The previous article had been introduced the new technologies of Bluetooth v3.0 + HS and Bluetooth v4.0 + LE, so we will realize that Bluetooth wireless technology is making big breakthroughs in new markets. Next, let’s see how the Bluetooth SIG can help your company find new opportunities for your products.

Basically, the major test of Bluetooth certification can be divided into three dimensions, including

1. Radio Frequency:

• To test the electric property, power, modulation and phase converter of Transmitter.
• To test the sensitivity and anti-interference ability of Receiver.

2. Protocol:

• To test the capacity of Protocol by verifying the language communication and command response accuracy

3. Profile:

• To verify the relevant specifications, protocol and interoperability according to different purposes.

The above tests all have its corresponding test items which are set based on product categories and declared function. And the execution of each test must be in accordance with Test Case Reference List (TCRL) published by Bluetooth SIG. TCRL defines the types of test case under conformance test and interoperability test which are required for certification. The test cases can be divided into the following four categories:

• Category A:

The test case is a mandatory testing and must be performed by an accredited Bluetooth Qualification Testing Facility (BQTF).

• Category B:

The test case can be performed with/without a recognized BQTF, but it must use approved equipment to test, and submit test data as test evidence.

• Category C:

The test case must be performed with certified products, but no test evidence is required. Only needs self declaration.

• Category D:

The test case is preliminary or about to be retired. It has no official qualification value so no test is required.

As mentioned above, we can realize that there are many details must be noted regarding Bluetooth certification test cases. Moreover, the procedure of Bluetooth certification becomes more complicated than ever before because of the quantities of Bluetooth versions and the divergence of Bluetooth specifications.

How to determine which Bluetooth specification your products belong to? The Qualified Design Listings (QDLs) developed by Bluetooth SIG can help. QDLs defines the types of Bluetooth devices, including Controller Subsystem, Host Subsystem, Profile Subsystem, Component, and End-Product. These devices are regarded as different Bluetooth device specifications upon the different versions adopted by their components. Figure 3, which shows a decision table of Bluetooth device specifications developed by Bluetooth SIG, can help the manufacturers on how to determine which Bluetooth version their products belongs to. However, because there are plenty of possible combination in devices, it is still difficult to identify the right version even with the decision table.

Other than the difficulties of version identification, there are also many restrictions and regulations while the practical certification test are performed. Take the certification of Bluetooth v3.0 + HS as an example; the subject must conform to the following precondition for application:

• Bluetooth controller must be Bluetooth v2.1+EDR or Bluetooth v3.0.
• WLAN 802.11b/g controller must be Wi-Fi certified, and follows Bluetooth 3.0 Host Stack structure and 802.11 PAL protocol.

As to Bluetooth v4.0 + LE, because its Bluetooth architecture is different from legacy ones in the physical layer, protocol layer and application layer; also, Bluetooth v4.0 + LE has single-mode and dual-mode, the certification requirement is much more different from the past.

BQE－the powerful assistant for the application of Bluetooth certification

Both the diverse regulations and sustainable technical updates cause the manufacturers much trouble while seeking Bluetooth certification; for this reason, it highlights the value and importance of the Bluetooth BQE (Bluetooth Qualification Expert). The professional Bluetooth BQE is recognized by Bluetooth SIG, and its main mission is providing the consultation for Bluetooth certification. When the device manufacturers want to get certification for their products, they can nominate a Bluetooth BQE for QDL registration. The Bluetooth devices which are certified and finished the QDL registration by a Bluetooth BQE will not be audited within three years, and it also represents the trust of Bluetooth SIG for the profession of Bluetooth BQEs.

Figure 4 shows the procedures of Bluetooth certification of Bluetooth SIG. Based on the procedures, Allion Test Labs can provide many consultations which include:

• The consultation and technical support about the specification and version of Bluetooth device.

As mentioned above, the difficulties of Bluetooth version identification is that it’s hard for the manufacturers to identify the Bluetooth versions of their products even with the decision table; in this case, they need the professional assistance from a reliable Bluetooth BQE.

• Test item evaluation including the required test projects, test period and test fee.

Bluetooth certification test is very complicated, especially the test cases may be varied upon the types and controller versions of each device, the Bluetooth specifications, and the regulations of the present TCRL. Thus, in order to avoid the misjudgement that might cause unnecessary retest, The mandatory test cases must be confirmed before practical testing. Otherwise, Bluetooth BQE can pre-estimate the period required and predict the certification test fee to assist the manufacturers in schedule and budget control.

• Bluetooth documentation consultation and review support

During the process applying for Bluetooth certification, there are many documents and forms must be completed; for example, the manufacturers need to fill out the Protocol/ Profile Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS) which includes all applicable functions of Bluetooth devices. Also, all features stated in PICS must be tested with the regulations of Bluetooth SIG. And Bluetooth BQE hereby stands a role to assist the manufacturers in filling out relevant documents which contents should conform to actual situation and test regulations. In addition, Bluetooth BQE can also assist the manufacturers in developing the test plan or reviewing the applicability of the test plan to avoid the possibility of application rejection or errors found in following audit.

