Asymmetrical universal serial bus communications
In some embodiments a Universal Serial Bus cable includes a first differential pair to transmit bus signals, and a second differential pair to transmit bus signals in a same direction as the bus signals transmitted by the first differential pair. In this manner, a bandwidth of the Universal Serial Bus cable is doubled in that same direction. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
1. A Universal Serial Bus cable comprising:
a first differential pair to transmit bus signals; and
a second differential pair to transmit bus signals in a same direction as the bus signals transmitted by the first differential pair, wherein a bandwidth of the Universal Serial Bus cable is asymmetric and is doubled in the same direction.
2. The Universal Serial Bus cable of claim 1 , wherein the Universal Serial Bus Cable is a USB 3.0 cable.
3. The Universal Serial Bus cable of claim 2 , wherein the bandwidth of the USB 3.0 cable in the same direction is provided by two channels.
4. The Universal Serial Bus cable of claim 2 , wherein the bandwidth of the USB 3.0 cable in the same direction is at least 10 Gbps.
5. The Universal Serial Bus cable of claim 1 , wherein the first differential pair couples a first transmit block with a first receive block and wherein the second differential pair couples a second transmit block with a second receive block.
6. The Universal Serial Bus cable of claim 1 , further comprising a lesser bandwidth communication path available in a direction opposite the same direction.
7. The Universal Serial Bus cable of claim 6 , wherein the lesser bandwidth communication path is bi-directional.
8. The Universal Serial Bus cable of claim 6 , wherein the lesser bandwidth communication path is selectively bi-directional.
9. The Universal Serial Bus cable of claim 6 , wherein the lesser bandwidth communication path is to execute link management functions while also providing a data path in a direction opposite to the same direction of the double bandwidth path.
10. The Universal Serial Bus cable of claim 9 , wherein the link management functions include one or more of flow control protocol, power management protocol, runtime reversal of the double bandwidth direction, and/or protocol handshake.
11. The Universal Serial Bus cable of claim 6 , wherein the lesser bandwidth communication path is a USB 2.0 communication path.
12. A system comprising:
a first Universal Serial Bus device;
a second Universal Serial Bus device; and
a Universal Serial Bus cable to couple the first Universal Serial Bus device and the second Universal Serial Bus device, the Universal Serial Bus cable including:
a first differential pair to transmit bus signals; and
a second differential pair to transmit bus signals in a same direction as the bus signals transmitted by the first differential pair, wherein a bandwidth of the Universal Serial Bus cable is asymmetric and is doubled in the same direction.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first Universal Serial Bus is a USB 3.0 device, the second Universal Serial Bus device is a USB 3.0 device, and the Universal Serial Bus Cable is a USB 3.0 cable.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the bandwidth of the USB 3.0 cable in the same direction is provided by two channels.
15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the Universal Serial Bus Cable is a USB 3.0 cable, and the bandwidth of the USB 3.0 cable in the same direction is at least 10 gigabits per second.
16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first differential pair couples a first transmit block with a first receive block and wherein the second differential pair couples a second transmit block with a second receive block.
17. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first Universal Serial Bus device is one or more of a Universal Serial Bus host device, a Universal Serial Bus hub device, and/or a Universal Serial Bus client device.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the second Universal Serial Bus device is one or more of a Universal Serial Bus host device, a Universal Serial Bus hub device, and/or a Universal Serial Bus client device.
19. The system of claim 12 , the Universal Serial Bus cable further comprising a lesser bandwidth communication path in a direction opposite the same direction.
20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the lesser bandwidth communication path is bi-directional.
21. The system of claim 19 , wherein the lesser bandwidth communication path is selectively bi-directional.
22. The system of claim 19 , wherein the lesser bandwidth communication path is to execute link management functions while also providing a data path in a direction opposite to the same direction of the double bandwidth path.
23. The system of claim 22 , wherein the link management functions include one or more of flow control protocol, power management protocol, runtime reversal of the double bandwidth direction, and/or protocol handshake.
24. The system of claim 19 , wherein the lesser bandwidth communication path is a USB 2.0 communication path.
25. A method comprising:
enabling a first differential pair of a Universal Serial Bus cable to point in a same direction as a second differential pair of a Universal Serial Bus cable in order to transmit bus signals on the first differential pair and the second differential pair in the same direction, wherein a bandwidth of the Universal Serial Bus cable is asymmetric and is doubled in the same direction.
26. The method of claim 25 , wherein the Universal Serial Bus Cable is a USB 3.0 cable.
27. The method of claim 26 , wherein the bandwidth of the USB 3.0 cable in the same direction is provided by two channels of at least 5 Gigabits per second.
28. The method of claim 25 , wherein the bandwidth of the Universal Serial Bus Cable in the same direction is at least 10 Gigabits per second.
29. The method of claim 25 , further comprising determining whether an asymmetrical capability is supported at both ends of the Universal Serial Bus cable.
30. The method of claim 29 , further comprising enabling a Universal Serial Bus link training if the asymmetrical capability is not supported at both ends of the Universal Serial Bus cable.
31. The method of claim 25 , further comprising determining whether a direction of asymmetrical capability of the Universal Serial Bus cable is configurable.
32. The method of claim 25 , further comprising enabling an asymmetrical capability in a designed direction if the direction of asymmetrical capability is not configurable.
33. The method of claim 25 , further comprising querying a user for a desired double speed direction.
34. The method of claim 31 , further comprising enabling an asymmetrical capability in the desired double speed direction.
35. The method of claim 25 , further comprising configuring the desired double speed direction in response to an input from a user.
36. The method of claim 25 , further comprising communicating on a lesser bandwidth communication path of the Universal Serial Bus cable in a direction opposite the same direction.
37. The method of claim 36 , wherein the lesser bandwidth communication path is bi-directional.
38. The method of claim 36 , wherein the lesser bandwidth communication path is selectively bi-directional.
39. The method of claim 36 , wherein the lesser bandwidth communication path is to execute link management functions while also providing a data path in a direction opposite to the same direction of the double bandwidth path.
40. The method of claim 39 , wherein the link management functions include one or more of flow control protocol, power management protocol, runtime reversal of the double bandwidth direction, and/or protocol handshake.
41. The method of claim 36 , wherein the lesser bandwidth communication path is a USB 2.0 communication path.
42. The Universal Serial Bus cable of claim 1 , wherein the Universal Serial Bus cable is configured for asymmetrical fat pipe operation.
43. The system of claim 12 , wherein the Universal Serial Bus cable is configured for asymmetrical fat pipe operation.
44. The method of claim 25 , wherein the Universal Serial Bus cable is configured for asymmetrical fat pipe operation.