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USB 3.0 On Tap--Time for the Open Source Community to Watch Closely

Slowly but surely, USB 3.0--the next generation of Universal Serial Bus technology--is coming to fruition. USB Implementers Forum chairman Jeff Ravencraft recently noted in a presentation (PDF) that he expects USB 3.0 devices to ship by the middle of next year. This development is going to be important for the whole open source industry to pay attention to, because USB 3.0 is light years beyond previous versions and will usher in unprecedented connectivity and convenience options. The Linux community is going to have to pay special attention.

If you followed the transition from USB 1.1 to USB 2.0, you know that version 2.0 was a huge step forward. It ushered in fast and reliable USB transfer speeds that helped make everything from audio devices, to cameras, to high-capacity USB thumb drives work efficiently with computers.

USB 3.0 is ten times faster than USB 2.0, as shown in several prototype product demonstrations. As noted in this post, that means that "a file transfer that takes 30 minutes to transfer over USB 2.0 could take 3 minutes to transfer under USB 3.0." Not only will users of all stripes demand USB 3.0, but they'll probably demand it before the standard is ratified, especially consumers.

Linux systems and distributions are going to need to be on top of this. Just think of what the increased speed will mean for owners of stripped-down Linux netbooks, for example. There is a nice summary of what's going to be needed here from Sarah Sharp at Intel:

"For Linux to have basic USB 3.0 support, two things need to be added. First, we need to add support to the Linux USB stack to handle the new device speed and other changes mandated by the USB 3.0 bus specification. Second, we need to have a driver for the xHCI host controller. A host controller is the hardware that sits behind your USB port and talks to the USB devices you plug in."

As Sarah notes, the USB Implementers Forum is going to have a compliance program to ensure that software and hardware work with the new USB 3.0 specifications, but there is no separate compliance program for Linux. The burden of compatibility implementation is going to have spread through the Linux community on a piecemeal basis.

There is already work being done here, but it will definitely be important for the open source community at large to make available shared compatibility components and drivers. It's a mistake to assume anymore that people move to major new connectivity technologies only when standards are ratified. That may be true for many businesses, but consumers and some businesses rush to faster, better new technology before ratification. Just witness how many Mac users were using draft 802.11n Wi-Fi technology in their AirPort Extreme routers starting well over a year ago, when 802.11n still isn't ratified now.

One piece of good news I'm expecting from USB 3.0 is that it will make data transfers from USB thumb drives much faster, and it will probably make it easier to run entire operating systems from thumb drives. There are going to be a lot of other benefits though, starting early in the game, so compatibility throughout open source is going to call for watchful eyes. 

• linux
• USB 3.0

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