• Find suitable Bluetooth Qualification Test Facility (BQTF)

Although all BQTF are recognized by Bluetooth SIG; in addition to execute the certification test, each BQTF has difference service coverage, amount of equipments and the ways of schedule arrangement. Thus, it will be the most time-saving way to choose suitable BQTF through Bluetooth BQE.

• Problems debugging and issue identification

Besides consulting support before testing, Bluetooth SQE can also provide problem debugging and issue identification support based on the test result. Due to the regulations of Bluetooth SIG, Bluetooth BQE and BQTF must belong to different executive departments, and often different institutions, to maintain the independence and reliability of Bluetooth BQE.

• Test Result Review

To ensure that the test result conformed to the regulations and the content of submitting PICS, Bluetooth BQE is able to review the result after testing to reduce the probability of rejection by Bluetooth SIG.

• Upload the result of test (TDU)

BQE will help the manufacturers upload the TDU to Bluetooth SIG for further examination. This action will be specified and represents an initial review is done by BQE.

• Qualified Design Listings and Qualified Design ID

Continuing the previous description of the BQE services, the ultimate goal of the manufacturers is to make the device pass the certification test, list in QDLs, and get the QDID. All above are also the consulting ranges of BQE.

In sum, BQE plays an important role in the entire certification procedure. From the membership application, test plan submission, certification test execution to product listing, BQE can provide substantial technical support. Therefore, BQE is considered the best approach for most manufacturers seeking consultant and troubleshooting service.

The spectacular innovation of Bluetooth technology

Diversified developments of Bluetooth technology attempt to create a more convenient environment for consumers, so that they can enjoy much easier, simpler and faster life applications. For the manufacturers, the precondition is to ensure the products are conformed to Bluetooth specification with high interoperability. All above have to depend on the endorsement of Bluetooth Qualification Test, and further the device interoperability test.

Allion Test Labs is a global engineering service and validation consulting firm conducting certification, interoperability, performance and compatibility testing services for companies all over the world. In addition to provide BQE service and support, Allion Test Labs prepares a large number and variety of Bluetooth devices to satisfy the demand for Bluetooth interoperability test in the market today. In the future, Allion Test Labs will look forward to help more manufacturers be certified and provide consumers with higher quality of Bluetooth products.

Without external network connection, Bluetooth technology defines a uniform structure for a wide range of devices to connect and communicate with each other. Thus, among the wireless transmission technologies, Bluetooth technology is a short-range communications technology that is very convenient and secure. Nowadays, you can find it in billions of devices ranging from mobile phones to desktops or laptops.

However, with the innovations of Bluetooth versions(Bluetooth v2.0/2.1 + EDR, Bluetooth v3.0 + HS to Bluetooth v4.0 + LE), constantly-evolving Bluetooth profiles, and the pervasiveness of multi-mode application, the whole concept of Bluetooth implementation becomes more complicated than ever before and further turns into a challenge for corporations seeking certification. To help you get a clear picture of Bluetooth certification, this article will introduce the latest Bluetooth versions and clarify some commonly confused concepts.

Let’s understand Bluetooth v3.0 + HS, Bluetooth v4.0 + LE, and what’s multi-mode application?

Currently, Bluetooth v2.0/2.1 + EDR are still the most common versions in the market, the recent Bluetooth v3.0 + HS and Bluetooth v4.0 LE are released though. It’s very important to understand each characteristic of Bluetooth v3.0 + HS and Bluetooth v4.0 + LE.

1. Bluetooth v3.0 + HS

The so-called “HS” of Bluetooth v3.0 + HS means “High-Speed”, which makes

the transmission application of Bluetooth extends to larger files, including high resolution images or video/audio data. Thus, Bluetooth v3.0 + HS is often referred to as Bluetooth High-Speed technology. The main characteristics of Bluetooth v3.0 + HS include Generic Alternate MAC/PHY Protocol (AMP), 802.11 Protocol Adaptation Layer (PAL), Unicast Connectionless Data (UCD) and Enhanced Power Control (EPC).

Among all these features, Generic AMP is a major breakthrough of Bluetooth technology. That is, when large amounts of data need to be sent, the high speed alternate 802.11 PAL will be used for data transmission through AMP. In addition, UCD permits small amounts of data to be sent without establishing L2CAP channel. It is intended to lower the reaction time and power consumption while rapid connection or small data transmission is needed. Last, EPC allows devices to enhance the capacity of power control to support multiple modulation modes, so that can optimize the transmission distance.

