Identifying Characteristics of Ports & Cable

lesson 4
Identifying Characteristics
of Ports and Cables
Definitions
A port is a generic name for any connector on
a computer into which a cable can be plugged.
A cable is simply a way of connecting a
peripheral or other device to a computer using
multiple copper or fiber-optic conductors inside
a common wrapping or sheath.
Typically, cables connect two ports:
one on the computer
and one on some other device.
Peripheral Port
Connector Types
D-subminiature
RJ-series
Other types
D-subminiature
designated with DXn,

D-sub connectors are usually shaped
like a trapezoid
The nice part about these connectors is
that only one orientation is possible.
letter X is replaced by the letters A
through E, which refer to the size of the
connector,
letter n is replaced by the number of
pins or sockets in the connector.
RJ-series
Registered jack (RJ) connectors are most
often used in telecommunications.
RJ-11 RJ-45
used for telephone used with twisted-
cables pair network cabling
up to six wires, but They can
in telephone cable accommodate up to
applications only eight wires
two or four wires are
used
Other Types of Ports
Universal Serial Bus (USB)
IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
Infrared
Audio jacks
PS/2 (mini-DIN)
Centronics
Universal Serial Bus
(USB)
Used with Digital cameras, external hard drives
USB offers many advantages
1. including faster speeds
2. bidirectional communications
3. powered connections
(USB one power one data)
4. USB devices can be attached with the computer
running.
5. plug-and-play support.
they are used for connecting multiple (up to 127)
peripherals to one computer through a single port
(and the use of multiport peripheral hubs).
is a hot-swappable
interface used for
installing all manner of
external devices,
from hard disk drives to
digital cameras and
MP3 players.
Infrared
Infrared Data Association
(IrDA)
An infrared (IR) port is a small port on the
computer that allows data to be sent and
received using electromagnetic radiation in the
infrared band.
Infrared ports send and receive data at a very
slow rate (the maximum speed on PC infrared
ports is less than 4Mbps).
Infrared is generally used for point-to-point
communications such as controlling the volume
on a device with a handheld remote control.
Audio/Video Jacks
are used to transmit both audio and video information. S/PDIF
PS/2 (Keyboard and
Mouse)
A PS/2 port (also known as a
mini DIN 6 connector)
the DIN-5 keyboard port

Centronics
The Centronics connector was
primarily used in parallel printer
connections and SCSI interfaces.
It is most often found on

peripherals, not on computers
themselves
Common Peripheral
Interfaces and Cables
interface is a method of connecting two dissimilar items
together.
A peripheral interface is a method of connecting a
peripheral or accessory to a computer, including the
specification of cabling, connector and port type, speed,
and method of communication used.
The most common interfaces used in PCs today
include:
include
Parallel
Serial
USB
Infrared
RCA
PS/2
Parallel
Parallel
The most common use of the parallel
interface is printer communication.
There are three major types:
1. standard,
2. bidirectional,
3. enhanced parallel ports.
EPP
ECP
1-Standard Parallel Ports
is commonly used to transmit data to
printers.
The standard parallel port only
transmits data out of the computer
It can transmit data at 150KBps
technology also had a maximum
transmission distance of 10 feet.
2-Bidirectional Parallel
Ports
it can both transmit and receive data.
These parallel ports are capable of
interfacing with such devices as external
CD-ROM drives and external parallel port
backup drives (Zip, Jaz, and tape drives).
In order for bidirectional communication
to occur properly, the cable must
support bidirectional communication as
well.
3- Enhanced Parallel
Ports(IEEE 1284)
provides for greater data transfer
speeds and the ability to send
memory addresses as well as data
through a parallel port.
ports are backward compatible with
the standard and bidirectional ports
and support cable lengths of 4.5
meters, which is almost 15 feet
There are two implementations
of IEEE 1284:
EPP ECP
enhanced parallel port An enhanced
(EPP) capabilities port
increases bidirectional around 2MBps.
throughput from 150KBps
to anywhere from
600KBps to 1.5MBp
ECP uses direct
memory access
(DMA)
The cable must also have full support for IEEE 1284 in order for proper
communications to occur in both directions and at rated speeds.
Parallel Interfaces and
Cables
DB-25 male DB-25 male

connector connector Centronics-36 DB-25 male
configuration connector
Inside a parallel
cable, eight wires
are used for
transmitting data
mini-Centronics
Serial
Standard Serial
maximum data transmission speed of
57Kbps and a maximum cable length
of 50 feet.
Serial cables come in two
common wiring configurations
standard serial cable null modem serial
cable
modems and printers is used to hook two
to a computer computers together
without a modem.
Universal Serial Bus
(USB)
There are currently two
versions of USB available.
1. USB 1.1 has a speed of 12 Mbps
2. USB 2.0 has a maximum speed of 480 Mbps.
3. A SuperSpeed (USB 3.0) rate of 5.0Gbit/s.
Note :The USB 2.0 standard (also referred to as Hi-
Speed USB) is designed to be backward
compatible from the peripheral end
Notes
USB 2.0 uses the same physical connection as
the original USB, but it is much higher in
transfer rates and requires a cable
with more shielding that is
less susceptible to noise.
The USB standard specifies two
broad types of connectors.
They are designated Type A and Type
B connectors
Type A
Standard Mini-B
Type B
Alternate Mini-B
USB hub
FireWire
i.LINK
Maximum length Transfer rate
number of
devices
IEEE 1394a 63 4.5 meters 400Mbps

(also called (50MBps)
I.LINK or
FireWire 400)
IEEE 1394b 63 100 800Mbps

(also called (100MBps)
FireWire 800) meters
RCA
The RCA cable is simple. There are two
connectors, usually male, one on each end of
the cable.
The male connector connects to the female
connector on the equipment.
An RCA male-to-RCA female connector is also

available;
its used to extend the reach of audio or video
signals.
PS/2 (Keyboard and
Mouse)

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lesson 4

designated with DXn,

the DIN-5 keyboard port

It is most often found on

DB-25 male DB-25 male

IEEE 1394a 63 4.5 meters 400Mbps

IEEE 1394b 63 100 800Mbps

An RCA male-to-RCA female connector is also

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