USB Flash Drive Standardization Efforts

John LoveallGroup Program ManagerWDEG, Storage Devicesjloveall @ microsoft.com Microsoft Corporation

Session OutlineSession Outline

Overview: USB Flash Drives and the Windows Platform

Industry Standardization EffortsUSB Flash Drive Alliance (UFDA)

U3

IEEE P1667

Closing summary and call to action

Session GoalsSession Goals

Understand the synergy of USB flash drives and the Windows platform

Become familiar with key standardization efforts in the USB flash drive space

Take away contact information to enable innovative ideas for your products and market

Storage Devices: Key Windows StrategiesStorage Devices: Key Windows Strategies

Optical Platform Optical Platform Client/ConsumerClient/Consumer

Storage FabricsStorage Fabrics Server/EnterpriseServer/Enterprise

Personal Storage Personal Storage Client/ConsumerClient/Consumer

Preferred Preferred Storage Platform Storage Platform

Partner/CustomerPartner/Customer

Timely, comprehensive, quality platform support for optical devices

Optimized platform features enabling new Optimized platform features enabling new customer scenarios in Personal Storagecustomer scenarios in Personal Storage

Leading platform supporting storage fabrics

Preferred platform for developing, integrating, and deploying storage devices

Overview: USB Flash Drives and the Overview: USB Flash Drives and the Windows PlatformWindows Platform

New customer scenarios are emergingBeyond portable data, towards portable experiences

Microsoft is actively working with partnersDefining new customer scenarios

Enabling these scenarios with the platform

Standardization efforts are gaining momentumCovering broad categories of the technology

Can help enable innovation and quality

USB Flash Drive Market GrowthUSB Flash Drive Market Growth

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

2002 2004 2006 2008 2010

USB flash drive USB flash card

Source: Web-Feet Research, March 2005

IDC, Preliminary forecast, 12-Apr-04Gartner, Semiconductor Database, 18-May-04Web-Feet Research, Flash Cards and Removable Storage Fcast 2004-09, Mar-04

Larger Scope of Technology: Personal StorageLarger Scope of Technology: Personal Storage

Devices defined by usage vs. technology, e.g.:Organizing

Listening to music

Communicating

Mobile experiences

The platform and standards need to followCommon support across multiple devices

Common support across multiple buses

There is much opportunity for improvement in customer experiences

Industry Standardization Efforts PresentationsIndustry Standardization Efforts Presentations

USB Flash Drive Alliance (UFDA)

U3

IEEE P1667 WG

Note: These presentations do not imply endorsement or feature support by Microsoft. These are efforts in progress of note in the industry.

USB Flash Drive Alliance (UFDA)Unleashing the Full Potential ofUSB Flash Drives Through Standards

Steffen HellmoldPresidentShellmold @ lexar.com USB Flash Drive Alliance

Section OutlineSection Outline

The USB flash drive alliance: overview

Why a UFD device specification NOW

The near term focus of the UFDAMechanical Considerations for UFDs

A Plug Form Factor Guideline

Application Specific Interfaces for UFDsMass Storage Class Lock – An idea

Environmental Considerations for UFDs

USB Flash Drive Alliance – OverviewUSB Flash Drive Alliance – Overview

Founded as non-profit organization end of 2003Initial focus to establish category name ‘USB flash drive’ and educate consumer about UFD

End of 2004 UFDA added focus on UFD standardUFDA targets to establish a UFD device spec

UFDA is an open industry organization

UFDA represents companies across the industry

UFDA believes in open royalty-free industry standards as best suited to maximize market growth

UFDA works to complement existing standards bodies, not to compete with them

USB Flash Drive Alliance - MembersUSB Flash Drive Alliance - Members

Sponsor MembersLexar

PNY Technologies

Samsung

Associate MembersAdd On TechnologyAlcor MicroCorsairCrucial TechnologyEdge Tech CorpGenesys LogicGlobalware SolutionsInfineon TechnologiesInternational Microsystems IncorporatedKingston TechnologyMemory Experts InternationalMicrosoftSimpleTechViking Interworks

Why a UFD Device Specification NOWWhy a UFD Device Specification NOW

For a category less than three years old, USB flash drives have enjoyed phenomenal growth despite the lack of a USB flash drive device specification

Initial predominant application was simple, external portable storage but USB flash drives grown beyond, various proprietary solutions are available in the market

Standards are required to enable the ubiquitous use of UFDs in new applications & markets as multiple sourcing is desired and standards facilitate adoption

A portable storage solution that can be used in various market segments such as computing, consumer and mobile is desirable to optimize consumer experience

The Near Term Focus of the UFDAThe Near Term Focus of the UFDA

Standardize as little as needed to create a common specification enabling multiple sourcing whereby the work from existing standards bodies should be leveraged

Standardization Requests should first be pursued through USB-IF, T10, IEEE P1667 and JEDEC. If outside the scope of these committe then UFDA.

