Around 2012, the Opal SSC (Security Subsystem Class) Specifications were published by the Trusted Computer Group (TCG) for disk drive self-encryption. This was the top and major standard in the disk drive encryption industry. However, there was no tool to adequately validate the Opal security specifications. ULINK’s next milestone invention was geared to address this problem.
Features and Benefits
We at ULINK worked closely with the TCG Storage Workgroup and defined and implemented a Storage Compliance Test Suite to validate the Opal specs and the security command implementation.
We created hundreds of test cases to confirm the implementation of Opal specification. We then validated the test suite in the TCG Certification Workshop in 2017. After the TCG Storage Workgroup defined the specification for the SSD and HDD security, it became important for drive companies to pass the compliance test to prove the compatibility and security of their devices. In the workshop, ULINK’s Opal Test Suite was approved as the official test for Opal family compliance testing. It offers a Compliance Test Service that covers storage devices such as SATA, SAS, and NVMe drives.
Industry Recognition
TCG is a not-for-profit organization formed to develop, define and promote open, vendor-neutral, global industry specifications and standards, supportive of a hardware-based root of trust, for interoperable trusted computing platforms. Becoming the official and exclusive test suite for the TCG Opal protocol added to our credibility. So far, over 50 devices from manufacturers like Intel, Seagate, Innodisk, and Samsung have passed the TCG Opal Family Certification Test Suite and are listed on the ULINK Test List webpage.
This story is part of a series:
ULINK Invention Files: DriveMaster for HDD Testing
ULINK Invention Files: SATA I/O Certification
ULINK Invention Files: Protocol and Regression Test Suites
ULINK Invention Files: TCG Opal Certification Tool
ULINK Invention Files: Test Reporter
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