FireWire is the standard for serial bus interface. It is found in personal computers and for digital audio and video in other devices such as camcorders. It not only provides high speed real time isochroous data services. FireWire was first came into the consideration in 1990 when Apple computers proposed a slower version. It really came to scene in 1995 when they developed a FireWire as a SCSI replacement. It is based on IEEE 1394 specifications. It is also known as i.Link.

FireWire Physical Structure

Physically it connects the devices and allows communication in peer-to-peer manner. It means it doesn't use CPU or memory for communication resulting in a quite high speed. It uses a 6-wire connector bus that can support up to 63 hosts (peripherals). FireWire Supports hot swapping and plug-n-play feasibilities. Moreover its power consumption is also quite moderate. FireWire's maximum bus length can be 4.5 meters. It is increased up to 72 meters by attaching 16 more cables in daisy-chained format.

FireWire Versions

FireWire 400 supported three data transfer rate among devices as S100, S200, and S300 for 100 mega bits, 200 mega bits, and 400 mega bits per second respectively.

FireWire 800 came to existence in 1995 based on IEEE 1394b specifications. It supported the maximum data rate of 787 mega bits per second. Also it allowed the lower data rates as for FireWire 400.

FireWire IEE Specifications

According to the IEEE 1394b specifications twisted pair cable can have length of 100 meters with S100 data transfer rate. Also the Optical fiber can be of 100 meters providing 3.2 Gigabits per second data transfer rate. This new IEEE 1394b standard takes the FireWire beyond USB in speed. Just as the network cards have MAC address, FireWire devices have identification address as EUI-64. EUI-64 is an extension of 48-bit MAC address.

FireWire and USB

In comparison to USB, FireWire is much more faster. As it does not require a computer host so it allows higher power distribution capabilities. On the whole its higher data transfer rates makes it more compatible for audio and video as compared to USB.

FireWire and Networking

Networking is quite simple as compared to other standards. No hub is required between two PCs. In short FireWire allows ad-hoc networking. Windows XP, LINUX, and Mac operating system (OS X S) allow networking through FireWire.

FireWire Uses

Overall FireWire is very high speed and real time data transfer serial bus. So it is the best solution in real time implementations such as embedded systems, industrial platforms. Also it is used in audio systems, data storage devices, and digital cameras.