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Technical Reference Guide www.hp.com 5-5
Input/Output Interfaces
5.4 Parallel Interface Support
The CMT, MT, and SFF form factors include a system board header (J50) that supports an
optional parallel bracket/cable assembly that provides a parallel interface for a peripheral device
such as a printer. The parallel interface supports bi-directional 8-bit parallel data transfers with a
peripheral device. The parallel interface supports three main modes of operation:
■ Standard Parallel Port (SPP) mode
■ Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) mode
■ Extended Capabilities Port (ECP) mode
These three modes (and their submodes) provide complete support as specified for an IEEE 1284
parallel port.
5.4.1 Standard Parallel Port Mode
The Standard Parallel Port (SPP) mode uses software-based protocol and includes two
sub-modes of operation, compatible and extended, both of which can provide data transfers up to
150 KB/s. In the compatible mode, CPU write data is simply presented on the eight data lines. A
CPU read of the parallel port yields the last data byte that was written.
5.4.2 Enhanced Parallel Port Mode
In Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) mode, increased data transfers are possible (up to 2 MB/s) due
to a hardware protocol that provides automatic address and strobe generation. EPP revisions 1.7
and 1.9 are both supported. For the parallel interface to be initialized for EPP mode, a negotiation
phase is entered to detect whether or not the connected peripheral is compatible with EPP mode.
If compatible, then EPP mode can be used. In EPP mode, system timing is closely coupled to
EPP timing. A watchdog timer is used to prevent system lockup.
5.4.3 Extended Capabilities Port Mode
The Extended Capabilities Port (ECP) mode, like EPP, also uses a hardware protocol-based
design that supports transfers up to 2 MB/s. Automatic generation of addresses and strobes as
well as Run Length Encoding (RLE) decompression is supported by ECP mode. The ECP mode
includes a bi-directional FIFO buffer that can be accessed by the CPU using DMA or
programmed I/O. For the parallel interface to be initialized for ECP mode, a negotiation phase is
entered to detect whether or not the connected peripheral is compatible with ECP mode. If
compatible, then ECP mode can be used.
The ECP mode includes several sub-modes as determined by the Extended Control register. Two
submodes of ECP allow the parallel port to be controlled by software. In these modes, the FIFO
is cleared and not used, and DMA and RLE are inhibited.