Bluetooth multi-mode application is beginning to take shape by both Generic AMP and 802.11 PAL. It means that under the premise of preserving the original pairing connection of Bluetooth, the device can still use different wireless technologies upon different functions and demand for transmission. For consumers, they can remain the same operating mode as Classic Bluetooth to experience the multi-mode application without any manual settings for different wireless connections. For instance, data transmission and connection over Wi-Fi, is a typical case of Bluetooth multi-mode application.

How does the Bluetooth multi-mode application begin? In fact, Bluetooth SIG which proposed the concept of integrated wireless communication in 2007 tried to take UWB, NFC, Ultra Low Power, Wi-Fi, and other communication technologies under the Bluetooth technical architecture. That is why as mentioned above, the following revision of Bluetooth v3.0 + HS adds the technological application of Generic AMP and 802.11 PAL.

So far, Bluetooth v3.0 + HS has begun to be widely used in transmitting files, such as the adoption of FTP and OPP; moreover, it increases the transmission speed from 3 Mbps to 54/108 Mbps through 802.11g. Thus, the most compelling characteristic of Bluetooth v3.0 + HS is to achieve faster and smoother experience of transmission. While major chipset companies are speeding up the technology integration with 802.11n, Bluetooth v3.0 + HS will be able to support even higher transmission speed. In addition to file transmitting, Bluetooth SIG also integrates the relevant protocol positively to enter the field of wireless video transmission.

2. Bluetooth v4.0 LE

The so-called “LE” of Bluetooth v4.0 + LE means “Low-Energy”. Bluetooth v4.0 + LE, is like three specifications in one－Classic Bluetooth technology(e.g. Bluetooth 2.1+EDR), Bluetooth low energy technology, and Bluetooth high speed technology －all which can be combined or used separately in different devices according to their functionality(Figure 1). The key feature of Bluetooth v4.0 + LE is Low-energy, which means that it enables a Bluetooth device to operate for months or even years on tiny, coin-cell batteries. That is, Bluetooth v4.0 + LE allows Bluetooth devices in sleep mode while idling, and only initiate the Bluetooth functions while transmitting.

Another significant feature of Bluetooth v4.0 + LE is the so-called Single-Mode and Dual-Mode. In Single-Mode, Bluetooth v4.0 + LE can achieve the purpose of low-energy transmission through simple device searching and point to multi-point data reansmission. And in Dual-mode, Bluetooth v4.0 + LE can co-work with different Bluetooth specifications, such as Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR and Bluetooth v3.0 + HS, and then users can switch the operations of high-speed or low-energy upon ones’ demand. Therefore, the manufactures can adopt the appropriate mode, based on the purpose of device-using more flexible. For example, Single-mode can be applied on some devices which need long time but no sustainable data transmission, and Dual-Mode can be applied on some devices which need to transmit with other different products (such as computer or mobile phone) simultaneously.

Bluetooth v4.0 + LE enables classic and low-energy Bluetooth technology to exist independently, but also coexistence of shared; because of this evolution, the application of Bluetooth v4.0 + LE becomes more diverse. On one hand, lower-energy technology applies on healthcare electronics and fitness equipments; on the other hand, high-speed technology allows data-transmitting more time-saving. For example, one sphygmomanometer with Bluetooth v4.0 + LE can run only low-energy to record the subject’s blood pressure status, and use classic Bluetooth technology to transmit data or images to the database. Different from the past point-to-point connection, Bluetooth v4.0 + LE uses the framework of Topology to allow more devices connecting with each other easily.

As a global standard, Bluetooth technology is in billions of devices worldwide, including virtually every mobile phone, laptop, tablet, new car, and more than 40 million medical devices. The brand-new Bluetooth technologies, such as Bluetooth v3.0 + HS and Bluetooth v4.0 + LE, will cut through the complexity of wireless communications, enabling devices to communicate seamlessly. In the future, Bluetooth technology and devices will bring simplicity to everyday life through their convenience, freedom, and ease of use.

In recent years, consumer electronics (CE) products with smart features have always become the hottest topic in everywhere. Apart from the already widely-spread CE products, the automotive field has also started being part of the“smart family”. For the automotive market, the Smart Car must be more functional and user-friendly to allow advanced technology adoption, such as In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) and satellite navigation system. As the core device for in-vehicle connectivity, Smartphone plays an important role to make car ‘smart’ in the in-car environment. Thus, two different market fields – Smartphone and In-Vehicle Infotainment, must be compatible with each other. With so many different technologies and functions are added to these two product types, it becomes challenging for them to work together effectively. With the needs of two-way connection between Smartphone and in-vehicle monitor, the latest standard MirrorLink™ introduced by Car Connectivity Consortium is therefore released.

