<bus, standard> (Or "IEEE 1394", "FireWire", "I-Link") A
1995 Macintosh/IBM PC serial bus interface standard
offering high-speed communications and isochronous
real-time data services.
1394 can transfer data between a computer and its
peripherals at 100, 200, or 400 Mbps, with a planed
increase to 2 Gbps. Cable length is limited to 4.5 m but up
to 16 cables can be daisy-chained yielding a total length of
72 m.
It can daisy-chain together up to 63 peripherals in a
tree-like structure (as opposed to SCSI's linear structure).
It allows peer-to-peer device communication, such as
communication between a scanner and a printer, to take
place without using system memory or the CPU. It is
designed to support plug-and-play and hot swapping. Its
six-wire cable is not only more convenient than SCSI cables
but can supply up to 60 watts of power, allowing
low-consumption devices to operate without a separate power
cord.
Some expensive camcorders have included this bus since Autumn
1995. It is expected to be used to carry SCSI, with
possible application to home automation using repeaters.
See also Universal Serial Bus, FC-AL.
(2000-09-03)
Nearby terms:
High Performance Fortran « High Performance Parallel Interface « High Performance Routing « High Performance Serial Bus » High Speed Circuit Switched Data » High Speed Connect » High-speed Net Connect