Initial focus areas for standardization efforts:Mechanical

Application Specific Interfaces

Environmental

Note: The UFDA is not associated with any of the above standards bodies nor is it endorsed by these standards bodies.

Mechanical Considerations for UFDsMechanical Considerations for UFDs

USB flash drives come in many different industrial design with different material and colors

Host devices are typically created with the USB cable and connector specification in mind

Therefore it makes sense to leverage this specification to define a form factor guideline for UFDs to enable their use as a flash card

USB-IF has approved a Plug Form Factor Guideline 1.0 based on the USB Type A connector

http://www.usb.org/developers/devclass_docs/CCWG__A__Plug_Form_Factor_Guideline__Revision_1.0_.pdf

Further form factors need to be defined to offer suitable solutions for all applications

A Plug Form Factor GuidelineA Plug Form Factor Guideline

Based on type A connector per USB V2.0 spec

W: 12mm, H: 4.5mm, L: 31.75mm

Label recess and finger grip

Top View: Bottom View:

Application Specific Interfaces for UFDsApplication Specific Interfaces for UFDs

USB flash drives typically use MSC driversThis enables their use as simple storage devices on systems with modern operating systems without the use of proprietary drivers

In order to use USB flash drives in conjunction with sophisticated applications standards for application specific interfaces is needed

Security is a major focus and standards need to be established to secure:

The storage

The channel

The network

Mass Storage Class Lock – an IdeaMass Storage Class Lock – an Idea

(A) Legacy compatible when password clear

(C) Windows Update triggered by drive traveling w/ password

(B) One familiar unlocked drive letter, no unusable locked drive letters

(D) No false reports of malfunctioning mass storage.

Environmental Considerations for UFDsEnvironmental Considerations for UFDs

Consumers need to have means to determine if the environmental specification of the product they intend to buy is suitable for theirintended use

USB flash drives are based on various silicon, assembly and material technologies. This has implications to their environmental behavior.

Therefore there is a need to establish an environmental specification so users know that a USB flash drive has certain temperature, shock, vibration, drop, humidity and other ratings

The U3 OpportunityU3: The next generation platform for USB Flash Drives

Nathan GoldSr. Director, U3 Developer Forumngold @ u3.com U3 LLC

Section OutlineSection Outline

About U3

The U3 Platform

U3 Architecture and SDK

Demo

About U3About U3

Founded December 2004

FoundersSanDisk Corporation (Sunnyvale, CA)

M-Systems (Kfar Saba, Israel)

Staff: 25

Headquarters in Redwood Shores, CA

Key MilestonesCompany Launch: January 2005 at CES

U3 Global Developer Summit on June 7-8

First U3 products to hit the market in mid-2005

Arrival of USB 3rd GenerationArrival of USB 3rd Generation

3G: Smart Drives• Mobilizes personal workspace• Wide range of applications, data and

preferences • Multi-vendor compatibility• Extends PC to a new user experience

called “USB computing”• More advanced device features

1G: “Dumb” Drives• Data files only• Security problems

2G: Single-Purpose Drives• Proprietary, limited solutions• Vendor-specific, no standards • Only one application/drive•Advanced device features

App

U3 envisions a world in which people carry their “personal workspace” with them – not just files, but software applications, preferences and the means to interact with them – enabling a private, protected and portable

computing experience on any computer.

U3 Platform ComponentsU3 Platform Components

Provided by:Provided by:

ISVISV

IHVIHV

USB Flash Drive

•Compliant HW•Compliant Firmware

•Applications•LaunchPad Interface

•SDK

MicrosoftMicrosoft

USB Interface

U3 ArchitectureU3 Architecture

What do you build?What do you build?

U3 ApplicationsApplications travel with the U3 compliant device

All configurations and data stored on the device.