The Car Connectivity Consortium was launched by eleven companies across different industries, which include known mobile phone manufacturers Nokia, Samsung and LG Electronics; vehicle manufacturers Daimler, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai Motor Company, Toyota, and Volkswagen; and system suppliers Alpine and Panasonic. Currently, it has 26 adopter members. The vision of CCC is to develop an open and common connectivity technical standard for IVI and corresponding mobile devices like Smartphone. In addition, the purpose of promoting MirrorLink™ standard is to develop a complete and qualified certification test plan through in-depth technical development and an open infrastructure, hence the quality and connectivity of certified product can be enhanced. As the picture indicated below, to enjoy a convenient in-vehicle user experience through MirrorLink™ is actually pretty simple. User only needs to connect a mobile device with the car to sync Smartphone functions on IVI system such as hand-free answering and audio playback.

* Source: Car Connectivity Consortium LLC.

Apart from the major applied product lines like Smartphone and MP3, the future goal of product application includes tablet PC, e-book and small notebook. Even though the connectivity technology of Smartphone and car has been recognized in the market from the beginning of the time, vendors still have to keep tracking market demand in order to satisfy different types of consumers. To ensure that a product meets consumer’s needs, standard certification plays an extremely significant role in product development. As CCC’s Qualified Test Laboratory (QTL), Allion will keep assisting CCC to promote the MirrorLink™ standard/ technology and its certification program. For more details about CCC and related testing service, please contact Allion at service@allion.com.

* Source: People 4 Embedded.

Along with the mature high-definition video display technology, people have higher expectations on audio/video experience today. For consumer electronics (CE) devices and home entertainment products, supporting HD audio/video transmission has become an essential requirement. However, while the tendency of mobile devices’ form factor is smaller and smaller, making a product design embedded HD signal transmission interface has become challenging than ever. Also, the high power consumption of HD signal transmission is also a key element that impact the standby time of mobile devices. With these above situation and the increasing needs of mobile audio /video streaming, the latest mobile HD connectivity technical standard – MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) is therefore released.

MHL is promoted by the MHL™ Consortium, comprised of five well-known corporations: Nokia, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Silicon Image. Currently, it has more than 60 adopter members. Due to the focus of the needs of HD audio /video streaming on portable products, the MHL™ Consortium developed this technology to transfer HDMI signal through an existing micro USB port. As the picture indicated below, we can simply see how this technology works: audio /video content on mobile devices can be transferred to HDTV immediately through a single cable.

MHL technology needs only five pins to support up to 1080p uncompressed HD video transmission with 7.1 channel surround sound, while also supports HDCP. In addition, mobile device can use MHL for power charging and increase the standby time. It also allows TV remote control to control the mobile device for audio /video content transmission and display. These kind of simple applied scenarios allow consumer products such as cell phones, TVs and notebooks to gradually adopt the MHL technology. For instance, Samsung, Toshiba and HTC have released their cell phones, TVs or tablet devices respectively that adopt MHL technology within this year.

As we have observed, the increasing demand for HD audio/video transmission is easily recognized. For mobile device vendors, the biggest niche to adopt MHL technology is that they only need a single micro USB interface, and then they can have all MHL features including battery charging and HDMI signal transmission support. No additional space will be required for individual micro USB and HDMI interfaces. Therefore, this well-integrated interface technology has been regarded as a killer application.

As MHL’s Qualified Test Laboratories (QTL), Allion provides certification testing services to help vendor go deep into MHL technology. For more details about MHL and its compelling features, please refer to MHL official website at http://www.mhlconsortium.org.

To pursue a better quality of life, people put a lot more efforts into exercise and diet today. The healthcare market is getting bigger while the rate of aging is rising, many kinds of reasons have raised the importance of medical electronics, and the increasing importance  allows healthcare industry to come up with its own technical standard.

The Continua Health Alliance (CHA) was established in 2006 by different health institutes and well-known corporations such as Intel, IBM and Philips. The Continua Health Alliance expects to use its regulated connectivity technical standard to ensure certified medical electronic devices and products can be compatible with each other. Additionally, due to the combination of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) and healthcare equipments, this technical standard can be very helpful in the telehealth field.

How do we know that? The picture below indicates the current technical structure of the Continua Health Alliance technical standard. Under the CHA’s technical structure, the applicable range of products includes thermometer, blood pressure monitor, glucose meter and weighing scale. Apart from those products which we can easily see in our daily life, there are also the fitness equipments like treadmill, the healthcare devices like health monitor. Based on ISO/IEEE 11073 medical / health device communication standards, it adopts Bluetooth, USB and ZigBee connectivity technologies as data transfer between devices.

Briefly, this technical standard allows physical records under these devices to transfer to PC through Bluetooth, USB and ZigBee connectivity technologies, and keeps recording and monitoring the patients’ health condition through Internet or Wi-Fi to transfer physical records to telehealth service center.

