A guide to Ports

This is a quick guide to computer ports and how they function.

I/O Ports
The Input/Output (I/O) ports are used to connect
various devices to the computer and hence enable
communication between the device and the
computer.
These ports are typically present at the
backside of the computer.
They are clearly marked.
Example: External Modem is connected to serial
ports; Printers are connected to parallel ports.
These ports help in transmitting the data from
the device to the computer and vice versa.
Each port has a specific way of communicating
and this depends upon the speed and size of the
port. Example: Serial, Parallel and USB.
In the following lesson, you will learn to
identify these ports and list their
functionality.

Serial Port
In a serial port, the communication takes place
through a single line or a circuit. The data is
transferred one bit at a time from sender to
receiver. The serial port takes 8, 16, or 32
parallel bits from the computer bus and converts
it as an 8, 16, or 32 bit serial stream. The
name serial communication comes from the fact
that each bit of information is transferred in
series from one location to another.
Serial communications are of two types:
Synchronous and Asynchronous.
Synchronous: In this type, the sending and
receiving ends of the communication are
synchronized using a clock that precisely times
the period separating each bit. By checking the
clock the receiving end can determine if a bit
is missing or if an extra bit (usually
electrically induced) has been introduced in the
stream.
Asynchronous: In this type, the bit stream is
marked to help keep track of each bit. The start
bit indicates the start of the data stream and
the timing of each bit helps in finding the
position of each bit. Here, timing is not an
important aspect but the speed of the ports
should be the same.

Serial Cable
There are different types of serial cables.
However, we will discuss about the two most
common types for our purposes which are
null-modem cables and standard (�straight�)
RS-232 cables.
Null Modem Cables
A null-modem cable passes some signals, like
�signal ground�, straight through, but switches
other signals. For example, the �send data� pin
on one end goes to the �receive data� pin on the
other end
RS-232 Cable
All the RS-232C signals are passed
straight-through in a standard serial cable
which means the �send data� in on one end of the
cable goes to the �send data� pin on the other
end. This is the type of cable that is used to
connect a modem to the system, and is also
suitable for some terminals. It is an accepted
industry standard for serial communication
connections. Adopted by the Electric Industries
Association, this Recommended Standard (RS)
defines the specific lines and signal
characteristics used by serial communication
controllers to standardize the transmission of
serial data between devices. The letter 'C' here
signifies the third in a series.

DB-9
A DB-9 connector is a 9 pin serial connection
which is mostly used on laptop and desktop
computers, as well as token ring connections .
The DB-9 connector is commonly used for the 1st
serial port (COM1). The serial ports are called
"COM ports" and are labeled as COM1, COM2, etc.
The COM1 on a PC, is typically DB-9 type
connector and is commonly connected to the mouse.

DB 9 Female connector
These connectors are used either with shielded
or un-shield cables with up to nine signal
wires. However, all the pin positions may not be
used. This is typically used for connection to
nine-pin serial ports on PCs.
DB-9 Male Connector:
These connectors are used either with shielded
or un-shielded cables with up to nine signal
wires. Here again, all pin positions may not be
used. Its typical usage is for extension cables.

DB-25
Most of the Serial ports follow a standard
called the RS-232 specification. RS-232 defines
the meaning of the different serial signals and
their respective pin assignments on a standard
25-pin (DB-25) serial connector.
DB-25 connectors can either be male, with the
pins sticking out, or female, with matching
holes. Often there is very small number marking
for the pins or holes 1 through 25. The female
connector is just a mirror image of the male, so
that pins and holes match.

RJ-11
The standard telephone line connector that is
plugged into a jack in the wall to receive phone
service uses RJ-11 connectors.
This connector is also used to connect computers
to internet or private networks. It is the
standard connector used on 2-pair (4-wire) UTP
(Unshielded Twisted Pair) and flat-satin
untwisted cable. It is also the standard
connector used in telephone wiring.
The RJ-11 connector actually has 6 connector
positions. However, only 4 are normally wired
and in many cases only 2 are utilized.

RJ-45
RJ-45 (Registered Jack - Type 45) connectors
look almost like standard telephone connectors.
They house eight wires as against four wires in
a telephone connector. The actual concept was
that the central two pins would be one pair, the
next two the second pair, and so on until the
outer pins of an eight-pin connector would be
the fourth twisted pair.
Also, signal shielding was optimised by
alternating the "live" and "earthy" pins of each
pair. This pattern for the eight-pin connector
resulted in a pinout where the outermost pair
are then too far apart to meet the electrical
requirements of high-speed LAN protocols.

