Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

SCSI
Small Computer System Interface
Set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data
between subsystem of peripheral devices and system bus
Seven devices
SCSI bus controller
o Expansion card: Host adapter
o Embedded on motherboard
SCSI is the most popular interface for connecting high speed disk
drives to higher performance PCs, such as workstations or
network servers.
The SCSI controller (host adapter) functions as the gateway
between the SCSI bus and the PC bus.
The SCSI bus does not talk directly with devices, such as hard
drives; instead, it talks to the controller that is built in to the drive.
Parameter
No.of bits

Single ended SCSI

cable
8 bits

Differential ended
SCSI cable
16 bits

No.of pins

25 pins

68 pins

Cable Length

6 Meters

25 Meters

Noise Immunity

Medium

Good

Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

The SCSI Subsystem

Host adapter
o Used when there is no embedded SCSI controller
o Supports both internal and external devices
o One connector on card for a ribbon cable or round cable for
internal devices
o External port for external devices
o Daisy chain or straight chain
o Peripherals are connected in daisy chain.
o Each new device connected at the end of device in the
chain.
o Each and every device has unique device no called SCSI ID.
o Helps to identify the device during communication
o System level interfacing device signal convert into system
level.
o LUN(logical unit no) identifies components within each
device
o Initiator and target
o SCSI adapter initiator
o Peripheral devices target

Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

SCSI drive

Controller mounted inside drive housing

Variable number of sectors per track
Higher quality than IDE drives
Higher rotational speeds and lower seek times

Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

SCSI-1, SCSI-2, and SCSI-3

SCSI -1

8 bit parallel bus

5 MHz asynchronous and synchronous operation
4 MBPS throughput
50 pin cable
Optional bus parity

SCSI 2

10 MHz
16 bit
Command queuing
New commands
50 pin cable
High voltage differential transmission for longer bus length

SCSI-3

Ultra 2 (fast 40MBps) SCSI

Ultra 3 (fast 80MBps) SCSI
Ultra 4 (fast 160MBps) SCSI
Ultra 5 (fast 320MBps) SCSI
New low voltage differential signaling
Elimination of high voltage differential signaling

Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

SCSI Cables
External Cables

shielded cable (protect data from outside interference)

Twisted pair wiring:data signal paired with complement
Single-ended SCSI
-signal paired with signal return
Differential signaling
positive paired with its negative signal
Twisting improves signal integrity
50 pin wire contain 25 pairs and 68-pin wire cable 34 pairs
Shielding :o wrapped with metallic shield(aluminum or copper foil or braid to
block out noise and interferences)
Layered Structure:o Three layered structure
core layer - control signals(REQ and ACK)
middle layer - control signals (other)
outer layer - data other signals
Layered structure improves data integrity
Expensive
Avoid data corruption

Internal cable

connect SCSI devices installed within PC system box

different in construction
thickness of wire
insulation over the wire
Teflon or polyvinyl chloride
cheaply and simple in construction
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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

SCSI Connectors
External connector types:1.D-Shell (D-Sub , DD) SCSI-1 defined a 50 pin D-Shell connector
D-shaped metal shell that goes around the pins on the half of the connector

2. Centronics

50-pin connector
two rows of flat contacts are used
two latches on both side used to hold connector in plat
Centronics latch-style connectors for external connectors.
also called Alternative 2 external connector

Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

3. High Density(HD)
The SCSI-2 revision added a high-density,50-position, D-shell connector
which are now called Alternative 1.
Space between pins are reduced
Smaller , cheaper and easier to use
68 pin version called Alternative 3

4. VHDCI very high density cable interconnect

A 68-conductor also called micro centronic connector
Alternative 4

External connector types:1.Regular Density:

The SCSI-1 standard defined a single connector type for internal narrow (8-bit)
devices. This is a rectangular connector with two rows of 25 pins. This connector
type is very similar to that used for IDE/ATA devices, except that there are five
extra pins in each row. It is most often seen in older devices and also some newer,
slower drives. It is called unshielded "Alternative 2" in the current SCSI standards.
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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

Male (above) and female 50-pin regular density internal connectors.

