MCCI Corporation News

MCCI Announces Windows 8 Compatibility

2012-03-01T16:53:56Z

MCCI® Corporation, the world’s leading developer of USB connectivity software, today announced that its full line of driver products have been tested and validated for Windows 8 Customer Preview.

MCCI products available for Windows 8 include drivers for network connectivity over USB (NCM, ECM, EEM), drivers for serial port emulation over USB (CDC ACM, DM, OBEX, etc), drivers for development support for Android systems (ADB), drivers for mass storage devices (MSC BOT, UASP), drivers for special-purpose USB host hardware (Synopsys DesignWare OTG, xHCI, etc.)

“MCCI has been participating in the Windows 8 pre-release program with Microsoft since its inception,” says MCCI CEO Terry Moore. “We have been testing and validating our products in 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 8 platforms continuously for the last 2 years. This testing ensures that our drivers are ready for mass deployment, and that end-users will have a positive experience.”

A key advantage of MCCI’s products is that the same binary executes on all supported platforms with the same instruction set. This simplifies support for customers. “The same driver will operate on Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and all the corresponding server editions,” Moore noted. “This means that support desks don’t have to ask users whether they have installed the right version of the driver for a given operating system.”

MCCI’s offerings are differentiated by the deep level of USB engineering knowledge and experience that MCCI has accumulated since 1995. According to Moore, “MCCI has a vertical skill set; we specialize in USB connectivity from hardware to the application interface. This means that we can quickly resolve problems and provide technical advice at a much deeper level of understanding.”

MCCI Ships Catena® 2210

2011-09-21T18:26:24Z

MCCI's Catena 2210 is shipping now. It is designed for testing and evaluating NCM 1.0 compatible host systems. The Catena 2210 has two USB Network Control Model ("NCM") devices. These devices create a bridge between two USB hosts. Validation testing is made possible by connecting a test control computer to the USB host being tested. Ethernet traffic from the test host is transferred through the Catena 2210 device to the control host, and vice versa. It has been selected by the Car Connectivity Consortium (formerly Terminal Mode Consortium) (www.carconnectivity.org) as a component of their testsuite for car electronics and other systems that use Terminal Mode for providing a remote desktop and user interface for smart phones and other intelligent mobile devices.

MCCI Demonstrates Software and Developer Tools at SNUG

2011-03-30T16:32:32Z

MCCI partner Synopsys, a world leader in software and IP for semiconductor design, verification and manufacturing, annually hosts a series of invitation-only events for Synopsys technology users. These events are the SNUGs, Synopsys Users Group Meetings. At the Designer Community Expo, part of the March 28-30 SNUG San Jose event, MCCI's fellow Synopsys technology users were treated to an up-close look at the MCCI Catena 1910 HSIC verification tool and protocol analyzer and the MCCI SuperSpeed USB host stack, optimized for Synopsys IP.

MCCI Launches Connectivity Software for Android OS

2011-03-23T17:28:32Z

No OS in the smartphone space has come to prominence as quickly as Android. And no other interconnect solution is as important or as ubiquitous as USB. MCCI today extends its Windows, Linux, and Mac product lines to offer a USB software solution for Android, validated for the most dominant version of the platform, Android 2.2 Froyo. MCCI's complete solution includes networking class NCM for high-speed networking. Complementing the solution is the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) Driver, which supports not only product development but also application installation via a USB cable.

MCCI Receives Innovator Award from Smith Micro

2011-03-23T17:20:45Z

Today at CTIA, Smith Micro announced the recipients of the 2011 Innovator Awards, which recognize prominent wireless executives and companies spearheading participation in the SODA™ (Secure On-Device API) Innovator Program, among whom was MCCI. Read the text of the award statement.

MCCI USB DataPump® 3.0 Ready for Embedded SuperSpeed Products

2011-03-10T15:16:51Z

The MCCI USB DataPump 3.0, a proven USB host and device stack, is now ready for your embedded products.

Millions of consumers today enjoy the benefits of products supporting SuperSpeed USB, which is ten times faster than USB 2.0. MCCI’s standards-compliant software presents an efficient, zero-copy architecture that minimizes ”round trips,” enables careful CPU cache management, and supports the ability to tune for bus bandwidth.

In addition to the speed advantage, SuperSpeed also delivers improved power management to increase the battery life of portable products.

Read more...

Next Generation Synchronization: MCCI MyLynq™ for Outlook

2011-03-10T15:13:33Z

MCCI MyLynq for Outlook is a software tool that synchronizes contacts, notes, tasks, and calendar events between mobile phones that use Microsoft Device Services and Windows 7 computers running Microsoft Outlook 2007 and 2010. Read the complete press release. MCCI welcomes inquiries from OEMs that want to brand, localize, or otherwise customize this tool for distribution through their own channel. Contact sales@mcci.com.