Parallel Ports
Parallel ports are probably the easiest to use
and work with as they are fast and mostly
problem free. Parallel ports have remained
unchanged for a long period of time but they
have extended their capabilities to exchange
data faster and more reliably.
The functioning of a parallel port takes place
by sending its information in parallel signal
wires. By sending the signal through 8 separate
wires faster communication can be achieved than
with a serial port that send its information
through 2 wires. Theoretically, it looks like
the parallel port would be 8 times faster, but
in practice, the increase in speed is much
greater, since there is no wait times for
encoding and decoding of the serial signal.
Simple parallel ports typically send their data
at 115,200 bits per second and new enhanced
parallel ports will go up to 100 times faster.

DB-25 Connector:
 The original parallel port in a computer was a
36 pin interface developed by Centronics, a
printer manufacturer. This was the standard port
for connecting printers to the computer.
However, when IBM introduced its personal
computer it used a new parallel port which was
called DB-25.
DB-25 has 25 pins and this is the standard port
on any IBM compatible computer. Now, the
Centronics interface is used only on printers. A
special printer cable is needed to connect
printer to the computer and this is available as
a standard accessory.

Parallel Connector DB-

25
Strobe: A strobe line is the heart of the
parallel port which tells the printer as to when
to sample the information of the data lines.
Usually it is high and it goes low when a byte
of data is transmitted.
Data: These 8 lines carry the information to be
printed along with special printer codes which
sets the printer in different modes like bold,
italics etc.
Acknowledge: This lets the computer know that
the character was successfully received and that
it's been dealt with.
Busy: This pin is set to high when the printer
receives the data from computer and is
processing it. Once the printer processes the
byte, this pin is set to low indicating the
computer to send data.
Paper End: This line will go high when you run
out of paper, similar to the paper out light on
the printer. This is the way by which the
computer will know and lets you known of the
problem.
Select: When the select line is at high, the
printer is online which means it is ready to
receive data. When it's at low the computer will
not send any data.
Error: This is a general error line. There is no
way of knowing the exact error from this line.
Ground: This is the regular signal ground which
is used as a reference for the low signal or
logical 0.

IEEE 1394(firewire)
IEEE 1394 is a high-speed, serial input/output
port for connecting computer peripherals and
consumer electronics. IEEE 1394 has two types of
ports they are IEEE 1394A and IEEE 1394B. IEEE
1394A is capable of transferring data at speeds
of up to 400 megabits per second and IEEE 1394B
is capable of transferring data at speeds of 800
megabits per second. It is the fastest external
input/output bus available and can support up to
63 devices. It is optimal for bandwidth-hungry
devices such as digital video cameras and
external storage devices.
IEEE 1394 also has the added advantage of
delivering data both asynchronously and
isochronously. In asynchronous mode data
transfers can be interrupted but in isochronous
mode data is transferred without interruption.
While transferring data asynchronously, IEEE
1394 allocates bandwidth to devices as needed.
When one device needs to communicate with
another, it sends out a signal.
There is a possibility that the devices may get
the bus with the desired bandwidth or they might
have to wait before getting the requested
bandwidth. However, this procedure doesn't work
for applications such as streaming video. Here,
if another device requests space on the bus, the
video data stream will be interrupted which
results in degrading the image quality. To
overcome this, IEEE 1394 offers isochronous
mode, which guarantees that video and similar
devices consistently get the bandwidth they
require.

IEEE 1394 is a personal computer and digital

video serial bus interface standard that offers
high-speed communications and isochronous
real-time data services. Its capabilities are
sufficient to support various high-end digital
audio/video applications such as the consumer
audio / video device control and signal routing,
home networking, nonlinear DV editing and
32-channel (or more) digital audio mixing.
FireWire 400 is capable of transferring data
between devices at data rates of 100, 200, or
400 Mbit/s. Within this six-pin cable, two
shielded twisted-pair wires transmit data while
another acts as a ground and supplies power.
Data is sent along the twisted pairs in packets
that contain both the data and the addressing
information. The 1394 protocol achieves its fast
data-transmission rates by reducing noise along
the wires, that allows the signal to move along
the line quickly and without any error. However,
in order to support these high speeds, the cable
can only be 4.5 meters long.
The Standard bus interconnections are made with

a 6-conductor cable containing two

separately-shielded twisted pair transmission
lines for signaling, two power conductors and an
overall shield. The two twisted pairs are
crossed in each cable assembly in order to
create transmit-receive connection. The power
conductors (8 to 40 v, 1.5 a max.) supply power
to the physical layer in isolated devices.