Note the gap in the plastic shield around the male connector,
and the tab on the female connector, for keying.

2. High Density:
SCSI-2 defined two new connector types, which are both called high
density because their pin spacing is half that of the older SCSI-1 connectors,
making them much smaller. These are the most common SCSI connectors
used today within the PC box. The narrow, 50-pin version is unshielded
connector "Alternative 1" and the 68-pin version is "Alternative 3".

Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

SCSI Drive Configuration

more complicated than IDE drives.
You need to set up two or three items when you configure a SCSI drive:
o SCSI ID setting (0-7 or 0-15)
o Terminating resistors
SCSI ID setting - Up to 7 SCSI devices can be used on a single narrow SCSI
bus or up to 15 devices on a wide SCSI bus, and each device must have a
unique SCSI ID address. There are 8 or 16 addresses, and the host adapter
takes 1 address.
Terminators
When installing an external SCSI device, you usually find the device in a
storage enclosure with both input and output SCSI connectors, so you can
use the device in a daisy chain. If the enclosure is at the end of the SCSI
bus, an external terminator module most likely will have to be plugged into
the second outgoing port to provide proper termination at that end of the
bus.

External terminator modules are available in a variety of connector

configurations, which are necessary if only one port is available. Pass9

Chapter 6:----INTERFACES
through terminators also are commonly used in internal installations in
which the device does not have built-in terminating resistors.

Pass-through models are required when a device is at the end of the bus
and only one SCSI connector is available.

Representation of a SCSI bus with several devices attached. In this case, the
host adapter is at one end of the bus and a CD-ROM drive is at the other.
For the bus to work properly, those devices must be terminated, whereas
the others do not have to be.

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

an external terminator module most likely will have to be plugged into the second (outgoing) SCSI port
to provide proper termination at that end of the bus

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

Comparing IDE and SCSI

IDE
o Supports only four internal devices
SCSI
o Both internal and external devices
o Allows you to add more devices to a system
o Generally higher quality than IDE devices
o More expensive
IDE devices require a separate IRQ for each IDE channel
SCSI requires only one IRQ for entire chain
Both IDE and SCSI are generally backward-compatible
SCSI hard drive with its supporting host adapter and cable costs more than
an IDE hard drive
A SCSI subsystem provides faster data transfer than an IDE drive
SCSI bus is the source of the performance rather than the hard drive
technology
SCSI generally provides better performance than IDE
o Often used on high-demand servers
Quality SCSI host adapter allows you to connect other SCSI devices to it,
o Printer, scanner, or tape drive
Without SCSI technology, if you have two IDE drives on the same IDE
channel, only one of them can be busy at any one time

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

Installing SCSI Devices

Basic steps
o Set any jumpers or switches on the host adapter, install it in the
correct expansion slot on your motherboard, and install the host
adapter drivers
o For each device that has them, use jumpers or switches to assign the
SCSI ID
o Attach cabling to the host adapter and then to each device
o Verify that both ends of the SCSI chain are terminated
o Power up one device
After you verify that it works, power up the next device
Continue until you verify that all devices work
o Install drivers and software required to interface between the SCSI
subsystem and the operating system
Installing a Host Adapter Card

Install card in expansion slot

Change or verify settings
Reboot for Windows to launch Add New Hardware Wizard
Verify host adapter is correctly installed through Device Manager

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES
USB

Peripherals to be connected using single standardized interface socket

Improve plug and play capabilities (without rebooting)
Low power consumption without external power supply
Connect computer peripherals
Possible to install and remove devices without opening computer case.

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES
The Universal Serial Bus gives you a single, standardized, easy-to-use way to
connect up to 127 devices to a computer.
USB better than RS232 serial port in several aspects: Easy installation
Fast transfer rate
Simple cabling
Multiple device connection.

