< bus , standard > (Or " IEEE 1394", "FireWire", "I-Link") A 1995 Macintosh / IBM PC serial bus interface standard offering high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data services.
1394 can transfer data between a computer and its peripherals at 100, 200, or 400 Mbps , with a planed increase to 2 Gbps . Cable length is limited to 4.5 m but up to 16 cables can be daisy-chained yielding a total length of 72 m.
It can daisy-chain together up to 63 peripherals in a tree-like structure (as opposed to SCSI 's linear structure). It allows peer-to-peer device communication, such as communication between a scanner and a printer , to take place without using system memory or the CPU . It is designed to support plug-and-play and hot swapping . Its six-wire cable is not only more convenient than SCSI cables but can supply up to 60 watts of power, allowing low-consumption devices to operate without a separate power cord.
Some expensive camcorders have included this bus since Autumn 1995. It is expected to be used to carry SCSI , with possible application to home automation using repeaters .
See also Universal Serial Bus , FC-AL .
(2000-09-03)