MCCI, HSIC, and MIPI in the News

2011-02-23T16:17:17Z

Developments in interconnect, or chip-to-chip, communication technologies are a crucial part of high-speed mobile device development. In its discussion of SMSC's patented Inter-Chip Connectivity (ICC) technology, a recent article in the EE Times mentioned MCCI's "protocol analyzer" and HSIC verification tool, which we call the MCCI Catena® 1910 HSIC. ICC is a chip-to-chip interface that uses USB data transfer protocols over a maximum bus length of 10 cm. ICC was standardized by the USB-IF in 2010. The Catena 1910 captures, traces, and analyzes data transferred over this interface.

Another recent press release discussed the MIPI Alliance's High Speed Interface (HSI) specification, which provides for an improved on-chip-interconnect solution intended to compete with SMSC's ICC. If you're going to work with MIPI, take a look at the Catena 1910 MIPI. The 1910 MIPI can act both as a passive receiver and as a transmitter/verifier.

NCM Means High Performance Networking

2011-02-07T13:34:36Z

NCM (Network Control Model) is one of the USB Implementers Forum's major stories for 2011. Here are some detailed responses from MCCI CEO Terry Moore to a few questions about the NCM device class specification:

Q: Can you please give us a quick, high-level explanation of what the NCM specification is?

A: The Network Control Model (NCM) specification is a high-performance standard for connecting networking devices to PCs using USB. Although it was designed specifically to support the needs of new 4G network standards (such as LTE and WiMax), it has substantial benefits when used for any kind of network traffic.

Q: What are the key features and benefits of the NCM specification?

  NCM has two key features: First, it allows multiple Ethernet frames to be encapsulated in a single USB transfer...

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  Secondly, the data formats were carefully chosen by industry experts to be optimal for use within wireless modems. Such things as data alignment, padding, and transfer formats were chosen in such a way as to allow much less processing power to be used by the wireless modem for USB functionality than was possible with earlier specifications. As a pleasing side-effect, we find that NCM implementations also take substantially less overhead on the PC as well.   

Q: What's new with the NCM specification? What is the latest level of the spec?

A: After the first round of industry implementations had been completed, the NCM committee engaged in a substantial program of interoperabilty testing. The experience arising from implementation and testing led us to issue errata to the NCM specification. These errata were published earlier this month. The official version of the specification is "Revision 1.0 (Errata 1)", dated Nov 24, 2010.  

Now the NCM committee has started a new work initiative, intended to lead to version 2.0 of the specification. This initiative aims at two major enhancements. First, the standard will be enhanced to transport IP packets directly as well as Ethernet frames. This eliminates one level of encapsulation that is not needed for 4G networks. Second, the committee is working on a common set of control operations, to allow NCM devices to be used more easily for "machine to machine" (M2M) or "Internet of Things" applications.

Q: What do you see as the future of this specification?  

A: Based on the rapid adoption by the industry, it seems very likely that this will be one of the most important ways of connecting PCs to 4G networks. Already, implementations are available for PCs from multiple vendors, and support has been incorporated into recent releases of Linux. Our testing has revealed that the performance and interoperability goals have been met. With development of NCM 2.0, and combined with HSIC USB, I think that the standard will be a leading candidate for the primary interconnect from wireless modems to embedded systems for M2M applications.  

The group is also developing a test specification, which will serve as the base for future compliance tests.

Q: Is the spec available for download?  

A: The spec is available from the USB web site, on the published device class specifications page: http://www.usb.org/developers/devclass_docs/NCM10_012011.zip

MCCI Handover Drivers Keep Connections Live

2011-01-25T18:47:40Z

Hitachi has released MCCI's Mac OS Handover Drivers for the au mobile phone via its website. These drivers ensure seamless transfer of the au phone's data session from KDDI's CDMA network to its WiMax network. No more dropped or interrupted internet sessions, you're on the go! For more about MCCI's Handover Driver offering, please visit our product page. MCCI is the world leader in in connectivity innovation.

Prices Revised for USB-IF Compliance Testing

2011-01-12T08:11:02Z

The MCCI USB-IF Compliance Test Lab has recently revised its price sheet. Three of the most commonly performed tests have gone down in price. These are the tests for:

High Speed Device with a Single Mode
High Speed Host System (includes 1-4 ports)
OTG High Speed

The cost of testing a High Speed Hub (1-4 ports) has been slightly increased, however, to cover higher-than-expected resource costs.

All other prices remain the same.

