News and New Products

Host controller powers USB storage devices

By Warren Webb -- EDN, 1/6/2005

The USB104+, a new four-port USB 2.0 host controller from Parvus, can directly power attached devices and delivers transfer rates 40 times faster than legacy USB 1.1 products. This 3.55×3.775-in. PC/104-Plus form-factor module provides four downstream ports, two supplying as much as 500 mA of drive and two enhanced ports supporting as much as 2A of drive. The board’s high-performance PCI-bus USB-controller chip supports all high-speed USB transfer-speed modes: 480-Mbps High Speed, 12-Mbps Full Speed, and 1.5-Mbps Low Speed. All four downstream ports allow mixed, simultaneous connections of USB 2.0, 1.1, or both types of devices at different speeds (Picture).

Typical applications for the USB104+ board include use with removable or fixed mass-storage media; USB memory keys; printers; cameras; CD drives; and high-speed, 2.5-in. USB hard drives. The board supports hot insertion and is compatible with Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE, Linux, QNX, and other real-time operating systems. The USB104+ sells for $230 (100) and will become available during the first quarter of this year.

Parvus Corp, 1-801-483-1533, www.parvus.com.