February 24, 2011 at 23:19Thunderbolt - like a bolt from the blue
- Transfer
On Habré and on other resources, undeservedly little attention was paid to the appearance on a wide sale of devices supporting the new universal data transfer interface. Apparently, clouds are gathering over the future development of USB 3.0.
Thunderbolt (Lightning Bolt) is a computer I / O port developed by Intel. During scientific research and engineering, it was known as Light Peak . The first devices that support Thunderbolt were the MacBook Pro models, announced on February 24, 2011 .
Thunderbolt connectors are physically nearly identical to DisplayPort-mini connectors. Compatibility mode supports all existing DisplayPort-mini devices. It also supports DVI, HDMI, and VGA displays using existing adapters. A universal connector is used for both electrical and optical Thunderbolt options. Electrical cables can be up to 3 meters in length; optical cables can be tens of meters long.
Each port provides two full duplex channels; Each channel has a bandwidth of 10Gbit / s in both directions.
Thunderbolt has a packet transport layer with support for Quality of Service (QoS). The interface allows multiplexing PCI Express packet traffic and DisplayPort isochronous traffic in the same connection.
Its time protocol allows devices to synchronize with within 8 ns of each other. Apple: “With the new Thunderbolt port, you can daisy chain up to six devices, including your display, to create a complete workstation.”
PCI Express and DisplayPort protocols are transparently mapped onto the base transport layer of the Thunderbolt interface. Devices connected by Thunderbolt may be supported by existing operating system drivers.
I think this reminds us of the invention of USB and SCSI again. From the first - versatility, scalability, the principles of sequential signal transmission, from the second - the ability to create cascading connections and impressive bandwidth compared to existing interfaces.
www.apple.com/en/thunderbolt
www.intel.com/technology/io/thunderbolt/index.htm
P.S. This interface will allow, for example, to create devices such as a monitor with a built-in powerful graphics card. A nice bonus for owners of ultraportable laptops.
Thunderbolt (Lightning Bolt) is a computer I / O port developed by Intel. During scientific research and engineering, it was known as Light Peak . The first devices that support Thunderbolt were the MacBook Pro models, announced on February 24, 2011 .Interface demonstration
Physical level
Thunderbolt connectors are physically nearly identical to DisplayPort-mini connectors. Compatibility mode supports all existing DisplayPort-mini devices. It also supports DVI, HDMI, and VGA displays using existing adapters. A universal connector is used for both electrical and optical Thunderbolt options. Electrical cables can be up to 3 meters in length; optical cables can be tens of meters long.
Each port provides two full duplex channels; Each channel has a bandwidth of 10Gbit / s in both directions.
Transport level
Thunderbolt has a packet transport layer with support for Quality of Service (QoS). The interface allows multiplexing PCI Express packet traffic and DisplayPort isochronous traffic in the same connection.
Its time protocol allows devices to synchronize with within 8 ns of each other. Apple: “With the new Thunderbolt port, you can daisy chain up to six devices, including your display, to create a complete workstation.”
Application level
PCI Express and DisplayPort protocols are transparently mapped onto the base transport layer of the Thunderbolt interface. Devices connected by Thunderbolt may be supported by existing operating system drivers.
I think this reminds us of the invention of USB and SCSI again. From the first - versatility, scalability, the principles of sequential signal transmission, from the second - the ability to create cascading connections and impressive bandwidth compared to existing interfaces.
see also
www.apple.com/en/thunderbolt
www.intel.com/technology/io/thunderbolt/index.htm
P.S. This interface will allow, for example, to create devices such as a monitor with a built-in powerful graphics card. A nice bonus for owners of ultraportable laptops.