In this way, health monitoring can be much easier and effective, which allows professionals of medical and healthcare industry to understand patients’ conditions in real time. Therefore, The CHA technical standard has begun being adopted by related manufacturers. Getting the certification of the CHA technical standard can help enhance the quality of vendors’ products and build customers’ trust compared to other non-certified products. With years of Bluetooth and USB test experience, Allion is able to provide test solutions throughout medical electronics product development stages. We have involved in and will constantly dedicate in medical electronics field to assist vendors to ensure the quality of its product and create a better healthcare environment.

Since the last article “Exploring the Quality of SSD – A Testing and Evaluation Report for SSDs in the Market Today” was released in the end of 2010, we have received a large amount of positive feedback from readers and followers. In order to response to all the requests from our followers, we are releasing a follow up test report with latest SSD products. Hoping this report could provide valuable information when you purchasing a SSD drive.

Allion’s interest is to perform a fair test and acquire valuable test results. We have pre-defined some criteria of test environment and test condition.

● SSD drives selection

There are four requirements when we select SSD drives for test:

1. Products can be bought in the beginning of 2011
2. Products have either 250 GB or 256 GB of storage space
3. Price range is between US$ 500 to US$ 650
4. The declared read/write speed of products can reach between 200 MB/s and 300 MB/s

Base on these requirement, we have selected eight SSDs from market for test: (Please refer to Table 1 for more drive information)

Table 1: DUT

● Test Environment

1. Test system. In this test experiment, we use same test platform for all tests.
2. Test tool. We have utilize several benchmark test tools from the market and Allion’s self-developed benchmark test tool to perform the tests.
3. Test scenarios. Average Read/Write Performance, Sequential 64K Read, Sequential 64K Write, Random 16K Read, Random 16K Write, Random 4K Read and Random 4K Write. Test was run for seven days.
4. Test work load. In our test, we adopt several file formats for SSD read/write test.
5. Test time. We have performed a continuous 7 days test.

● Evaluation Items

1. Reliability
2. Performance Evaluation
3. Performance Stability
4. Performance Degradation

Result Analysis:

1. Reliability

The purpose of reliability test is to check if data access error will happen during data read/write, i.e., incomplete read/write or data lose. The main task of SSD is to accurately store and retain data, any data loss will result in serious damage to users. The reliability of SSD is a very basic evaluation item in this test experiment.

In our test, we examined if the SSD’s SATA connector meet the SATA I-O’s requirement. We also verified that the devices detected by test system without problem. After the basic spec checked, a serious of data read/write commands were sent to the SSD drives. Our experts compared and analyzed both data sets to see if there is any data lose. We used Allion’s in house SSD stress tool pro to access all SSD drives for quite a long time. All tested SSD drives pass this test.

2: Performance Evaluation

As we know, high speed transmission is one of the SSD highlights. To check if the actual performance of these SSDs match their announced results, we stimulate real user behavior (i.e. different file size, various file formats) to access those SSDs and record the test result. We can look at the result from two different aspects.

1) Performance Test Results Comparison

Table 3 is the result of the SSD performance test on pure read/write test.

Table 3: Performance Test Results (MB/s)

The performance of each SSD is different. Under the condition of same test time (7 days), the total read/write count for each SSD were different. The SSD which has better performance had more total read/write count, vice versa. The test result that we present in Table 3 is the average number of the read/write result over all read/write count.

Picture A: Performance Test Results

Table 3 test result also indicate result from different test scenarios. Turning Table 3 number into chart, we can observe that SSD tend to have better performance when dealing with larger files (64K reading process) compared to smaller files (16K and 4K reading process) on average. In general, the speed of data reading is faster than data writing for storage media, Samsung does have similar read/write performance on all file size. On Patriot SSD drive, we can see an obvious performance drops when dealing with 16K and 4K data file [drops down from 160 ~170MB/s (64K) to 22MB/s (16K), even close to 3MB/s (4K)].

Among these tested SSDs, Adata, Intel and Samsung are having better performance than others.

2) Comparison of Declared Performance vs. Actual Achievement

Most of the SSD product will declare “max read/write” and “average read/write” number on the product specification. What is the actual read/write speed that users will get when they buy the SSD from the market? We also compare the test result from this perspective. We ran a 7 days long read/write stress test. We selected “64K sequential read” and “64K sequential write” test data for comparison since 64K read/write tend to have better performance than other file sizes.

Table 4: 64K Sequential Read/Write Maximum and Declared Performance Comparison

We summarize the best read/write performance result we got during the test from our test data in Table 4. By looking at this table, we notice that OCZ SSD can reach their declared “read” performance. The rests only can reach 83% to 97% of the declared performance. Most of the test drives can reach the declared “write” performance.

If we look at the result from “average read/write” point of view (we average all the read/write performance result to get this number), we will see slightly different result. Table 5 is the summary of test result. We notice that no SSD could reach their declared “read performance.” On the declared“write performance,”only 4 out of 8 SSDs could reach that number.

