THUNDERBOLT I/O INTERFACE

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

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

th

25 Nov, 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

2010EEC30

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)n 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 dont 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 Appledeveloped 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 miniDisplayPort 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 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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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 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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13

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, Thunderbolts blazing fast speed and uncompressed
video capabilities can now be added to any motherboard that includes a
GPIO header, so even if your system doesnt 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:

Intels Thunderbolt with its promise of 10Gbps-per-channel throughput,
its 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, theyre in cars
and wall plugs and are as ubiquitous as an AC outlet these days. Even if
they doesnt support USB 3.0, we can still access your data via USB 2.0.
Thats 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 todays 10Gbps Thunderbolt cant 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 highbit-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 highperformance 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. Its 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:
Thunderbolt Technology brief, www.thunderbolttechnology.net, 2012
Apple-India, Thunderbolt next generation high speed technology, Apple
website,2011
Andrew Ku, everything you need to know about thunderbolt Toms
hardware, 2013
Intel, Thunderbolt Ready-upgrade program for PC, Motherboard,
workstation
computers, Benchmark review.com, 16 Nov 2013.
James Gilbraith, Promise preps for MAC Pro with Thunderbolt 2
macworld.com, 16 Sep 2013
Thunderbolt (interface), Wikipedia, Retrieved Nov 18, 2013
Jason Ziller, Thunderbolt Technology update Intel, 8 April, 2013
Gordon Mah Ung, Thunderbolt vs. USB 3.0 maximumpc.com, 29 Jan
2013

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