FIREWIRE

A SEMINAR REPORT

Submitted by

ANZAL M S

In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY

IN
COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE &

TECHNOLOGY,KOCHI-682022

NOV 2008
DIVISION OF COMPUTER SCIENCE &ENGINEERING
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE &
TECHNOLOGY,KOCHI-682022

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this seminar report “FIREWIRE” is the bonafide work of

“ANZAL M S” who carried out the seminar under my supervision.

Ms Latha R Nair Mr David Peter

SEMINAR GUIDE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT
Lecturer Department of Computer Science
Department of Computer Science SOE,CUSAT
SOE,CUSAT
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I thank my seminar guide Mrs.Latha.R.Nair, Lecturer, CUSAT, for

her proper guidance, and valuable suggestions. I am indebted to Mr.

David Peter, the HOD, Computer Science division & other faculty

members for giving me an opportunity to learn and present the seminar. If

not for the above mentioned people my seminar would never have been

completed successfully. I once again extend my sincere thanks to all of

them.

Anzal M S

i
 ABSTRACT

FireWire is a high speed serial bus developed by Texas Instruments

and Apple computers. FireWire is compatible with more than 63

electronic and digital devices, which makes it a great choice for many

people. Technically speaking, FireWire is a PC serial bus interface

standard that offers isochronous data services and high-speed

communications between digital devices. Basically, FireWire facilitates

faster data transfer rates and usability across multiple devices.

FireWire has replaced Parallel SCSI in many applications, due to

lower implementation costs and a simplified, more adaptable cabling

system. IEEE 1394 has been adopted as the High Definition Audio-Video

Network Alliance (HANA) standard connection interface for A/V

(audio/visual) component communication and control. FireWire is also

available in wireless, fiber optic and coaxial versions using the

isochronous protocols. Its higher sustained transfer rate gives it an edge

over USB also.

ii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER NO TITLE PAGE NO

List of figures iv
List of abbreviations v

1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 What is FireWire? 1
2. FIREWIRE 2
2.1 History and development 4
2.2 Working 8
3. REVIEWS 14
3.1 Operating system support 14
3.2 USB v/s FireWire 17
3.3 Security Issues 22
4 APPLICATIONS 24
4.1 Main applications 24
4.2 Networking over FireWire 25
5 CONCLUSION 29
6 REFERENCES 30

iii
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIG NO DESCRIPTION PAGE NO

2.1 FireWire Architecture 8

2.2 Data exchange between FireWire cameras and computers 10

iv
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

NO ABBREVIATION EXPANSION

1 IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

2 API Application Interface
3 USB Universal Serial Bus
4 SCSI Small Computer System Interface
5 IP Internet Protocol
6 IIDC Instrumentation and Industrial
Digital Camera
7 DV Digital Video

v
FireWire

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 What is FireWire?

The FireWire is one of the fastest peripheral standards ever developed, which makes it great
for use with multimedia peripherals such as digital video cameras and other high-speed devices
like the latest hard disk drives and printers. It was introduced as a successor to the SCSI.

FireWire is integrated into Power Macs, iMacs, eMacs, MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and the
iPod. FireWire ports were also integrated into many other computer products dating back to the
Power Macintosh G3 "Blue & White" computers. All these machines include FireWire ports that
operate at up to 400 megabits per second and the latest machines include FireWire ports that
support 1394b and operate at up to 800 megabits per second.

FireWire is a cross-platform implementation of the high-speed serial data bus defined by the
IEEE 1394-1995, IEEE 1394a-2000, and IEEE 1394b standards that can move large amounts of
data between computers and peripheral devices. It features simplified cabling, hot swapping, and
transfer speeds of up to 800 megabits per second (on machines that support 1394b).

Major manufacturers of multimedia devices have been adopting the FireWire technology,
and for good reason. FireWire speeds up the movement of multimedia data and large files and
enables easy connection of digital consumer products including digital camcorders, digital video
tapes, digital video disks, set-top boxes, and music systems directly to a personal computer.

FireWire, also known as IEEE 1394 and i.Link, is a high speed serial bus developed by
Texas Instruments and Apple computers in the mid 1990s. FireWire is compatible with more
than 63 electronic and digital devices, which makes it a great choice for many people.
Technically speaking, FireWire is a PC serial bus interface standard that offers isochronous data
services and high-speed communications between digital devices. Basically, FireWire facilitates
faster data transfer rates and usability across multiple devices.