Table 5: 64K Sequential Read/Write Average and Declared Performance Comparison

Compared the actual results with declared performance from vendor, OCZ is the most outstanding one among these SSDs.

3: Performance Stability

The purpose of this test is to evaluate if tested SSD can still remains steady performance after a long time access. Two factors might affect SSD drive’s stability in our observation: long time access to the drive by using sequential and random data type and use up all the storage capacity recursively. We analyze the performance stability from following perspectives.

• Performance Normal Distribution:
  We use 95% as our analysis criteria. 95% (and above) of the test results need to fall into the range of +/–10% of average read/write performance range. 
• High/Low Gap over Mean:
  The difference of the leading group (mean of the top 10% performance result) and the lagging group (mean of the last 10% performance result) must be lower than 20% of overall average performance result.
• Standard Deviation over Mean:
  The standard deviation over mean need to be lower than 10%.

1) Performance Normal Distribution

We will observe the overall test result distribution. If all results are close to the µ, it means the drive is relatively stable. If the result distribution fall widely that means the drive is relatively not stable.

We use “95% and above of the read/write performance results need to be in the range of +/-10% of the average read/write performance results” as our analyze criteria. We summarize the read/write performance result in table 6. We can see that four out of eight SSDs can reach the criteria. OCZ is the one has the best normal distribution performance result.

Table 6: Performance Normal Distribution Test Results (Overall Read/Write Performance Test)

If we look at the distribution result by graph, we can see that in best case (graphic B), all test results (blue dots) fall into the upper/lower green lines area (+/–10%). In bad case (graphic C) most of results fell out of upper/lower green line area.

Picture B Case: Good Performance Point Distribution (Read/Write Performance Test)	Picture C Case: Bad Performance Point Distribution (Read/Write Performance Test)

2) High/Low Gap over Mean

High/Low Gap over Mean is an indicator of the stability of a SSD drive. We will compare the difference of the best and worst performance for the designated SSD. The closer the gap is, the more stable it is. In our analysis, we use this criteria: The difference of the top 10% best performed SSDs and the last 10% least performed ones must be lower than 20% of overall average performance.

Table 7 High/Low Gap over Mean Test Results (Overall Read/Write Performance Test)

We do use that 4 out of 8 SSDs perform as expected while read/write performance test is undertaking, OCZ and Corsair are two of the bests among these four devices. On the contrary, 2 out of 4 drives were having even larger than 60%of the result. Even though the gap of ADATA and Patriot are close (7.63 and 8.22), there is a big difference between means (72.71 and 37.98), therefore, the evaluation results are significantly different (10.49% and 21.64%).

3) Standard Deviation over Mean

Standard deviation over mean is another good indicator to evaluate the SSD drives’ stability. In this analysis, we observe every SSD drive’s test result against their average result. Out analysis criteria: The dispersion of all test results must be lower than 10% of overall average performance to meet the expectation under this section.

Table 8 Standard Deviation over Mean Test Results (Overall Read/Write Performance Test)

Let’s take OCZ’s result for example. It has σ=1.04, μ=78.03MB/s and σ/μ=1.34%. That means most of the read/write test result fell within +/- 1.04MB/s. The σ/μ=1.34% indicate a very stable performance. 5 out of 8 SSDs meet our criteria.

4: Performance Degradation

Performance degradation means SSD’s performance declines after certain time of use and wear out. Performance degradation will also impact the usable storage size. Lack of TRIM, Garbage Collection function not well-designed or insufficient Space Provisioning will affect overall performance measurement. In our test, we run a 7 days complete read/write test. The drive is having performance degradation if the difference between first and last cycle of the seven-day test is greater than 10% of average performance (to write data completely into all SSD storage area as a cycle).

We did observe 3 tested SSD has performance degradation. Picture D and E are shown as an example of performance degradation. From picture D we can see that this SSD is able to reach up to 80~90 MB/s of performance in first cycle rounds, then reduce to 70MB/s. The average performance between first (pink) and last cycle (blue) has 11MB/s difference as shown in picture E.

Picture D Case: Performance Point Distribution (Read/Write Performance Test)	Picture E Case: First and Last Cycle Rounds Average Performance Comparison (Read/Write Performance Test)

Picture F SSD Key Point of Product Testing

Even though the features of these SSD devices that we selected to test are similar, we can still see different result in different test conditions. SSD still needs a long-term development process; market acceptance will stimulate product technique to keep improving and growing to the next level. With years of research and product test experience, Allion expects this evaluation index would be a useful reference for readers. Along with the growing of technology, we hope to see more SSD products with the better quality and technique in the near future.

UPnP List Allion as Independent Certification Vendor for UPnP Pre-Certification Testing

For those seeking for UPnP Pre-Certification Testing, UPnP Forum has officially listed Allion as its Independent Certification Vendors (ICVs). Allion is also the only ICV to be listed on the website. Members can feel free to contact Allion for pre-certification testing services and obtain the test logs for further submission. Please go to the resources page of UPnP website for the announcement.

