Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) updated its Building Windows 8 blog yesterday with a new article that promises "robust USB 3.0 support" for the Windows 8 operating system.

The post, by Dennis Flanagan, the director of program management for the Devices and Networking group, examines the history of USB, Microsoft's role in the latest USB 3.0 specifications and ongoing efforts by the company to perfect its support for USB 3.0 in Windows 8.

Noting that USB 3.0 incorporates superior power management and 10 times the speed of USB 2.0, Flanagan says that "by 2015, all new PCs are expected to offer USB 3.0 ports, and over 2 billion new 'SuperSpeed' USB devices will be sold in that year alone."

Flanagan reveals that Microsoft opted to retain its existing software stack for older USB controllers, even as it embarked on building a brand new stack for new USB 3.0 controllers--while taking care to retain existing interfaces and behaviors.

One key challenge Microsoft has faced has been the lack of USB 3.0 devices when the company first embarked on this part of the project. Waiting for hardware devices to become available would not do, as Microsoft needed to "start work early" on its new software stack.

Microsoft solved the problem by creating virtual USB 3.0 devices to test initial versions of its device driver. The company also built a tool called the Microsoft USB Test Tool as a stress test tool to "simulate a full range of device behaviors."

In closing, Flanagan sums up the direction of Microsoft's efforts: "Each and every USB device, low, full, high, and SuperSpeed, has to work in Windows 8. That's our focus while also delivering the most robust and reliable USB stack."

For more:
- check out this article at Building Windows 8
- check out this article at PC Mag
- check out this article at Tom's Hardware

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