SuperSpeed USB and Power Management

2011-01-06T15:40:09Z

If you've ever asked yourself whether you understand power management issues for interfaces like USB, you would do well to read Mike Micheletti's article in EETimes on SuperSpeed USB's ability to deliver greater throughput while consuming less power. After an initial discussion of ACPI-based power awareness and USB 2.0's Link Power Management (LPM) implementation, Mike explores the SuperSpeed power-management model and the power-state transitions required by the USB 3.0 specification. Mike is a regular contributor to the USB-IF Compliance Working Group, as is MCCI CEO Terry Moore.

USB-IF Compliance Testing Tips #2 - Pre-Compliance Testing

2010-12-30T20:32:56Z

One question we are often asked is, "How long will the testing take?" The answer to this question can lead to very different consequences depending on the vendor's schedule. If the device is expected to go on the market within the next year, then the answer is merely logistical. However, if the device is expected to go to market next week, then testing at this point is a leap of faith, simply because there is no guarantee that the device will pass. Time for debugging must be a factor in test scheduling.

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    Developers should consider the benefits of testing before the ultimate factory-grade product is complete. This can be done internally or through a test lab. MCCI frequently tests devices that are not in their final state. We perform what we call half-tests on devices that may not even have OS drivers yet. While bringing such a device to an actual USB-IF Compliance Workshop may not be worth the time and effort, we strongly advise you to either send your unfinished devices to a certified test lab like MCCI or to test them internally. Ultimately, the time and money you spend on testing early in the development will save you money overall. The cost of running a half-test on a development platform with the silicon that will be in the final product is much less than the cost of re-spinning the silicon later.

    Naturally, early testing might not catch everything. There can always be PCB layout changes or changes in the manufacturing BOM that cause unintended results. Last-minute problems are very frequently encountered and can never be completely eliminated. Still, more often than not, early testing and adequate planning to include enough debug time during the final test will greatly alleviate the ravages of any last minute catastrophes that do arise.

USB-IF Compliance Testing Tips #1 - Command Verifier (CV)

2010-12-08T21:26:57Z

The process of obtaining USB-IF certification can be difficult, but not just because of the specification requirements. Often developers uncover problems not related to USB compliance during certification testing. For this reason, it can be helpful to test as early as possible, preferably well before the product is scheduled to be released. Of course, it is not always possible to test early, either because product requirements are in flux, extensive debug is necessary, or even because final hardware is not available. It occurred to us here at MCCI that it might be helpful for us to outline some tests that engineers can perform on their USB products in advance of those products entering the Compliance Lab. Using them may help flush out compliance problems during normal, pre-test development.

The tests we are recommending are tests that most consumer electronics product engineers should be able to perform with a small hardware investment and as little overall cost to their test budget as possible. After all, with the economic environment being what is, anything we can do to help companies avoid extra test costs or delayed market releases is for the best. Some of these tests we're going to tell you about come from the USB-IF compliance test suite, while others are our original work. Regardless, it is our hope to help you achieve USB-IF compliance for your USB product.]]> CV

This handy tool is a bit of software that the USB-Implementers Forum (USB-IF) uses to test a device's basic functionality. CV, or Command Verifier, tests for compliance with Chapter 9 of the USB 2.0 specification. CV is one of the most helpful tests a developer can run on their device. Run it as early as possible. It will test enumeration, the device's descriptors, and the device's response to a number of specific requests.

The CV test program is free and can be downloaded from the USB-IF website:

http://www.usb.org/developers/tools/

Setup is fairly straightforward. In addition to the device, all the user needs is a high-speed host controller and a high-speed hub. When CV runs it takes control of the high-speed host controller (EHCI). The high-speed hub is then plugged into the host, and the device being tested is plugged into the high-speed hub. CV enumerates the device being tested without the use of any Windows drivers. CV can be run on either Windows XP or Windows 7 systems.
CV sends various commands through the bus, analyzes the responses from the device, and logs the various results into an html file. While it does not test every aspect of the Chapter 9 requirements, a passing test assures developers that they are on the right track.

Visit MCCI's USB-IF Compliance Testing page.

Stay tuned to MCCI News for more USB-IF Compliance Testing Hints....

MCCI Launches Chinese Language Web Site

2010-10-20T19:30:27Z

MCCI today launched www.mcci.cn, a Chinese language version of www.mcci.com. MCCI has maintained a presence in China for many years. In recognition of the Chinese economy's global impact, key corporate and product pages are now making their world wide debut in Chinese. Read Chinese? Want to see what solutions MCCI can offer you? Visit the MCCI Solutions page. Use the Quick Access pull down or click through the linked headings to get details about firmware, driver, and development tool offerings. Want us to prioritize the translation of a particular page? Drop us an email. "Our Chinese language web site was launched to meet the needs of MCCI's growing customer base in China. We're continually striving to better meet the needs of our international markets," said MCCI CEO Terry Moore. Visit www.mcci.cn frequently and watch the number of translated pages grow.