IEEE 1394 is a, high-speed, Plug and Play approach of interconnecting a collection of personal machine peripherals and consumer electronics devices. The IEEE-1394 bus began go in 1986 as Apple Computer's alternative to the diacritic serial cables required to connect peripherals to PCs. The proposed sample (P1394) derived from Apple's first FireWire design, was popular as an production morals at the Dec 1995 buzz session of the Academy of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standards Board. The validated handle is IEEE 1394-1995 Principles for a Aerial Performance Serial Bus. There are many implementations of IEEE 1394:

IEEE 1394 - 1995 Which defined cable speeds of 100, 200, 400 Mbps with cable lengths local to 4.5m with aptitude distribution.

IEEE 1394a adds powerless cable and connector. (Currently the criterion for Windows XP)

IEEE 1394b adds contemporary media for longer cable distances and 800 and 1600 Mbps speeds.

IEEE 1394.1 defines bridging between IEEE 1394 buses

Because of the identical eminent material rates that IEEE 1394 can handle, it is prototype for consumer audio/video (A/V) components, storage, printing, and high-resolution scanning, plus other portable devices.

There are two types of IEEE 1394 connectors: 4 pin and 6 pin. The 6 pin cabling can manage bus capacity for devices, provided supported by the host controller. Devices with a 4 pin connector, such as a DV camera, always desire an out authority source. It is besides permissible to employment cables or adapters that moderate 4 to 6 pins or 6 to 4 pins, as extensive as the slogan does not hope for bus power.

IEEE 1394 Features

Windows XP has added or enhanced column for indefinite features offered by IEEE 1394.

IEEE1394 cooperate prerrogative plug-and-play functionality Everyone device, or node, connected to the 1394 serial bus supports automatic configuration. Each day a 1394 device is added to or removed from the serial bus, the 1394 bus reconfigures itself. This allows for boiling plugging of devices.

Guaranteed bandwidth for real-time applications Audio and video applications hurting for fixed transfer rates with guaranteed bandwidth. The 1394 serial bus supports these applications on ice the advantage of isochronous (real-time) information transfers. This sets the 1394 serial bus apart from other real-time audio and video solutions.

Peer-to-Peer communication Each device, or node, connected to the 1394 serial bus supports automatic configuration. Each period a 1394 device is added to or removed from the serial bus, the 1394 bus reconfigures itself. This process that 1394 devices can communicate with each other without needing a host system

Support for isochronous and asynchronous transfers Asynchronous info transfer provides a traditional recourse / acknowledge interface. Isochronous counsel transfer provides a guaranteed bandwidth with a constant transfer rate.

Up to 63 devices can be connected per bus The supple topology of the 1394 serial bus allows for up to 63 devices with a maximum of 16 cable hops of up to 4.5 meters between each device. Typically, 1394 devices keep either unmarried or multiple ports. A three harbour device is called a "branch" or "hub". A two port device is called a "pass-through" node. A one port device is called a "leaf" node.

IP over IEEE 1394 Windows XP has added ease for IP networking over IEEE 1394 connections. This requires inconsiderable or no configuration and offers filled connectivity at up to 50Mbps.