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FireWire

FireWire is similar to Universal Serial Bus (USB), but it has a higher data transfer capacity -
up to 800 Mbps, compared to the USB's 480 Mbps. This makes it ideal for peripherals that
require high-speed data transfer, such as digital camcorders, DVD players and digital audio
equipment.

Originally developed as a serial replacement for the SCSI Bus, FireWire was proposed to
the IEEE by Apple computers in 1995. Sony has an implementation of the same standard known
as i.Link, which is a four pin design as opposed to the original six pin model, which was made
exclusively for Sony i.Link products.

FireWire 400, the first model to be introduced, had data transfer speeds of 100, 200, and
400 Mbps. FireWire 800 was introduced in 2003 and has a transfer rate of 800 Mbps, it also
comes with a six pin connector that makes it compatible with the earlier FireWire 400. Thanks to
the low start up costs and more adaptable cabling system, FireWire has successfully replaced
SCSI in many applications. FireWire is widely used in situations where there is simply a need for
data transfer at the highest speeds possible. Most personal computers come in with a built in
FireWire port, as do many MP3 players.

FireWire gets a lot of positive recognition because it provides high speed, better power
distribution, and does not require a computer host for its functioning. FireWire also gets a lot of
attention because it outdoes SCSI capabilities in the way of higher sustained data transfer rates,
which audio and video editors require. Most would also agree that the FireWire is advantageous
because it can be daisy chained to extend it to many times a single cable length.

Compared to SCSI or USB, it can be seen that FireWire easily outperforms the other
technologies because it is more robust, efficient, and has some great features. Some of the great
things are that Firewire can be used to connect 63 peripherals in a cyclic network structure where
SCSI follows a linear structure. Firewire also facilitates peer-to-peer device communications
without using PC memory. Firewire also permits multiple hosts per bus, without the aid of an

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additional chip set like a USB cable. Firewire also supports plug and play and acts as a useful
power cord for moderately power consuming devices.

FireWire, more properly known as IEEE 1394 for the specification that governs its
implementation, is a wonderful connectivity standard for high-speed peripherals and media
devices. Today it is the exclusive standard for connecting digital video cameras to PC's and other
video consumer devices, and is branching out to printers, scanners, and hard drives.

What originally drew attention to FireWire is its ability to simultaneously connect scores of
devices with blazing speed: 100-200-400Mb/s throughput, connecting up to 63 devices on one
controller with cable lengths up to 4.5 meters (needs 'repeaters' beyond this cable length),
supplying power to all devices (up to 1.25A/12V max.), and peer-to-peer device communication
without external control from a PC.

In short, FireWire was, and still is, a hotrod technology. By comparison, USB was your
father's Oldsmobile - slow and pokey 1.5Mb/s or 12Mb/s connection, good enough for mice,
keyboards and printers, but barely adequate for anything else. Even those who had a ringside seat
at the introduction of both technologies five years ago are a bit mystified why USB got the red-
carpet treatment from the PC industry, yet FireWire was shown the door.

IEEE 1394 was firmly included in the "PC98" specification, the agreed-upon plan
promulgated by Intel, Microsoft, and the major PC OEMs that defines exactly what technologies
are to be included in major PC hardware and software releases. The entire industry and
marketplace understood that a FireWire implementation was to be a standard feature on
consumer and business PCs, and readied itself for the massive changeover that would occur
when FireWire became the new standard for connecting, well, everything.

This expectation was not without some basis in fact. FireWire was hyped as the high
performance cure for everything from dropped frames to lost packets. Intel and Microsoft
developers claimed that the IEEE 1394 spec would soon replace serial ports, parallel ports,

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mouse ports, keyboard connectors, replace IDE and SCSI in drive subsystems, make the PCI bus
obsolete, would replace Ethernet networking and TV cabling - even become part of the standard
wiring built into new homes.

FireWire has replaced Parallel SCSI in many applications, due to lower implementation
costs and a simplified, more adaptable cabling system. IEEE 1394 has been adopted as the High
Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance (HANA) standard connection interface for A/V
(audio/visual) component communication and control. FireWire is also available in wireless,
fiber optic, and coaxial versions using the isochronous protocols.

Almost all modern digital camcorders have included this connection since 1995, as do the
vast majority of high end professional audio interfaces. Since 2003 many computers intended for
home or professional audio/video use have built-in FireWire/i.LINK ports, including all Sony
computers, all but one of Apple's computers (the MacBook Air), and many of its older iPods. It
is also available on many retail motherboards.

