USB Flash Drive Standardization Efforts

1. USB Flash Drive Standardization Efforts John Loveall Group Program ManagerWDEG, Storage Devicesjloveall @ microsoft.com Microsoft Corporation

2. Session Outline • Overview: USB Flash Drives and the Windows Platform • Industry Standardization Efforts • USB Flash Drive Alliance (UFDA) • U3 • IEEE P1667 • Closing summary and call to action

3. Session 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

4. Storage Devices: Key Windows Strategies Storage FabricsServer/Enterprise Personal Storage Client/Consumer Preferred Storage Platform Partner/Customer Leading platform supporting storage fabrics Optimized platform features enabling new customer scenarios in Personal Storage Timely, comprehensive, quality platform support for optical devices Optical Platform Client/Consumer Preferred platform for developing, integrating, and deploying storage devices

5. Overview: USB Flash Drives and the Windows Platform • New customer scenarios are emerging • Beyond portable data, towards portable experiences • Microsoft is actively working with partners • Defining new customer scenarios • Enabling these scenarios with the platform • Standardization efforts are gaining momentum • Covering broad categories of the technology • Can help enable innovation and quality

6. USB Flash Drive Market Growth IDC, Preliminary forecast, 12-Apr-04 Gartner, Semiconductor Database, 18-May-04 Web-Feet Research, Flash Cards and Removable Storage Fcast 2004-09, Mar-04 Source: Web-Feet Research, March 2005

7. Larger 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 follow • Common support across multiple devices • Common support across multiple buses • There is much opportunity for improvement in customer experiences

8. Industry 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.

9. USB Flash Drive Alliance (UFDA)Unleashing the Full Potential ofUSB Flash Drives Through Standards Steffen Hellmold President Shellmold @ lexar.com USB Flash Drive Alliance

10. Section Outline • The USB flash drive alliance: overview • Why a UFD device specification NOW • The near term focus of the UFDA • Mechanical Considerations for UFDs • A Plug Form Factor Guideline • Application Specific Interfaces for UFDs • Mass Storage Class Lock – An idea • Environmental Considerations for UFDs

11. USB Flash Drive Alliance – Overview • Founded as non-profit organization end of 2003 • Initial focus to establish category name ‘USB flash drive’ and educate consumer about UFD • End of 2004 UFDA added focus on UFD standard • UFDA 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

12. USB Flash Drive Alliance - Members Sponsor Members Lexar PNY Technologies Samsung Associate Members Add On Technology Alcor Micro Corsair Crucial Technology Edge Tech Corp Genesys Logic Globalware Solutions Infineon Technologies International Microsystems Incorporated Kingston Technology Memory Experts International Microsoft SimpleTech Viking Interworks

13. Why 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

14. The 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.

15. Mechanical 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

16. A 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:

17. Application Specific Interfaces for UFDs • USB flash drives typically use MSC drivers • This 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

18. Mass Storage Class Lock – an Idea (A) Legacy compatible when password clear (B) One familiar unlocked drive letter, no unusable locked drive letters (C) Windows Update triggered by drive traveling w/ password (D) No false reports of malfunctioning mass storage.

19. Environmental 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

20. The U3 OpportunityU3: The next generation platform for USB Flash Drives Nathan Gold Sr. Director, U3 Developer Forumngold @ u3.com U3 LLC

21. Section Outline • About U3 • The U3 Platform • U3 Architecture and SDK • Demo

22. About U3 • Founded December 2004 • Founders • SanDisk Corporation (Sunnyvale, CA) • M-Systems (Kfar Saba, Israel) • Staff: 25 • Headquarters in Redwood Shores, CA • Key Milestones • Company Launch: January 2005 at CES • U3 Global Developer Summit on June 7-8 • First U3 products to hit the market in mid-2005

23. Arrival 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 • 2G: Single-Purpose Drives • Proprietary, limited solutions • Vendor-specific, no standards • Only one application/drive • Advanced device features App • 1G: “Dumb” Drives • Data files only • Security problems 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.

24. U3 Platform Components Provided by: • Applications • LaunchPad Interface • SDK Microsoft ISV IHV USB Interface • Compliant HW • Compliant Firmware USB Flash Drive

25. U3 Architecture

26. What do you build? U3 Applications • Applications 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 Applications • Classic Windows applications that know about the U3 device • Leverage the power of the U3 device features • Unique serial numbers, secure cookies, and lock/unlock device U3 SDK • Device API is the way for both U3 Applications and U3 Aware Applications to leverage device features

27. SDK Components • Building Applications • U3 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

28. Device 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

29. DemoU3 LaunchPad

30. IEEE P1667 WGStandard Protocol for Authentication in Host Attachments of Transient Storage Devices Ariel Sobelman Chairman, IEEE P1667 WG Ariel.Sobelman @ m-systems.com IEEE P1667 WG

31. Root of Problem Today is No Root-of-Trust • Corporate IT departments blocking USB ports • External 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 level • Compliments other standards working on access control and trusted computing infrastructure • P1667 targeting corporate level • Critical 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 vendors • P1667 adopted by top security vendors • Compatibility with and support for P1667 in: • Security and authentication products • System products

32. Areas Covered by P1667 • Secure enterprise • Authenticate 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 device • Device 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

33. 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

34. IEEE P1667 Area of Responsibility Authentication AdditionalServices Authentication • Management Services • Content Filtering • DRM • Authorization Data Storage Transient Storage Device Host PC IEEE P1667 SecurityServices Hardware

35. Summary and Call to Action

36. Summary 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 ideas • Windows platform support • Industry standards support

37. Community Resources • Windows Hardware & Driver Central (WHDC) • www.microsoft.com/whdc/default.mspx • Technical Communities • www.microsoft.com/communities/products/default.mspx • Non-Microsoft Community Sites • www.microsoft.com/communities/related/default.mspx • Microsoft Public Newsgroups • www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups • Technical Chats and Webcasts • www.microsoft.com/communities/chats/default.mspx • www.microsoft.com/webcasts • Microsoft Blogs • www.microsoft.com/communities/blogs

38. Additional Resources • Email • Microsoft 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