What is FireWire or IEEE 1394?
FireWire is a high-speed serial bus, developed by Apple and Texas Instruments, that allows for the connection of up to 63 external devices. FireWire is also commonly known as the IEEE 1394 standard. FireWire, which Apple originally developed and trademarked, may appear under different names (such as iLink or Lynx) depending on what platform or company implements the technology. The original IEEE 1394 specifications allowed for speeds of 100, 200, and 400Mbps (million bits per second). IEEE 1394b provides speeds of 800, 1600, and 3200Mbps.
This makes IEEE 1394 a very high-speed bus design that is ideal for high-bandwidth applications like multimedia. In addition to providing high-speed access, IEEE 1394 supports Plug and Play connections, hot swapping, multiple speeds on the same bus, and isochronous data transfer, as well as providing power to peripheral devices. Hot swapping is the ability to add and remove devices to a computer while the computer is running and have the operating system automatically recognize the change. Isochronous data transfer is a means of transferring data at a guaranteed transfer rate. This is especially useful for devices that require transferring large amounts of data in real time, such as video cameras or digital cameras.
For additional information on the IEEE 1394 standard, please see 1394 Trade Association.
Last modified on October 13, 2010.
