Editing Intel Architecture Labs (section)

== Input/output interconnect projects ==
However, IAL successes in the hardware world are legendary, and include [[Peripheral Component Interconnect|PCI]], [[USB]], [[Accelerated Graphics Port|AGP]], the Northbridge/Southbridge core logic architecture and [[PCI Express]].

=== Universal Serial Bus (USB) ===

USB, in particular, was developed in the Oregon offices of IAL, where the architects of PCI and the Plug and Play initiatives assisted in building the first peripheral interconnect that would work with devices without requiring the PC to be dismantled. This vision of a sealed PC that could be extended with external devices was central to Intel's strategy of making the PC more like a consumer device.  USB emerged as the lead contender for the interconnect standard interface, and an Intel team of engineers set out to create an industry standard.<ref>{{cite web |title=Two decades of "plug and play" - How USB became the most successful interface in the history of computing |url=https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/articles/usb-two-decades-of-plug-and-play-article.pdf |website=Intel |page=4}}</ref>

Intel's engineering standards were well known as being among the highest in the industry, driven by the company's adherence to careful development of technical specifications before setting out to design or develop a new product.  As part of the engineering process, Intel engineers wrote detailed technical specifications during the early phases of design, to ensure the features were well understood and agreed upon.  Since Intel's products usually involved complex chip designs, errors or omissions in the design or features could prove costly if done without the appropriate rigor and review that came along with the detailed engineering reviews that accompanied the design process.

In the early 1990s the initial USB specification was spearheaded in IAL, driven by a small team of software and hardware architects & engineers.  The engineers were scattered across Intel campuses in Oregon and California.  In Oregon, the chief engineers of the USB project in IAL included Brad Hosler, Shelagh Callahan, John Howard, John Garney, and Kosar Jaff, all based in the [[Hillsboro Oregon]] Intel site.<ref>{{cite web |title=Two decades of "plug and play" - How USB became the most successful interface in the history of computing |url=https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/articles/usb-two-decades-of-plug-and-play-article.pdf |website=Intel |page=5}}</ref>

While the IAL-based USB team was primarily located in Intel's campus in Hillsboro Oregon, the USB project also included a team of chip designers in the Intel Chipset Group (Peripheral Components Division) located on the Intel campus in [[Folsom, California]]. The partnership between the IAL engineers and the chipset engineers was crucial in the development of the original USB specification. Throughout the development of the USB 1.0 specifications, the IAL engineers worked closely with chipset designers (inside and outside Intel). Together, the engineering teams in Oregon and California were tasked with building the world's first USB based computer by designing and manufacturing the USB Host Controller.

==== USB host controller design ====
A critical component of the USB design was the interface between hardware and software, which was the domain of the USB Host Controller, the brains behind the interconnect that all USB devices communicate with.  The USB Host Controller was embedded in the South Bridge chip, and was designed to match the USB specification being developed by the IAL engineers.  USB was, like PCI, a unique combination of hardware and software definitions, and as a result the project needed a software engineering team from the outset, unlike typical Intel hardware 
projects. The USB software device driver "stack" was initially developed on Windows 95 using the Virtual Device Driver (VxD) model of Windows 95. The VxD-based USB driver stack was helpful to Microsoft as they implemented a brand new USB stack using the emerging Windows Driver Model (WDM) largely because of Microsoft's strategic shift towards Windows NT, and away from Windows 95.  WDM was uniquely compatible with both operating systems, and the decision to abandon the VxD stack was a win-win for Intel and Microsoft.  The collaboration between IAL and Microsoft improved during the development of USB 1.0, largely driven by the software developers that Intel hired into its IAL labs. Software developers at Microsoft were able to speak a familiar technical language with their fellow software developers from IAL, allowing the group to work as a single unit to drive the USB standard into the Windows-based PCs of the 1990s and beyond.

==== Collaboration with industry partners ====
Unlike previous IAL projects which had resulted in considerable conflict and tension with other companies in the PC industry, the USB project stood out as a highlight of the cooperation between IAL's engineers and the rest of the PC industry. The IAL USB team worked closely with Microsoft, sharing their lessons learned, and helping the Microsoft team add support for the USB interconnect in Windows, as well as in Microsoft peripheral devices, such as Microsoft keyboards. The IAL team dedicated a full time engineer to work with Microsoft closely so as to avoid delays and repeating mistakes the Intel team had made during the development of the specification and first hardware and software implementations. The USB team in IAL, while small and focused, developed a reputation for being collaborative, supportive, and focused on educating the industry about the emerging USB standard. The engineers were regular presenters at USB Developer's Conferences and collaborated with dozens of hardware and software companies who were eager to implement the industry's first broadly-adopted interconnect standard to make PCs more user friendly.