 have to do with 4K video?

4K video (a video format that has four times the resolution as 1080p and is gaining

popularity with video professionals) requires more bandwidth than the original

Thunderbolt can accommodate. Thunderbolt 2 will be able to stream that4K video and

write it to disk at the same time.

Fig 7.1:- Thunderbolt 2 supports 4K video transfer



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 Gbit/s channels can be combined into a single logical 20 Gbit/s channel.

Intel claims Thunderbolt 2 will be able to transfer a 4K video while simultaneously displaying it on a discrete monitor.

Thunderbolt 2 incorporates Display Port 1.2 support, which allows for video streaming to a single 4K video monitor or dual QHD monitors. Thunderbolt 2 is backwards compatible, which means that all Thunderbolt cables and connectors are compatible with Thunderbolt 1.

7.2 How does Thunderbolt 2 compare to USB 3.1?

Thunderbolt has a maximum throughput of 10 Gbps. Thunderbolt 2 has max throughput

of 20Gbps. Super Speed USB 3.0 has a maximum throughput of 5Gbps, which makes

Thunderbolt 2 up to four times as fast as USB 3.0.

Recently, the USB Promoters Association announced the USB 3.1 spec, which allows

USB to transfer up to 10Gbps. USB 3.1 is still a while away from shipping, though. Also,

while USB hubs are common, USB devices (like printers and hard drives) don’t generally

have USB output ports to enable daisy chaining, which is a key feature of Thunderbolt.

7.3 Will drives using the original Thunderbolt work with

Thunderbolt 2?

Yes. Thunderbolt 2 uses the same connectors as the original Thunderbolt, so Thunderbolt

2 devices will be backwards compatible with Thunderbolt peripherals and vice versa. But

a Thunderbolt device connected to a Thunderbolt 2 port will perform at the Thunderbolt

speed of 10 Gbps.

Fig 7.2:- Thunderbolt cable


http://images.techhive.com/images/article/2013/09/thunderbolt-connector-100054566-large.jpeg


CHAPTER 8

FUTURE SCOPE: - THUNDERBOLT 3

Thunderbolt 3 is computer port – delivering two 4K displays, fast data, and quick

notebook charging, said Navin Shenoy, vice president in Client Computing Group and

general manager of Mobility Client Platforms at Intel Corporation. “It fulfils the promise

of USB-C for single-cable docking and so much more. Users have long wanted desktop-

level performance from a mobile computer. Thunderbolt was developed to

simultaneously support the fastest data and most video bandwidth available on a single

cable, while also supplying power. Then recently the USB group introduced the USB-C

connector, which is small, reversible, fast, supplies power, and allows other I/O in

addition to USB to run on it, maximizing its potential. So in the biggest advancement

since its inception, Thunderbolt 3 brings Thunderbolt to USB-C at 40Gbps, fulfilling its

promise, creating one compact port that does it all.

Computer ports with Thunderbolt 3 provide 40Gbps Thunderbolt – double the speed of

the previous generation, USB 3.1 10Gbps, and Display Port 1.2. For the first time, one

computer port connects to Thunderbolt devices, every display, and billions of USB

devices. In Thunderbolt mode, a single cable now provides four times the data and twice

the video bandwidth of any other cable, while supplying power. It’s unrivalled for new

uses, such as 4K video, single-cable docks with charging, external graphics, and built-in

10GbE networking. Simply put, Thunderbolt 3 delivers the best USB-C.

Fig 8.1:- Thunderbolt 3



8.1 Full 4K Video ExperienceConnect two 4K 60 Hz displays with astonishing resolution, contrast, and color depth to

see your photos, videos, applications, and text with amazing detail.

8.2 Best Single-Cable DockingNow, one compact port provides Thunderbolt 3 data transfer, support for two 4K 60 Hz

displays, and quick notebook charging up to 100W with a single cable. It’s the most

advanced and versatile USB-C docking solution available.

8.3 External GraphicsGamers can now connect plug ‘n’ play external graphics to a notebook to enjoy the latest

games at recommended or higher settings.

8.4Technology Features Thunderbolt, USB, Display Port, and power on USB-C

USB-C connector and cables (small, reversible)

40 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 – double the speed of Thunderbolt 2

o Bi-directional, dual-protocol (PCI Express and Display Port)

o 4 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3

o 8 lanes of Display Port 1.2 (HBR2 and MST)

o Supports two 4K displays (4096 x 2160 30bpp @ 60 Hz)

USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) – compatible with existing USB devices and cables

Power (based on USB power delivery)

o Up to 100W system charging

o 15W to bus-powered devices

Thunderbolt Networking

o 10Gb Ethernet connection between computers

Daisy chaining (up to six devices)

Lowest latency for PCI Express audio recording



CHAPTER 9

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 Display Port) 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



REFERENCES

1. Thunderbolt Technology brief”, www.thunderbolttechnology.net, 2016

2. Apple-India, “Thunderbolt next generation high speed technology”, Apple website

3. Andrew Ku,” everything you need to know about thunderbolt” Tom’s hardware, 2014

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, 2016

7. Jason Ziller, “Thunderbolt Technology update” Intel, 8 April, 2015

8. Gordon Mah Ung, “Thunderbolt vs. USB 3.0 “maximumpc.com, 29 Jan 2015


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