July 2009
Volume 4, Issue 2

The following industry leaders are proud new members of SATA-IO:

ASICS World Service, LTD
Tragant Handels-und Beteiligungs GmbH
Freeport Resources Enterprises Corporation
Rise Moral Tech Limited
YM Electric Co., Ltd
Greatland Electronics Taiwan Ltd
SkyCABLE Enterprise Co., Ltd
LG Electronics Inc
Acon Advanced Connectek Inc
Viking Modular Solutions
LucidPort Technology, Inc.
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In this Issue:

SATA-IO Releases Revision 3.0 Specification
SATA-IO Shows Off Higher Speeds at Computex Taipei
Results From the First SATA-IO Member Survey
Spring 2009 Events Recap


Last month, SATA-IO promoted SATA 6Gb/s at Computex Taipei, the largest consumer electronics and storage tradeshow in the Asia Pacific region. For details, see story below.


SATA-IO Releases Revision 3.0 Specification  
The world’s most popular storage interface just got faster. The Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) announced the release of its Serial ATA Revision 3.0 specification on May 27, 2009. The SATA Revision 3.0 specification doubles transfer speeds from 3Gb/s to 6Gb/s, as well as having enhancements to support multimedia applications. As the demand for more speed increases, SATA-IO continues to deliver, without compromising the quality and performance its customers have come to expect from SATA technology.

The release of the SATA Revision 3.0 specification offers benefits to developers, manufacturers, and end-users of SATA equipment by enabling substantial speed increases for a wide variety of storage, enterprise and PC applications. With the increasing availability of commercial content and the rising tide of personal photos, videos, music, and other data files, basic transfer rates have become a primary purchasing consideration.

For many users of SATA equipment it is important to note that the SATA Revision 3.0 Specification is backward compatible with earlier SATA implementations and maintains the low cost and low power for which SATA is acclaimed. In addition, the specification features a number of enhancements for increased functionality. These enhancements include:

  • A new Native Command Queuing (NCQ) streaming command to enable isochronous data transfers for bandwidth-hungry audio and video applications
  • An NCQ Management feature that helps optimize performance by enabling host processing and management of outstanding NCQ commands
  • Improved power management capabilities The Low Insertion Force (LIF) connector for devices requiring compact embedded 1.8-inch hard disk drive storage
  • A connector designed to accommodate 7mm optical disk drives for thinner and lighter notebooks
  • Alignment with the INCITS ATA8-ACS standard

The specification was designed to facilitate easy configuration and simplified device upgrades. The SATA Revision 3.0 specification promises to enable a wider array of next-generation storage applications while still maintaining low-cost connectivity.

SATA Revision 3.0 provides immediate performance and efficiency benefits in existing systems, while enabling a wide range of new, high-speed storage applications. By doubling the potential throughput, SATA 6Gb/s increases drive burst performance and eliminates storage as a system bottleneck. Finally, by maintaining backward compatibility, the SATA-IO has kept the cost of moving from 3Gb/s to 6Gb/s at a minimum, thereby ensuring the continued dominance of SATA technology in the PC and storage industries.


SATA-IO Shows Off Higher Speeds at Computex Taipei
Last month, SATA-IO exhibited at Computex Taipei, the largest consumer electronics and storage tradeshow in the Asia Pacific region. More than 100,000 members of the high-tech industry attended the five-day event.

SATA-IO was on-site to promote its recently announced Revision 3.0 Specification. The speed-themed booth featured demonstrations of SATA 6Gb/s technology from SATA-IO members Marvel, Seagate/AMD and Synopsys. Additionally, examples of smaller form factor solutions enabled under the Revision 3.0 Specification were shown in the Low Insertion Force and 7mm connector display.

Visitors to the booth received a tour of the demos, as well as information on the latest developments from SATA-IO. Marketing Work Group Chair Conrad Maxwell and Public Relations Representative Ann Jansen were also on-site to chat with editors and analysts who stopped by the booth and reinforce key messages surrounding the exciting possibilities enabled by SATA-Revision 3.0.

  

Annabell Lin (center), Executive Director of Micro-Electronics¸ interviews Conrad Maxwell, Chairman of the Marketing Work Group, as a Seagate representative looks on.

An eye-catching racing motif highlighted the “Fast Just Got FASTER” theme promoting the faster transfer speeds enabled by SATA Revision 3.0 in the SATA-IO booth at Computex Taipei. Also on display were new connectors for 7mm ODDs as well as the LIF connector for 1.8-inch hard drives. 

SATA 6Gb/s technology demonstrations by member companies Marvell, Seagate, and Synopsys attracted interested visitors to the SATA-IO booth at Computex Taipei.

A reporter gets a close-up shot of the Seagate/AMD SATA 6Gb/s technology demonstration.

Take a look at more pictures from Computex Taipei at the new SATA-IO Flickr page. To stay connected even more to what’s going on in SATA-IO join our LinkedIn page here.


Results from the First SATA-IO Member Survey
For the first time, SATA-IO launched a member survey to gain a better understanding of what our members are involved in and what developments are wanted for the future. More than 130 responses from various member companies were submitted! An overwhelming number of responses indicated that members would like to see additional training and technical information be provided. As a result, SATA-IO held its first-ever training event in conjunction with the Plugfest and Interoperability Workshop last month. Technical white papers on the SATA Revision 3.0 Specification were also developed and posted on the SATA-IO web site. Look for additional technical papers to be released in the future!

Many thanks to everyone who completed the survey- your feedback is much appreciated. We plan to conduct additional surveys in the future, so watch for your next chance to influence the direction of SATA-IO!


Spring 2009 Events Recap
SATA-IO Interoperability Workshop #7 and Plugfest #12 – June 8-11, 2009; Milpitas, California.
SATA-IO hosted its seventh Interoperability Workshop (IW) in June with a focus on the verification of 6Gb/s PHY electrical characteristics, mechanical and electrical characteristics of cables/connectors, digital protocol, and general interoperability. More than 40 attendees from 14 different companies participated. Testing included HDDs, ODDs, and Building Blocks. The Plugfest attracted more than 80 attendees from 30 different companies. As 6Gb/s tests are developed, check the SATA-IO Web site for additional information on future events.

SATA-IO Revision 3.0 & UTD 1.4 Overview and Annual Members Meeting – June 8, 2009
The first-ever SATA-IO training session was held in conjunction with the testing events. Yamini Shastry from Finisar and John Calvin of Tektronix spoke to a standing-room-only crowd on the newly released Revision 3.0 Specification and the new UTD 1.4 Interoperability Program. Following the training session, event sponsors demonstrated new products to attendees and presented the latest SATA innovations. Look for additional training to occur in the future!

Yamini Shastry (Finisar) presents to attendees on what’s new in the SATA Revision 3.0 Specification.   

Attendees enjoyed drinks and appetizers while checking out demos from Agilent, Finisar, Synopsys, and Tektronix!   

Please submit any future article ideas and topics to Conrad Maxwell, SATA-IO Marketing Chair, Silicon Image.

Sincerely,
SATA-IO Administration