C393 IT Foundations Chapter 5

PS/2

6-pin connectors. Usually color-coded: purple for keyboard and green for a mouse.

Thunderbolt port

Apple technology developed to replace FireWire. It combines PCIe and DisplayPort into one serial bus, transmits and receive data, video, audio, network data, and power. This means you can connect video devices, such as display devices and video-capture solutions, as well as data peripherals, such as external disk drives and RAID arrays. Thunderbolt allows you to operate external peripheral devices at internal PCIe data speeds. You'll find it predominantly in Apple computers. Thunderbolt expansion cards are implemented on a PCIe graphics card as it can access DisplayPort data and PCIe connectivity on the motherboard. You can purchase Thunderbolt expansion cards, but you might need to make BIOS configuration changes on PC computers to get the card functioning properly. Characteristics of Thunderbolt include: Data transfer rates: Thunderbolt 1 - 20Gbits/sec. 10Gbits/sec on each of the two data channels. Thunderbolt 2 - 20Gbits/sec in a single data channel. Thunderbolt 3 - 40 Gbit/sec. 10Gbits/sec on each of the four data channels. Bi-directional, able to transmit and receive data at the same time. Daisy-chain up to 6 devices per port. Can provide 10 W of power to each connected device. Thunderbolt 3 provides up to 15 W. Ability to create a peer-to-peer network of two Apple computers using a Thunderbolt connection. Thunderbolt 1 and 2 use the Mini DisplayPort (MDP) connector. Thunderbolt 3 uses USB Type C. Can connect DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, and VGA displays using adapters. Thunderbolt 3 can support dual 4K 60 Hz displays

Bluetooth versions

Bluetooth 2.x supports a maximum data rate of 2 MBps, so isn't very useful for high performance devices. Like any wireless communication, interference and attenuation can reduce this speed. These are older and no longer very common. Bluetooth 3.0 supports a much higher data rate of 25 Mbps. These are older devices, but still not that uncommon. Bluetooth 4.x also supports 25 Mbps, but includes a number of other features, including more efficient data transfers. It also introduced Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which is intended for low power use devices powered by coin cells. Most current devices are Bluetooth 4.0 or 4.1. Bluetooth 5 (Not 5.0) is an emerging standard that is found on newer devices, and offers more flexible combinations of speed and range than 4.x. Many of its new features are intended specifically for Internet of Things devices, but its BLE and audio quality improvements are useful for common computer peripherals such as headsets.

Display Port

DisplayPort: A digital connector designed for high-resolution computer monitors. DisplayPort supports similar features to HDMI, but can support a wider range of resolutions not commonly used on home theater equipment. A DisplayPort connector looks similar to HDMI, but it's rectangular with a single corner cut off so you can't interchange them by mistake.

Ethernet

Ethernet: RJ-45 connectors are used for wired networks. They look much like an RJ-11 connector, but larger and with eight pins. Some specialty devices and commercial telephone hardware might also use RJ-45 connectors, but they should never be connected to Ethernet ports.