New Test Requirement of DMS, M-DMS, DMR, DMPr products

UPnP Forum announced new test requirement on DMS, M-DMS, DMR, DMPr products as shown below and will be enforced from November 17th this year:

• Until Nov 17th 2011: DMS, M-DMS, DMR, DMPr products need to be tested with UPnP V1.5 and V2.0 test tool. Customer has to submit V1.5 & V2.0 test logs for reviewing and the V1.5 test log must be Pass.

• From Nov 17th 2011: only V2.0 Pass log can be accepted and submitted for DMS/ M-DMS product. As to DMR/ DMPr products, V1.5 & V 2.0 test logs need to be submitted and the V1.5 test log must be Pass.

DisplayPort Adoption in PC Displays Increases by 160 Percent

VESA announced a tremendous growth in the number of PC displays adopting DisplayPort in the end of August. Over the last 1 year, DisplayPort adoption in PC displays has increased by 160 percent, reaching 78 displays from leading manufacturers. The astonishing growth not only shows the whole industry’s recognition and optimism towards DisplayPort,
it is also manufacturers to replace legacy interfaces with DisplayPort. Full annoucement please refer to VESA website.

VESA Expands DisplayPort Standard to Support Active Cables

VESA recently announced an extension of its DisplayPort version 1.2 standard to support DisplayPort active cables. DisplayPort active cables can be as much as 5x in length compared to passive cables, providing video systems integrators and home users the ultimate flexibility for designing next-generation home theaters, digital signage and high-definition display configurations. See the full announcement.

*   The information contained in this article was extracted from Allion e-newsletter: http://www.allion.com/enews/2011Q3/2011q3_en.html

Clarification to HDMI Adopted Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines

For those Adopters who want to ensure the way of getting HDMI royalty discounted rate (which is $0.05 per unit sold), HDMI Licensing, LLC has recently released a statement to clarify its guidelines. In Attachment B of the Adopter Agreement, it is indicated that Adopter must “reasonably incorporates the Adopted Trademarks on its Licensed Products and related documentation and promotional materials” to receive the royalty discount. HDMI Licensing, LLC also provides a simple understandable formula which is shown below:

Reasonable Incorporation = Compliance + Promotion

This formula also represents that Compliance alone is not a guarantee for royalty discounts. For details about the guidelines and the definition of “related documentation” and “promotional materials”, please refer to the announcement page of HDMI website.

HDMI Licensing, LLC Response to Mini DisplayPort-HDMI Cables

To maintain high level of interoperability among devices that use HDMI technology. HDMI Licensing, LLC recently responds to the existing adapters (cables) on the market today. The DisplayPort to HDMI adapters (Figure 1.) can be tested for HDMI compliance and interoperability because the HDMI Specification and the Compliance Test Specification (CTS) have defined the requirements for such an adapter. However, The Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable (Figure 2.) is not defined in the HDMI Specification and cannot be tested for compliance or interoperability using the HDMI CTS. For more details please refer to the announcement page of HDMI website.

New Legal Agreements Required after Sept 1, 2011 for Windows Logo Submissions

Starting from Sep. 1, 2011, for both hardware & software Windows logo submissions, new legal agreement shown below must be signed:

•Windows Logo Program Testing Agreement (WLPTA) version 3.0
  (required for HW/ SW submission)
•Windows Logo License Agreement for Hardware (HWLLA) version 2012
  (required for HW submission)
•Windows Logo License Agreement for Software (SWLLA) version 1.5
  (required for SW submission)

Key changes of these legal agreements please refer to the following table, or contact Allion for more information.

More updates on WHQL:

- Service Pack 1 Required for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
- Requirement AUDIO-0051 Has Been Retired Effective July 1, 2011
- WLK 1.6 QFE 002 Released: Contains Fix for "Reinstall with IO Before and After" Test

*   The information contained in this article was extracted from Allion e-newsletter: http://www.allion.com/enews/2011Q3/2011q3_en.html

In our daily life, many different techniques are applied on countless electronic products to render its function. If those techniques are self-developed by each individual company, it is highly possible to limit the industry’s evolvement and the technique’s further advancement. To avoid the hydra-headed situation, the concept of“technology standardization”is thus given birth to universalize popular technologies in the market. The purpose of technology standardization is to formulate a usable technology to become the applicable standard for all vendors to adopt and use. Therefore it can not only make a technology to be widely adopted, but also to avoid industrial monopoly on particular technology to pursue one’s own commercial interests.

