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LaCie FireWire 400 PCI Card • DESIGN BY SISMO FireWire 400 Questions & Answers
User Manual page 10
What is FireWire/IEEE 1394?
A serial bus used to connect external computer and consumer
electronic devices to computers and consumer electronic con-
soles.
What does IEEE 1394 mean?
“1394” is an abbreviation of IEEE 1394, the name given to this
high-performance serial bus. IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers) is the name of the engineering corps that
developed this standard. The 1394 refers to the 1,394th stanard
that the IEEE has produced.
What is the relationship between IEEE 1394,
FireWire, iLink and DV?
These four names all refer to the same interface:
IEEE 1394 - the name of the standard, used in the computer
industry.
FireWire - the brand name used by Apple.
iLink - the brand name used by Sony.
DV - logo used by video camcorder manufacturers.
What can the FireWire interface be used for?
With its high data transfer rates, FireWire is a great interface for
consumer electronics, like CD and DVD recorders, external hard
drives and video devices, such as digital camcorders, because it
has an extremely large bandwidth and supports two types of data
transfer (anyschronus and isochronous) which help to guarantee
the transfer of time-critical data.
FireWire is also a point-to-point interface, meaning that a
FireWire device can transmit data to another FireWire device
without having to go through a computer. This lets several com-
puters share a given device, and also allows up to 63 devices to
be daisy-chained to the same FireWire bus (with a max of 16 de-
vices on one branch). To daisy-chain, connect your one FireWire
drive directly to the computer, then connect another FireWire
drive to the first FireWire drive, then another until you reach 16.
Then do the same on the rest of the ports on the FireWire bus.
FireWire Cables and Connectors
There are three different types of FireWire cables on the market:
6-to-6-pin, 6-to4-pin and 4-to-4-pin. LaCie FireWire devices
are shipped with a certified 6- to-6-pin FireWire cable. Most
FireWire-equipped laptop computers feature a 4-pin FireWire
connector, so in order to connect your LaCie drive to a laptop
with a 4-pin FireWire port, you will need to purchase a LaCie
certified 6-to-4-pin FireWire cable (sold separately).
If your computer does not have a FireWire port, or only has
a 4-pin port, consult your LaCie reseller or La- Cie Customer
Support for information about adding a LaCie FireWire PCI or
PCMCIA card.
4. FireWire 400 Questions & Answers