U3 Deployment Guide and SDK = Fast track tomobilizing your applications!

These applications are run from the U3 LaunchPad.

U3-Aware ApplicationsClassic Windows applications that know about the U3 device

Leverage the power of the U3 device featuresUnique serial numbers, secure cookies, and lock/unlock device

U3 SDKDevice API is the way for both U3 Applications and U3 Aware Applications to leverage device features

SDK ComponentsSDK Components

Building ApplicationsU3 tools for preparing U3 Applications

Tools to increase mobility of applications (registry help)

Configuration Set device configuration (formatting, partitioning, sizing and securing partitions, setting security on partitions)

Displays device information: Firmware version, vendor strings, hardware serial number, U3 unique id, device parameters

CD Manager Burn a CD image

Autorun

Write Protect

Allows protecting or releasing write protection on device

Device OperationsDevice Operations

Basic Device Services

Basic device information:Device Capabilities

Serial number

Version

Vendor/product strings

Drive letters

Capacity

Basic device services:Eject

Insert / Remove events

Configuration change events

Extended Device Services

Extended device services:Cookies

Protected Cookies

Login/Logout to secure zone

Change and reset password

DemoU3 LaunchPad

IEEE P1667 WGStandard Protocol for Authentication in Host Attachments of Transient Storage Devices

Ariel SobelmanChairman, IEEE P1667 WG Ariel.Sobelman @ m-systems.comIEEE P1667 WG

Root of Problem Today is No Root-of-TrustRoot of Problem Today is No Root-of-Trust

Corporate IT departments blocking USB portsExternal threats – attacking systems

Internal threats – information theft

Threat perception is at all-time high May threaten the continued growth of USB storage devices.

IEEE P1667 targeting corporate security levelCompliments other standards working on access control and trusted computing infrastructure

P1667 targeting corporate levelCritical for continued trust of the major corporate IT departments in the system and storage solutions used by their employees

Goal: Wide-spread adoption by major security IT vendorsP1667 adopted by top security vendors

Compatibility with and support for P1667 in:Security and authentication products

System products

Secure enterpriseAuthenticate the identity of the device and its ownership

Only allow authenticated devices to mount – authentication requires positive identification of the device

Access control is supplied by the host – device only needs a trusted ID

Secure deviceDevice will only mount according to accesscontrol rules

Device requires positive identification of the host it is attaching to before allowing the host to access it

Areas Covered by P1667Areas Covered by P1667

Areas Covered by P1667 (con't)Areas Covered by P1667 (con't)

Secure content

Device and host may not trust each other in the context of some secure data or licensed software

DRM system around data (for example) needs to authenticate the host, device, and a relationshipbetween them

P1667 only focuses on the authentication of the components, not the access control mechanism

IEEE P1667 Area of ResponsibilityIEEE P1667 Area of Responsibility

SecuritySecurityServicesServices

HardwareHardware

IEEE P1667IEEE P1667

DataStorage

AdditionalServices

•Management Services •Content Filtering•DRM•Authorization

Authentication

Transient Storage Device

Host PC

Authentication

Summary and Call to Action

Summary and Call to ActionSummary and Call to Action

New customer scenarios are emerging combining the Windows platform, USB flash drives, and other personal storage

Industry standards efforts are working to enable innovation and product development

Understand the support and efforts in place today

Communicate your needs for enabling your product ideasWindows platform support

Industry standards support

Community ResourcesCommunity Resources

Windows Hardware & Driver Central (WHDC)www.microsoft.com/whdc/default.mspx

Technical Communitieswww.microsoft.com/communities/products/default.mspx

Non-Microsoft Community Siteswww.microsoft.com/communities/related/default.mspx

Microsoft Public Newsgroupswww.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups

Technical Chats and Webcastswww.microsoft.com/communities/chats/default.mspx

www.microsoft.com/webcasts

Microsoft Blogswww.microsoft.com/communities/blogs

Additional ResourcesAdditional Resources

EmailMicrosoft inquiries: hec5stor @ microsoft.com

Web Resources:UFDA: http://www.usbflashdrive.org

A Plug Form Factor Guidline 1.0

http://www.usb.org/developers/devclass_docs#approved

U3: http://www.u3.com

IEEE P1667: http://standards.ieee.org/board/nes/projects/1667.pdf