All You Need To Know About Thunderbolt Hardware

Thunderbolt is the brand name of a high-speed hardware interface available in all current Mac models. It allows the connection of external components to a computer and replaces FireWire as the high-quality component interconnects of choice for the Macintosh.

The main benefit of using a thunderbolt hardware is that it allows users to use the existing protocols, instead of having to create a new one, and use already existing connector types. By using the existing protocols, users avoid the necessity to install an additional drive on their PC in order to use a thunderbolt connection. And because it uses existing connector types, it can be adapted to devices that use the same type of connector, even if they are not thunderbolt.

The Thunderbolt Architecture

PCIe DisplayPort
Common Transport Layer
Electrical/Optical Layer
Connector and Cable

All types of thunderbolt connection work with DisplayPort protocols and PCI express, with the exception of the thunderbolt 3 that has USB3.1 and 10 G Ethernet. In addition, thunderbolt can carry either digital video (using DisplayPort protocol) or computer data (using PCI Express, 10G Ethernet, or USB 3.1). This means that the other end of the cable can be connected to a video monitor or to an external storage device with a thunderbolt port.

Standards

Today, there are three thunderbolt hardware models available, simply called 1, 2, and 3. The first thunderbolt connection has four 5.4 Gbps transmission channel and one 10 Gbps reception channel. The second thunderbolt connection has abilities to double the transfer rate by allowing the four channels to be joined in the same direction. Functionally speaking, both models are identical and make use of mini DisplayPort. The third model, however, in addition to doubling the bandwidth (like first two models) it can also support USB 3.1 connections and makes use of the type C USB connector rather than the mini DisplayPort.

Cables and Connectors

As I mentioned before, Thunderbolt 1 and 2 use a mini Display Port connector. The two models use two types of cables – electrical and optical. Electrical cables can be anywhere between 10cm to 3m long while optical cables can be between 10m to 20m long. Using one kind of cable or other will depend on the desired cable length. One benefit of using thunderbolt 1 and 2 connections, is that users can use the same connector type (the mini Display Port) for both cables.

Notebooks do offer the benefit of mobility, however, for optimal performance and flexibility a thunderbolt hardware is a must; it ensures fast storage and graphic upgrades.