Computer Interfacing

Lecture 12
 Universal Serial Bus
• Being introduced as a high-speed
“replacement” for the traditional RS-232
port
• USB has higher bandwidth
– 1.5 Mbps, 12 Mbps and 480 Mbps
– Faster than the RS-232 port that operates in the
region of 115+ K bps
• Devices can be daisy-chained
 Daisy Chaining of USB Devices
USB
Connection Device 3

USB
Computer Port

In Device 2

Device 1
Out
Connecting USB Devices Using a Hub
USB
Connection Device 3

USB
Computer Port
Device 2
In

Hub
Out
 Sample USB Devices
• Keyboards
• Monitors
• Digital Cameras
• Digital Video Recorders
 USB Standards
• USB 1.1
• USB 2.0
• USB On-The-Go (OTG)
– A newer standard being designed for portable and
small devices
 USB Connectors
• Type A
– Upstream connectors
– From the system
• Type B
– Downstream connectors
– To the device
• Mini A
• Mini B
– Smaller connector for PDAs, mobile phones and digital cameras
 Support for the Deployment of USB in
computers
There are two requirements for USB
implementation:

 One is the presence of USB hubs to support USB

ports on the computer.

 The other is the support required from the

operating system to operate the USB.

 Most motherboards now have built-in support for

USB.
Operating System Support for USB
• Operating systems such as Windows XP or the later
versions of some of the older operating systems
support USB
– Windows 98
– Windows 95 OSR2
• In accordance with USB standards, these operating
systems support plug-and-play for USB devices
 Advantages of USB Over the RS-232 Port

• Higher speed
• Ability to daisy chain different devices
• Support for plug-and-play
 USB Ports

Maximum cable length of 5 meters

Increase the cable length up to 30 m by using:

USB repeaters (up to five repeaters)
New USB standards in 2015
USB 3.1 Gen2: 10 Gb/s

USB Type C – a new small reversible-plug

connector for USB devices – up to 100 W
power supported
Thunderbolt
Developed by Intel.

Commercially introduced by Apple – Introduced on Apple

MacBook Pro in 2011.

The connector is Mini DisplayPort (electrically identical to

DisplayPort).

Bi-directional 20 Gb/s.

Maximum cable length of 3 meters (100 m with optical)

Can daisy chain up to 6 devices

Thunderbolt v3: 40 Gb/s, support USB-C, 100 W charging

HDMI
 HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface and is the
most frequently used HD signal for transferring both high
definition video and audio over a single cable. 

 HDMI is used both in the commercial AV sector and is the most

used cable in homes connecting devices such as digital TV, DVD
player, Xbox, Playstation.

  HDMI is now featuring on laptops and PCs and therefore

becoming the standard for the corporate and commercial markets
– for education, presentation, digital signage and retail display.
 Networking
• A network is any collection of independent computers
that exchange information with each other over a
shared communication medium. 

• Computer networking has become an integral part of

business , Individuals, professionals and academics.

• Networking has thus become an increasingly pervasive,

worldwide reality because it is fast, efficient, reliable
and effective.
 Types of Networks
local area network (LAN)
is a computer network that connects
computers and devices in a limited
geographical area such as single building or a
college campus.
 Types of Networks
Wide Area Networks (WANs)

 Elements of a network are widely separated physically.

 Wide area networking combines multiple LANs that are geographically separate.
This is accomplished by connecting the several LANs with dial-up phone lines, by
satellite links and by data packet carrier services.

 WANs can be as simple as a modem and a remote access server for employees to
dial into, or it can be as complex as hundreds of branch offices globally linked.

 Special routing protocols and filters minimize the expense of sending data over
vast distances.
 Types of Networks
Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)

 Wireless LANs, or WLANs, use radio frequency (RF) technology to transmit and receive data
over the air, this minimizes the need for wired connections.

 WLANs give users mobility as they allow connection to a local area network without having
to be physically connected by a cable.

 This freedom means users can access shared resources without looking for a place to plug
in cables, provided that their terminals are mobile and within the designated network
coverage area.

