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Learn about Apple's FireWire, known as IEEE 1394, its history, specifications, advantages over USB, uses, and future potential in device connectivity.
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FireWire Justin Garcia Michael Ripley Stefani Ryan Nathan Wilkinson
Introduction to FireWire • FireWire is the Apple trademark for the IEEE 1394 standard • Sony refers to their implementation as i.Link • It is the industry standard for high-performance device connections
History of FireWire • Introduced by Apple in 1995 as IEEE 1394-1995 • In 2000, the standard received minor revisions and was renamed 1394a • In 2002, the standard received major revisions and was renamed 1394b
What is FireWire? • 1394a uses the following connections: • 4 or 6 pin proprietary cable • Cables can reach 4.5 meters • 1394b can use any of the following: • 4, 6, or 9 pin proprietary cable • Category 5 UTP cable • Glass/Plastic optical fiber • Cables can reach 100 meters
What is FireWire? • Provides up to 800 Mbps bandwidth • Can provide a guaranteed bandwidth stream with lossy packet delivery • Can also provide guaranteed delivery at an uncertain rate • Guaranteed bandwidth transmission is referred to as isochronous • Guaranteed delivery is referred to as asynchronous
What is FireWire? • Can provide up to 45 watts of power over the bus • New standards define methods for speaking TCP/IP over the bus, making FireWire an effective networking system • System can address 63 devices per bus • Up to 1023 buses can be bridged together
Advantages of FireWire • Device communication is peer-to-peer • A “root node” is elected by all the devices on a bus • The root node coordinates all activities on the bus • A new root node is chosen within 300 microseconds of any addition or removal of a device from the bus
Advantages over USB • No host computer is required, as all devices are capable of serving as the root node • FireWire is more efficient at utilizing the bus, and therefore faster than USB • FireWire can use multiple cable types
Uses of FireWire • Digital multimedia (audio and video) • Other uses: • Printers • Scanners • External hard drives • Optical disk writers (CD/DVD±R/RW) • Video game consoles
Conclusion • FireWire is faster, more efficient, and easier to use than most other interconnects • With the introduction of IEEE 1394b, FireWire is poised for immense growth in the coming years