Ellisys Demos SuperSpeed USB 3.0 to SATA, Including HDD and SSD Targets

Swiss company Ellisys, supplier of protocol test and analysis solutions for SuperSpeed USB, the Universal Serial Bus (USB), Wireless USB, the WiMedia UWB platform, and Bluetooth, will host a live demonstration of a SuperSpeed USB to Serial ATA (SATA) bridge at the 2009 International CES in Las Vegas, January 8-11. The USB 3.0 specification, released in November, provides up to a 10x performance increase from today’s USB 2.0 speeds. Ellisys will support the demonstration of a bridge device developed by Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited, with its Explorer 280 (EX280) SuperSpeed USB protocol analyzer/generator system. Ellisys will be located in the USB TechZone in South Hall 3, Las Vegas Convention Center.

"CES attendees will get a first-hand look at a cutting-edge implementation of the new SuperSpeed USB technology," states Mario Pasquali, Ellisys co-founder and president for products. "Major factors driving the need for SuperSpeed USB include the growing ubiquity of large digital media files, high-definition video, flash drives, camcorders, external hard drives, and many other data-intense applications and devices. We’re pleased that Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited chose Ellisys as a solution provider and look forward to the demonstration at CES."

Demonstration to Include HDD and SSD Targets
Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited’s demonstration will employ an Ellisys SuperSpeed USB traffic generator, used to emulate a SuperSpeed USB host, and an Ellisys SuperSpeed USB protocol analyzer in line between the generator and Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited’s bridge device. A SATA mass storage device, SSD or HDD, will reside on the far side of the bridge and will be the ultimate target of the generator. The demonstration will show SuperSpeed USB’s ability to achieve the maximum possible throughput performance of state-of-the-art SSD. Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited engineers will be on hand to discuss the transfer operations taking place, as well as data throughput performance. Ellisys staff will also be present to discuss the capabilities of the Explorer 280 protocol analysis and traffic generation system.

"Our bridge products will enable consumers to realize exceptionally faster data transfers that are now made possible by SuperSpeed USB technology," said Fujio Nakanishi, President of ASSP Business Unit, Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited. "CES attendees will be among the first to see SuperSpeed USB in action, and we look forward to discussing the benefits of our SuperSpeed USB products with consumers and media personnel at the show."

"Devices provided by Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited along with protocol test and analysis solutions provided by Ellisys will help deliver SuperSpeed USB products to the consumer marketplace," said Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF president and chairman. "CES attendees are encouraged to stop by the USB TechZone to get a first-hand look at this demonstration of the latest step in the evolution of the ubiquitous USB interface technology."

Dual-Use System Provides
Unsurpassed Configuration Flexibility
The EX280 hardware can be configured on-the-fly as a logically passive analyzer, monitoring and characterizing SuperSpeed USB or legacy USB traffic between two system components, such as a host and device. It also has a dual role in that it can perform as an active generator, emulating a system component in order to actively characterize and test another system component.