ExtremeUSB Wireless

The key element for a true cable replacement solution

Since its introduction in the late 1990s, USB has become an enormous success, creating an industry that has delivered hundreds of millions of devices into the marketplace. There is now strong pressure to build upon that success and make all of these USB devices “wireless”.

ExtremeUSB was developed to enable USB devices to be used in environments that exceed the original requirement for use of devices on a desktop. In particular, ExtremeUSB overcame the 5 m limitation of distance imposed primarily by the Turnaround Timer in the USB specification. By effectively managing the limitations and delay, USB connections were extended to over 100 m over Category 5 cabling or 2 km over fiber.

In the inherently unreliable wireless technology world, ExtremeUSB again manages the delay and latency issues, allowing for true wireless USB at any distance.

What about Wireless USB Adapters on the market?

A USB adapter is a USB device that implements a specific function, such as RS-232, Bluetooth or 802.11 LAN communications. One side of the adapter connects to the host computer over USB. The other side of the adapter connects to a non-USB device over a communication scheme that is also not USB.

The same rationale applies in the wireless domain. A wireless mouse that communicates over a proprietary RF channel with a USB HID adapter is not a USB mouse. It is the HID adapter that is the USB device – not the mouse. The mouse cannot be plugged into a USB host since it has neither a USB connector nor the capability to understand USB transactions. The underlying RF technology does not provide a mechanism that enables existing USB devices to become wireless thus it is not a USB cable replacement solution.

To take advantage of all the functionality, speed and benefit of the USB protocol, a wireless USB solution should be (as quoted by Intel):

• Compatibility with USB 2.0 standard
• Security at the same level as wired USB
• Connections to 127 (maximum) WUSB devices
• Performance providing the typical user with an experience equivalent to a wired user's experience.

With those requirements in mind, a true wireless USB cable replacement solution, requires Icron’s ExtremeUSB technology.