USB 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0

Low-speed :- USB 1.0 (1996) and USB 1.1 (1998) provide a Low-Speed 192
KBPS used for human interface devices such as keyboards and mice.
Full-Speed channel at 1.5 Mbps . All USB Hubs supports full speed. Full speed
devices divide the USB bandwidth between them in first come first serve
basis.
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 (2001) provide speed to to 60 Mbps.
Super Speed USB 3.0 (2008) provides a huge 10x increase over USB 2.0 to 600
MBPS.

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

Connectors
A" connectors head "upstream" toward the computer.

"B" connectors head "downstream" and connect to individual devices.

Cables
Maximum length of standard USB cable is 5 meters.
Primary reason for this limit is the maximum allowed Round trip delay of
about 1500ns.
If USB device does not answer to host commands within the allowed
time the host considers command to be lost.
Maximum delay caused by single cable turns out to be 26 ns.
USB 2.0 specification states that delay must be less than 5.2ns per
meter.

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

USB cable
Inside a USB cable: There are two wires for power +5 volts (red) and ground (brown)
and a twisted pair (yellow and blue) of wires to carry the data. The
cable is also shielded.

USB contain 4-wire carries following singles:Pin

Name

Cable Color

Description

VCC

RED

+5V

D-

WHITE

DATA-

D+

GREEN

DATA+

GND

BLACK

GROUNG

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

USB Hubs
A hub typically has four new ports ,but may have many more.
You plug the hub into your computer, and then plug your devices (or
other hubs) into the hub.
By chaining hubs together, you can build up dozens of available USB
ports on a single computer.
HUB can be powered or unpowered.

Use of A and B connector.

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

USB Process
Enumeration :
When the host powers up, it queries all of the devices connected to the
bus and assigns each one an address. This process is called enumeration.
The host also finds out from each device what type of data transfer it
wishes to perform:
Interrupt - A device like a mouse or a keyboard, which will be sending very
little data, would choose the interrupt mode.
Bulk - A device like a printer, which receives data in one big packet, uses the
bulk transfer mode. A block of data is sent to the printer (in 64-byte chunks)
and verified to make sure it is correct.
Isochronous - A streaming device (such as speakers) uses the isochronous
mode. Data streams between the device and the host in real-time, and there
is no error correction.

USB Features
Host :- The computer acts as the host.
Multiple devices :- Up to 127 devices can connect to the host, either
directly or by way of USB hubs.
USB Cable length :- Individual USB cables can run as long as 5 meters; with
hubs, devices can be up to 30 meters away from the host.
Transfer rate:-With USB 2.0,the bus has a maximum data rate of 480
megabits per second.
Ease of installation :- A USB cable has two wires for power (+5 volts and
ground) and a twisted pair of wires to carry the data.
Power allocation:- USB controller in PC detects the presence or absence of
the USB device and does allocation of electrical power.
o On the power wires, the computer can supply up to 500 milliamps of
power at 5 volts.
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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES
Low-power devices (such as mice) can draw their power directly from the
bus.
o High-power devices (such as printers) have their own power supplies
and draw minimal power from the bus.
Hubs can have their own power supplies to provide power to devices
connected to the hub.
Hot Swappable :- USB devices are hot-swappable, meaning you can plug
them into the bus and unplug them any time.
Hot Pluggability :- without powering off a PC and
Plug and play feature in the BIOS together with intelligence in the USB
device takes care of detection , device recognition and handling.
Hub architecture
Power saving : -Many USB devices can be put to sleep by the host
computer when the computer enters a power-saving mode.
Supports for wide range of peripherals.

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

Firewire

A FireWire connection lets you send data to and from high-bandwidth

digital devices such as digital camcorders,digital audio/video,digital video
camera and it's faster than USB
Fast transfer of data
Ability to put lots of devices on the bus 63 devices
Ease of use
Hot-pluggable ability
Provision of power through the cable
Plug-and-play performance
Low cabling cost
Low implementation cost
Peer to peer device communication
FireWire is a method of transferring information between digital devices,
especially audio and video equipment.
Also known as IEEE 1394,
FireWire is fastest interface.