To successfully standardize each technology, a third-party and non-profit organization is required to play the key role of promotion and advocacy This kind of neutral association is responsible for many aspects such as internal operating, technical specification defining and certification programs setting. Thanks to the effort from these standard associations, there are numerous technologies have become popular industry standards today. For example, consumer electronic products like mobile phone & cameras and home appliances like televisions & DVD players has adopted current hot technology standard including USB, Bluetooth and HDMI.

As a leading third-party authorized test lab, Allion keeps working closely with standard organizations/associations to jointly promote the technical standards and help manufacturers obtain the association’s latest technical updates. In addition to many popular industry standards like we mentioned above, TransferJet is another new technology that we’d like to introduce. TransferJet is developed by SONY and other well-known vendors and the organization behind it is called the“TransferJet Consortium”. It is a stand-alone unit to promote this innovative transmission technology.

To help you understand what should be focus on when it comes to technology standardization, below we take TransferJet as an example to discuss about some key points:

1. Association’s strong support for long-run operating

A successful technology standard definitely needs the association’s strong support. To be more specific, it’s the member companies to actually back up and stand for the standard. A technology standard must have early adopters to attract more supportive vendors to follow up. In this situation, large companies usually have more manpower and resources to do early-stage R&D errands and adopt such technology standard into their spec. Therefore, those associations are often formed by a certain global branding corporations.

Let’s take a look at TransferJet. The TransferJet Consortium was initially established by 18 international companies, such as SONY, Toshiba, Panasonic and Samsung. Except for the 18 promoters, there are 36 adopters joining this association cumulative to end of February 2011. These members play the role of checks and balances to provide proper suggestions and opinions in adopters’ points of view. To let an association run smoothly, division of labor is required for efficient operation. In TransferJet Consortium’s case, three working groupies are divided for technical, certification and marketing purpose. This working pattern equipped the association with a complete and sound structure.

2. Unique and irreplaceable technology

Another key point is that a technology standard needs to retain its uniqueness to keep it self from replacement or duplication. The reason is that vendors would be willing to invest time and effort into a technology standard if it has a highly innovative and exclusive business value.

TransferJet represents its unique technology on this one. The TransferJet Consortium is dedicated in developing close proximity wireless transfer technology which applies NFC (Near Field Communication) technique. The 3 cm data transfer range can easily protect users from the risks of interference or file copy during the transfer process. Unlike traditional NFC, TransferJet allows larger file transferring (up to 560 Mbps) by using UWB (Ultra-Wide Band). This also matches the three declared features of TransferJet: Simple Operation, Safe Connection and Efficient Transfer.

3. Ease-of-use and the potential to be widely adapted

End users care about the most is whether a technology is easy to use without complicated manual settings. TransferJet is an example which applies this concept to its design; data transfer between devices with just a single touch is the highlight.

TransferJet provides some scenarios we can imagine: We want to share photos which are just taken with friends while traveling; we can either send them through email later or burn another Compact Disc after transferring them to the USB drive. Through TransferJet technology, certified devices are able to transfer data with each other in the blink of an eye; therefore, we can share photos immediately and send them to the printer with just a single touch.

TransferJet technology applies to many consumer electronics products such as cameras, camcorders, cell phones, TVs and tablets PCs. It is also planned to expand the future development into digital signage, automotive and healthcare fields.

4. Complete certification management

In a successful technology standard, the third-party test lab is a critical segment in its association to set up the certification testing procedure. The role of third-party test lab is important to assist vendors’ products obtain the certified logo and provide consulting service. In addition, the test lab helps monitor the quality of vendors’ products and ensure all certified products are well-performed and compliant to the specification. As TransferJet’s Qualified Test Laboratories (QTL), Allion provides certification testing services to help vendor go deep into TransferJet technology. Recently Allion is working with TransferJet Consortium closely by holding technical seminars to let local vendors learn more about this unique technical standards, Allion will continue to stand in a professional third-party lab of cooperation with the technical standards to promote the standardization of more industrial technologies.

Allion is pleased to invite you to come see us at Flash Memory Summit 2011 during August 9-11. As the world’s-leading expert in product validation/ testing, Allion will be showcasing our unique test solutions in Solid State Drive (SSD) field on the spot. Our recent competitive analysis result will also be presented for the first time ever. Moreover, our professional lab staff specialized in SSD test plan developing will explain you our signature test methodology and lead you go deep into this technology. For those who are eager to let your product stand out in the market, this is definitely a great opportunity to find out the best solution!

[Detailed Information] 

Event: Flash Memory Summit 2011

Time: Aug 9-11, 2011

Place: Santa Clara Convention Center, CA. USA

booth: #215

[Listen to Allion's SSD Expert]

Topic: The Myth of SSD Testing

          – When It Is Done Right, The Result Can Be Astonishing and Instrumental for SSD’s Design

Speaker: Frank Shu, Associate Vice President of R&D at Allion

Session:105 – SSD Testing / Benchmarking

Time: Aug 9^th 2011 2:10 – 3:20 pm