PS/2 Mini Din

The PS2 port was developed by IBM for interface
keyboards and pointing devices. It uses
synchronous serial signals to communicate
between the keyboard and mouse to the computer.
All the signals are TTL logic level voltages
i.e., 0 volts for logical 0 and +5 volts for
logical 1. It also supports bi-directional
communications.
When a PS2 mouse sends its information it must
send 3 consecutive data packets in a row. Each
packet sent has different information i.e., for
button pressed, movement and direction of
movement.
PS/2
PinSIGNAL NAME
1Data
2Reserved
3Ground
4+ 5 Volts
5Clock
6Reserved

Data: Mouse data packets / Keyboard scan codes

are sent serially from the mouse or keyboard to
the computer on this single wire.
Clock: This signal is sent from the mouse or
keyboard to synchronize the data signal.
Ground: This is a common ground signal used as a
return path for data and is a reference to
logical 0.

Infrared Port
In the early 1800's Sir William Hershel
discovered Infrared. He found that on moving a
thermometer across the spectrum of colors, the
heat would increase towards red. As he continued
to move and when the thermometer passed the red,
the heating continued to rise. This area is what
we call the �Infrared� or �Below Red�.
Today the Infrared port is also commonly
referred to as the Infrared Data Association
(IRDA). This is a port much alike the one we
would find on a TV/VCR remote. We need to
configure only the Infrared ports on both source
and destination and there is no need to
physically connect the ports using wires.
Infrared port provides high-speed digital
exchange through the typical PC UART/Serial port
at 9600-115200 bits/s, and in some cases it is
compatible to high-speed extensions of up to
1Mb/s and 4Mb/s.
 USB
A single USB host is capable of connecting 127
devices, either directly or through USB Hubs.
Individual USB cables can run as long as 5
meters; with hubs and devices it can go up to 30
meters in length. A USB cable has two wires for
power (+5 volts and ground) and a twisted pair
of wires to carry the data. On the power wires,
the computer can supply up to 500 milliamps of
power at 5 volts.
Devices such as Mouse which need low-power can
draw their power directly from the bus.
High-power devices such as Printers have their
own power supplies and hence they draw minimal
power from the bus. Hubs too can have their own
power supplies to provide power to devices
connected to them. The devices that are
connected to a USB port depend on the USB cable
to carry power and data.
The USB standard uses �A� and �B� connectors to
avoid confusion.
�A� connectors head �upstream� toward the
computer.
�B� connectors head �downstream� and connect to
individual devices.
By using different connectors on the upstream
and downstream end, makes it impossible to ever
get confused. Example, if you connect any USB
cable's �B� connector into a device, you know
that it will work. Similarly, you can plug any
�A� connector into any �A� socket and be sure
that it will work too.
USB is also faster than ports on older
technologies such as serial and parallel ports.
Transfer Rates:
USB 1.1: Up to 12Mbps
USB 2.0: Up to 480 Mbps

A USB system has an asymmetric design which

consists of a host controller and multiple
devices connected in a tree-like fashion with
the use of special hub devices. 127 devices per
host controller can be connected.
These signals are transmitted on a twisted pair
of data cables, labeled D+ and D-. These
collectively use half-duplex differential
signaling to combat the effects of
electromagnetic noise on longer lines. D+ and D-
operate together and are not separate
connections.
USB supports three data rates. The first one is
data rate of 1.5 Mbits per second which is used
to connect devices like mouse, keyboard etc. The
second one has a data rate of 12 Mbits per
second and the devices use the entire bandwidth
with this connector which operates on first come
 first serve basis. The third one, called the USB
2.0 has a Hi-Speed rate of 480 Mbit per second.
The advantage with USB 2.0 is that it supports
low speed USB devices by reducing its bandwidth.

Created by BobbyR1234 on 4/5/08 and uploaded to scribd.