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

FireWire Specifications
The original FireWire specification, FireWire 400 (1394a), was faster than
USB when it came out. features:
Transfer rates of up to 400 Mbps
Maximum distance between devices of 4.5 meters (cable length)
The release of USB 2.0
in 2002, FireWire 800 (1394b) Transfer rates up to 800 Mbps
Maximum distance between devices of 100 meters (cable length)
The faster 1394b standard is backward-compatible with 1394a.

Feature

USB

FireWire

1.1

2.0

400

800

Data transfer
rate

12 Mbps

480 Mbps

400 Mbps

800 Mbps

Number of
devices

127

127

63

63

Plug and play

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Hot-pluggable

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Isochronous
devices

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Bus power

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Bustermination
required

No

No

No

No

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

RS 232 interface
Developed by Electronics Industries Association (EIA)
--RS recommended Standards
--Serial communication is the most simplistic form of communication
between two devices.
--One important aspect of RS-232 is that it is an asynchronous form of
communication.
--Asynchronous communication is important because it is efficient; if no
data needs to be sent, the connection is idle. No additional CPU overhead
is required for an idle serial line.

Physical connection of DTE and DCE

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

Voltage levels of RS232

Logical 1 Marking estate indicate negative level - OFF
Logical 0 space estate indicate positive level - ON

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES
Signals
CD
(Carrier detect)
RXD

modem connected to serial port has made proper connection with

modem on other side.
Data send from DTE to DCE and vice versa

(Receive data)
TXD
(Transmit data)

It is used by computer to sends data to the device to serial port

connect

DTR( Data
terminal ready)

computer is ready for communication

GND

provide necessary return path.

(Signal ground)
DSR

Device is ready for communication.

( Data set
ready)
RTS
(request to
Send)
CTS
(Clear to send)

once clear to send is received, device connected to serial port

inform that computer send request to send.

used by device connected to the serial port to inform to the

computer that computer can start data transmission.

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES
RI

to call /communicate modem by other device not computer

(Ring indicator)

To inform computer someone calling. Computer detected ringing

voltage on telephone line

Communication events
Check all h/w at both end computer and serial device , connected properly
, switched on
Configure computer and serial device to use same data,protocol,speed,data
pattern.
Computer :High DTR, device :DSR high
Any telephone call comes, send RI to signal.
Send CD signal to computer.
Computer gives high RTS, serial interface make CTS signal high

Centronic interface

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

Connecting printer and other devices

Device side 36 pin connector
Computer side 25 pin D-type connector
Data flows in one direction only
Eight data lines and other lines to read status info and send control
signals

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES
Signals from PC to printer
-Strobe: the printer should take data when the signal is low.
-INIT: When INT is low , the printer resets its electronics logic and clears
printer buffer.
-SLCTIN : Interface enabled signal, when signal is low Printer responds to
signals from the controller.
-AUTO FEED XT :--after every line the printer will provide one line feed
automatically if this signal is low. Know as hardware line feed.
Signals from printer to computer
-ACK : acknowledge signal for -strobe from printer to pc.
When active , it indicated that printer has received data sent by PC and the
printer is ready to accept next data cycle
Busy: when signal is high , indicates printer can not receive data.
o signal becomes high :
on receiving STROBE.
During printing operation
printer offline state.
printer senses error condition.
PE : high means no paper in printer.
SLCT :logic 1 means device is online . Selected and connected
ERROR:
o mechanical fault.
o printer is offline
o no paper , paper end state.

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Chapter 6:----INTERFACES

Centronics Handshake
Timing diagram of the Centronics protocol. The signals are transmitted via
specific digital lines provided by the parallel port.

When printer controller send ASCII code to the printer , then after 0.5
micro seconds, it makes STORBE signal low for the period of 0.5 ms.
As soon as STORBE signal becomes low, the printer makes the BUSY signal
high.
When printer is ready to receive the next ASCII data, it makes ACK signal
low.
When ACK signal is made inactive then the printer removes the BUSY signal.

30