Expansion Card Installation

Expansion cards are Not hot-swappable. ExpressCard is designed to be hot-swappable, but mini-PCIe is not regardless of where it is located on a laptop. Hot-swapping Thunderbolt devices won't risk hardware damage, but you need BIOS/UEFI and operating system support to detect a new device without rebooting.To install a PC expansion card: 1. Power down the computer. 2. Detach all external cords from ports on the PC, beginning with the power cable. 3. Open the computer's chassis. 4. If you're replacing an existing card, remove the old one.Remove any internal cables connected to the card.Unscrew or unclip the card from the back of the case.Gently remove the card from its slot.If the card doesn't come out easily, look for a retention clip on the slot itself which may be holding the card in place. 5. Find an empty expansion slot compatible with your expansion card.Some cards, particularly video cards, require two slots or a double-width card. 6. Remove the expansion slot's cover on the chassis.PCs have expansion card slot covers on the back of the chassis that are held in place by a screw or clip. These covers prevent dust and debris from getting into the computer when no card is installed in the slot. 7. If the expansion card requires any physical configuration changes, set them now.The manual that came with your expansion card should describe any physical changes you might need to make to your specific card. 8. Line the card's contacts up with the slot.The card sits perpendicular to the slot.Figure 5.15: PC expansion card on a motherboard 9. Using firm, but gentle pressure, snap the card into the slot.The card must be seated fully in the slot or it won't function properly. 10. Attach any internal cables required by the card.High end graphics cards typically have internal power connectors, while other cards might connect to peripherals or ports on the case. 11. Secure the card in the slot using the cover screw or clip. 12. Close the chassis. 13. Reattach any external cables from ports on your PC and plug it into the wall outlet.After installing a graphics card, make sure not to plug your display back into the onboard video. 14 If you have installed an expansion card with the same functionality as an on-board component, boot into the BIOS/UEFI and disable the on-board component. 15. Set any desired BIOS/UEFI settings related to the card. 16. Boot the computer. 17. If your expansion card came with software or drivers, follow the manufacturer's directions to install it. 18. Make any desired feature changes using the software.For example, you can configure Display settings based on a new graphics card

Physical expansion interface

Expansion cards provide physical interfaces to add peripheral devices to your computer.

Firewire

FireWire: Also known as IEEE 1394 FireWire is a general-purpose serial bus. While it's comparable to USB 2.0 in theoretical data rate, FireWire is more efficient for high speed storage and video connections. It also operates as a peer-to-peer connection, making it more flexible for some . Mostly replaced by USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt devices. Common FireWire standards are FireWire 400 and FireWire 800, each representing its top speed in Mbps.

IR

Infrared (IR) uses a focused ray of light in a modulated signal to transmit digital data. IrDA-1.1 standard the maximum data transfer speed is 4 Mbits/sec.IR technology is ubiquitous in electronic device remotes.

Bluetooth

It works on 2.4 GHz microwave frequencies used by Wi-Fi connections Bluetooth is designed to form a wireless personal area network (WPAN) or piconet of a handful of devices Bluetooth controllers are built into most laptops and mobile devices, and USB and PCIe. Bluetooth adapters are readily available even for desktops. Bluetooth peripherals include not only input devices like keyboards and mice, but speakers, headsets, even printers and scanners. Each piconet can contain up to eight devices, such as a PC and seven peripherals. Like USB, communication is master-slave oriented with one central device communicating with others. Unlike USB, devices can switch master and slave roles as demanded.To join a Bluetooth device to your PC you must first use a pairing process. Generally this means something like pressing a button on the device to initiate pairing, then scanning with your PC to find it and add it to the piconet. Once paired, Bluetooth devices can use authentication and encryption to keep their communications private.Bluetooth devices can be differentiated by Bluetooth version, and by device class. Bluetooth class determines the device's transceiver power, and thus its range. Most consumer Bluetooth devices are Class 2 range 10-meters (33 foot) Higher-power Class 1 transceivers give a longer range but are usually only found on industrial equipment. Lower power Class 3 transceivers are 1-meter range, not common.

Audio Expansion Interface

Most common audio connector for computers is the 1/8" (3.5 mm) analog connector that's used by computers and portable audio equipment alike. Pink: analog microphone audio input. Light blue: analog line level audio input, used for input from line outputs. Lime green: analog line level audio output for the main stereo signal (front speakers or headphones). Black: analog line level audio output for surround speakers, typically rear stereo. Orange: analog line level audio output for center channel speaker and subwoofer. Optical audio: digital audio signals supporting stereo audio, and multichannel Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 audio surround sound.

