USB alliance finalizes 10Gbps specification as USB 3.1
The USB 3.0 Promoter Group teased us with the prospect of a 10Gbps USB standard back in January, and it now has something to show for its work: the alliance has finalized its specification under the USB 3.1 name. While little has changed with the port format in half a year's time, its completion lets AMD, Intel and others start work on chipsets that offer twice the bandwidth of USB 3.0 while preserving support for USB 2.0. There's no public roadmap for the first USB 3.1 devices, although the first related developer sessions will begin on August 21st. Not that the Promoter Group is necessarily in a rush -- while Intel's Thunderbolt 2 will hit an even quicker 20Gbps this year, the new USB format is more likely to receive broad support.
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SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps – Ready for Development
USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced availability of the USB 3.1 Specification to increase
SuperSpeed USB to 10 Gbps
HILLSBORO, Ore. – July 31, 2013 – The USB 3.0 Promoter Group today announced the
completion of the USB 3.1 Specification which adds enhancements to enable SuperSpeed
USB to operate at up to 10 Gbps. This latest release of the specification will be available
today for download from the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) website.
SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps uses a more efficient data encoding and will deliver more than
twice the effective data through-put performance of existing SuperSpeed USB over
enhanced, fully backward compatible USB connectors and cables. Compatibility is assured
with existing USB 3.0 software stacks and device class protocols as well as with existing 5
Gbps hubs and devices and USB 2.0 products.
Developers interested in implementing the new USB 3.1 Specification have the opportunity
to learn technical details during three developer conferences currently being planned. The
international conferences planned in Europe and Asia will offer more advanced system
design training as breakout sessions on the second day. For more details and conference
registration instructions, please visit the USB-IF website.
1. USB 3.1 Developers Day US – August 21, 2013 in Hillsboro, Ore.
2. USB 3.1 Developers Days Europe – October 1-2, 2013 in Dublin, Ireland
3. USB 3.1 Developers Days Asia – Two day conference scheduled for early December
2013, more details to follow
"The USB 3.1 specification primarily extends existing USB 3.0 protocol and hub operation
for speed scaling along with defining the next higher physical layer speed as 10 Gbps," said
Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 Promoter Group Chairman. "The specification team worked hard to
make sure that the changes made to support higher speeds were limited and remained
consistent with existing USB 3.0 architecture to ease product development."
"We recognize this advancement in USB technology is an important development for our
customers," said Tom Bonola, Chief Technology Officer, Business PC Solutions, HP. "The
USB 3.1 Specification enables us to meet the growing needs of our customers for faster
data transfer while maintaining backwards compatibility with existing devices."
"The industry has affirmed the strong demand for higher through-put, for user-connected
peripherals and docks, by coming together to produce a quality SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps
specification," said Alex Peleg, Vice President, Intel Architecture Group. "Intel is fully
committed to deliver on this request."
"While maintaining backward compatibility, USB continues to advance to meet customer's
growing need for higher speed data" said Roland Sperlich, TI Consumer and Computing
Interface Product Line Manager. "The 10 Gbps data rate allows designers across many
industries to do more with a universal standard."
"In this multi-device world, the USB 3.1 updates will enable end-users to move content
across devices quickly, conveniently and without worrying about compatibility," said Emile
Ianni, Corporate Vice President of Platform Solutions Engineering, AMD. "AMD thanks our
engineers as well as the other technology contributors for bringing to market robust
innovation that is designed to work seamlessly with new and existing solutions."
