Apple powermac server g3 minitow Manuale Di Servizio

 Basics

FireWire Technology - 48

FireWire technology speeds up the movement of multimedia 

data and large files and enables the connection of digital 

consumer products -- including digital camcorders, digital 

video tapes, digital video disks, set-top boxes, and music 

systems -- directly to a personal computer.

Devices can be connected in any combination of branching 

and chaining, as long as no loops are formed. A FireWire bus 

can support up to 16 consecutive cable hops of 4.5 meters 

each. There are no SCSI-style ID numbers to set and no 

termination requirements.

FireWire supports two types of data transfer: asynchronous 

and isochronous. For traditional computer memory-mapped, 

load and store applications, asynchronous transfer is 

appropriate and adequate; but, one of FireWire's key 

features is its support of isochronous data channels.