firewire

1 definition found

firewire - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  High Performance Serial Bus
  1394
  FireWire
  IEEE 1394
  
     <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)