NFC

Near field communication (NFC) doesn't exactly use a pair of radio transceivers to communicate like Bluetooth, nor does it allow you to form a piconet. Instead, NFC is designed for only two devices to temporarily communicate over short distances, and in fact only one of them even needs to be powered. The other can be a passive device with NFC circuitry but no power source of its own. The active device, or initiator, generates an RF field that doesn't just send information, but also powers the passive device, or target. When the devices are within 20 cm of one another, the initiator's NFC chip can actively generate an RF field that powers the passive target. For additional security, the maximum range can be reduced. A distance of 4 to 5 cm is common. Data communication between NFC devices is two-way, secure, and can use encryption when transferring sensitive data, so it's commonly used for contactless payment devices. Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay are examples of NFC, as are the Skylanders gaming figures. You can even use NFC to transfer settings between two compatible smartphones or tablet, or to more quickly establish Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connections. Compared with Bluetooth, NFC has a much lower data transfer rate: it tops out at 424 kbits/sec, compared with the 24 Mbits/sec of Bluetooth. However, it consumes far less power and doesn't require pairing.

Parrellel Port

Parallel: Also known as a printer port, and used for old printers and other external devices, a parallel port is faster than RS-232 but still slow by modern standards. Parallel interfaces also use 25-pin D-sub connectors, but the port on the PC is female. Most parallel devices such as printers have a 36-pin Centronics connector on the peripheral side.

RJ-11

RJ-11: Registered Jack 11 is the connector used for wired analog telephone service and for dial-up modem connections on computers. Mostly been replaced by faster network connections, but you might find one on a laptop or in rural areas. It has six slots for connectors, though most cables only use two or four pins.

RS-232

RS-232: A low-speed serial connector found on old PCs and used for mice, external modems, and various other devices. Today they're mostly found on legacy systems and specialized industrial devices. Comes in two standards: a smaller DB-9 connector and a larger DB-25, each named for its pin count. For both connectors, the port on the PC is male rather than female like most motherboard or expansion card connections.

SATA/eSATA

Serial AT Attachment (SATA) is the physical interface used to connect internal hard drives, solids state drives, and optical drives to the computer. Internal SATA connections use an L shaped connector and port. SATA controller cards are common in RAID configurations. External SATA (eSATA) allows you to connect external SATA hard drives, solid state drives, and optical drives to your computer. When you have a SATA expansion card that includes an external connector, the external connector will be eSATA.

USB 1.X

USB 1.0 1996, 1.5 Mbits/sec, called Low Bandwidth or Low Speed. 12 Mbits/sec, called Full Bandwidth or Full Speed, is used for higher speed devices. port is white in color

USB 2.0

USB 2.0: 2000, the USB 2.0 standard added a third transfer rate of 480 Mbits/sec, called High Speed. All connected USB devices share the 480 Mbits/sec data transfer channel. USB 2.0 supports battery charging with low- and high-power variations. A unit load in USB 2.0 is 100 mA and a device may draw a maximum of 5 unit loads (500 mA) from a USB 2.0 port. Black in color and a + on the symbol

USB 3.X

USB 3.x: Introduced in 2010, the USB 3.0 standard added the SuperSpeed transfer rate of 5 Gbits/sec. In 2015, USB 3.1 introduced the still faster SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps transfer rate, also simply branded as SuperSpeed+. A unit load in USB 3.x is 150 mA and a device may draw a maximum of 6 unit loads (900 mA) from a USB 3.x port. Blue ports and SS on symbol

USB

Universal Serial Bus Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a physical interface standard that you can use to connect up to 127 peripheral devices to your computer. HOT-PLUGGING enabled Plug-and-Play. USB can provide power to a device.

Video expansion interfaces

Video expansion cards generate the signals needed to output images on a display device. You will hear many different terms used to refer to video expansion cards: video card, video adapter, display card, graphics card, display adapter, graphics adapter, or graphics add-in-boards (AIB). Video expansion cards often come with multiple physical interfaces and their own cooling system

VEI

Video expansion interfaces Video expansion cards generate the signals needed to output images on a display device. You will hear many different terms used to refer to video expansion cards: video card, video adapter, display card, graphics card, display adapter, graphics adapter, or graphics add-in-boards (AIB). Video expansion cards often come with multiple physical interfaces and their own cooling system.