FireWire 400 Questions & Answers

LaCie FireWire 400 PCI Card • DESIGN BY SISMO	FireWire 400 Questions & Answers
User Manual	page 10

4. FireWire 400 Questions & Answers

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.