A new way to efficiently communicate computer system heat dissipation and voltage management and control information to safeguard the performance and reliability of high-performance desktop computers, workstations and servers has been developed by Analog Devices Inc. (ADI), Norwood MA, and Intel Corp., Santa Clara CA.
Simple Serial Transport (SST) bus enables faster and more precise communication of the system efficiency, determinant factors of temperature and voltage within a variety of computing systems.
By relaying this environmental information to a computer’s core-logic chipset with greater speed and accuracy, the firms say the bus can dramatically reduce thermal management errors that can lead to a drop in computing performance.
ADI itself says it has developed a family of SST-enabled temperature and voltage sensors.
By communicating data in a robust, noise-immune and scalable way, the SST bus improves on the existing 100Kbps SMBus (System Management Bus) in high-performance computing applications by offering increased bandwidth and higher noise sensitivity, ADI says. Intended to reduce fan noise and improve platform performance, the SST bus relays key environmental information, such as temperature and voltage, directly to the system’s core logic or dedicated ASIC fan-speed controllers at a rate of 1Mbps.
“The SST bus innovation is a good example of how ADI applies its analog technology and signal processing applications expertise to enhance the user experience and system-level performance,” John Blake, ADI product line manager, Power and Thermal Management, says. “Through precise analog signal sensing and conversion, PCs and workstations run quiet and cool.”
The bus enhances system reliability and performance by significantly reducing communication errors. When tested in the same environment on new PC motherboards, ADI says, the SMBus measures about one error every 10,000 bits, compared to the SST bus’ one error for every billion bits processed. As a result, the user may see improved boot time and less chance of delays caused when a thermal event is not properly relayed to the core logic.
In addition, the bus allows PC and workstation designers to use new features found in some next-generation Intel chipsets, such as the recently announced Quiet System Technology (QST). With the integration of fan speed control in the core logic, this reduces the number of discrete fan control components in the system, which can lower costs and allow system developers to use more programming options.
“A bus was required to enable industry-wide compatibility with system management devices, such as temperature sensors and voltage monitors in computing applications,” Steve Peterson, Intel director of Chipset and Software Marketing, says. “Working with Analog Devices, we developed a common, robust interface that can be easily incorporated by all licensed vendors, allowing them to add custom capabilities, such as the Intel QST, for new environmental features in PCs, servers and workstations.”