 With mobility, WLANs give flexibility and increased productivity, appealing to both
entrepreneurs and to home users. WLANs may also enable network administrators to
connect devices that may be physically difficult to reach with a cable.
 The Internet and Beyond
• The Internet:  The Largest Network of All

• Intranet:  A Secure Internet-like Network for Organizations

– With advancements in browser-based software for the Internet,
many private organizations have implemented intranets.
– An intranet is a private network utilizing Internet-type tools, but
available only within that organization. For large organizations.
– an intranet provides easy access to corporate information for
designated employees.
 The Internet and Beyond
• Extranet:  A Secure Means for Sharing Information
with Partners
– While an intranet is used to disseminate confidential
information within a corporation, an extranet is commonly
used by companies to share data in a secure fashion with
their business partners.
– Internet-type tools are used by content providers to update
the extranet. Encryption and user authentication means
are provided to protect the information, and to ensure that
designated people with the proper access privileges are
allowed to view it.
 Types of LAN Technology
Ethernet
• Ethernet is the traditional technology for connecting wired local area
networks (LANs), enabling devices to communicate with each other
via a protocol -- a set of rules or common network language.

• Ethernet is the most popular physical layer LAN technology in use

today. It defines the number of conductors that are required for a
connection, the performance thresholds that can be expected, and
provides the framework for data transmission.

• A standard Ethernet network can transmit data at a rate up to 10

Megabits per second (10 Mbps).
Ethernet
• Ethernet is popular because it strikes a good balance between
speed, cost and ease of installation. These benefits, combined with
wide acceptance in the computer marketplace and the ability to
support virtually all popular network protocols, make Ethernet an
ideal networking technology for most computer users today.

• The Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers developed an

Ethernet standard known as IEEE Standard 802.3.

• This standard defines rules for configuring an Ethernet network

and also specifies how the elements in an Ethernet network
interact with one another.
 Types of LAN Technology
Fast Ethernet
• The Fast Ethernet standard (IEEE 802.3u) has been established for
Ethernet networks that need higher transmission speeds.

• This standard raises the Ethernet speed limit from 10 Mbps to

100 Mbps with only minimal changes to the existing cable
structure.

• Fast Ethernet provides faster throughput for video, multimedia,

graphics, and stronger error detection and correction.
 Types of LAN Technology
Gigabit Ethernet
Developed to meet the need for faster
communication networks with applications
such as multimedia and Voice over IP (VoIP).
Also known as “gigabit-Ethernet-over-copper” 
 Types of LAN Technology
10 Gigabit Ethernet

• 10 Gigabit Ethernet is the fastest and most recent of

the Ethernet standards. IEEE 802.3ae defines a version
of Ethernet with a nominal rate of 10Gbits/s that
makes it 10 times faster than Gigabit Ethernet.

• Unlike other Ethernet systems, 10 Gigabit Ethernet is

based entirely on the use of optical fiber connections.
 Networking and Ethernet Basics
Protocols
• After a physical connection has been established, network protocols define the
standards that allow computers to communicate.

• A protocol establishes the rules and encoding specifications for sending data. This
defines how computers identify one another on a network, the form that the data
should take in transit, and how this information is processed once it reaches its
final destination.

• Protocols also define procedures for determining the type of error checking that
will be used, the data compression method, if one is needed, how the sending
device will indicate that it has finished sending a message, how the receiving
device will indicate that it has received a message, and the handling of lost or
damaged transmissions or “packets”.
Protocols
The main types of network protocols in use
today are: TCP/IP (for UNIX, Windows NT,
Windows 95 and other platforms); IPX (for
Novell NetWare); DECnet (for networking
Digital Equipment Corp. computers); AppleTalk
(for Macintosh computers).
TCP/IP Protocol
 TCP = Transmission Control Protocol, IP =
Internet Protocol
 TCP complements the Internet Protocol (IP).
 TCP/IP: IP handles addressing and routing of
message, while TCP provides a reliable and in
sequence data delivery without errors, loss
(no packets are lost) or duplication