THUNDERBOLT I/O INTERFACE

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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

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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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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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TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

CERTIFICATE 2 ABSTRACT 3 1. INTRODUCTION 5 1.1 What is Thunderbolt? 1.2 Who developed it and why? 1.3 Commercial Launch 1.4 Cost 2. TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW 6 2.1 Different Technical Aspects 2.1.1 Key features 7 2.1.2 General specifications 2.1.3 Rethinking I/O 8 2.1.4 Connector Pin Diagram 9 2.1.5 Copper vs. Optical 2.1.6 Peripherals Devices 10 2.1.7 Security

2.2. Protocol Architecture 11 2.2.1 P.A continuation 12 2.3 Controller Architecture 13 2.4 Thunderbolt Technology Possibilities 14 3. Early Version of Thunderbolt 15 3.1 Different Controllers 3.2 Journey of Thunderbolt 4. Thunderbolt vs. Other existing I/O interface 16 4.1 Thunderbolt vs. USB 3.0 5. Future: Thunderbolt 2 17 5.1 High Performance Display 5.2 No project is too massive 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 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 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

Max Voltage

Max Current

Bit Rate

Mini-display Port

18V (bus power)

550mA (9.9 W max)

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 off-

the-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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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 high-

speed 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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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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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 high-

performance 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 bi-

directional channels of the original Thunderbolt specification into a single logical, bi-

directional 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 high-

speed 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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