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2. FIREWIRE

2.1 History and development

Before FireWire and USB appeared, external devices were typically connected to a
computer using serial and parallel ports. But those connections had many limitations: data
transfer rates were sluggish, devices couldn't be unplugged without causing your computer to
crash, you couldn't easily swap multiple devices on the same port, and so on.

In fact FireWire was introduced as a successor to the SCSI. So let us have a look on the
SCSI first. Small Computer System Interface, or SCSI (pronounced skuh-zee), is a set of
standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral
devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces.
SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it can connect a wide range of
other devices, including scanners and CD drives. The SCSI standard defines command sets for
specific peripheral device types; the presence of "unknown" as one of these types means that in
theory it can be used as an interface to almost any device, but the standard is highly pragmatic
and addressed toward commercial requirements.

• SCSI is an intelligent interface: it hides the complexity of physical format. Every device
attaches to the SCSI bus in a similar manner.

• SCSI is a peripheral interface: up to 8 or 16 devices can be attached to a single bus. There

can be any number of hosts and peripheral devices but there should be at least one host.

• SCSI is a buffered interface: it uses hand shake signals between devices, SCSI-1, SCSI-2
have the option of parity error checking. Starting with SCSI-U160 (part of SCSI-3) all
commands and data is error checked by a CRC32 checksum.

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FireWire

• SCSI is a peer to peer interface: the SCSI protocol defines communication from host to
host, host to a peripheral device, peripheral device to a peripheral device. However most
peripheral devices are exclusively SCSI targets, incapable of acting as SCSI initiators—
unable to initiate SCSI transactions themselves. Therefore peripheral-to-peripheral
communications are uncommon, but possible in most SCSI applications. The Symbios
Logic 53C810 chip is an example of a PCI host interface that can act as a SCSI target.

In the mid nineties, the connectivity situation began to improve dramatically with the
introduction of FireWire and, a few years later, USB. Both technologies offer faster data transfer
rates, true plug-and-play connectivity, the ability to unplug one device and plug another into the
same port without rebooting, and more.

FireWire is Apple Inc.'s name for the IEEE 1394 High Speed Serial Bus. It was initiated by
Apple and developed by the IEEE P1394 Working Group, largely driven by contributions from
Apple, although major contributions were also made by engineers from Texas Instruments, Sony,
Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM, and INMOS/SGS Thomson (now STMicroelectronics).

Apple intended FireWire to be a serial replacement for the parallel SCSI (Small Computer
System Interface) bus while also providing connectivity for digital audio and video equipment.
Apple's development began in the late 1980s, later presented to the IEEE, and was completed in
1995. As of 2007, IEEE 1394 is a composite of four documents: the original IEEE Std. 1394-
1995, the IEEE Std. 1394a-2000 amendment, the IEEE Std. 1394b-2002 amendment, and the
IEEE Std. 1394c-2006 amendment. On June 12, 2008, all these amendments as well as errata and
some technical updates were incorporated into a superseding standard IEEE Std. 1394-2008.
Publication of this standard is expected mid October 2008

Sony's implementation of the system, known as "i.LINK" used a smaller connector with only
the four signal pins, omitting the two pins which provide power to the device in favor of a

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FireWire

separate power connector. This style was later added into the 1394a amendment. This port is
sometimes labeled "S100" or "S400" to indicated speed in Mbit/s.

The system is commonly used for connection of data storage devices and DV
(digital video) cameras, but is also popular in industrial systems for machine vision and
professional audio systems. It is preferred over the more common USB for its greater effective
speed and power distribution capabilities, and because it does not need a computer host. Perhaps
more importantly, FireWire makes full use of all SCSI capabilities and has high sustained data
transfer rates, a feature especially important for audio and video editors. Benchmarks show that
the sustained data transfer rates are higher for FireWire than for USB 2.0, especially on Apple
Mac OS X with more varied results on Microsoft Windows.

However, the royalty which Apple Inc. and other patent holders initially demanded from
users of FireWire (US$0.25 per end-user system) and the more expensive hardware needed to
implement it (US$1–$2), both of which have since been dropped, have prevented FireWire from
displacing USB in low-end mass-market computer peripherals, where product cost is a major
constraintThe maximum speed of USB2 at 480M/Sec is a little quicker than Firewire 400
(IEEE.1394a) which runs at 400 M/Sec (hence the "400" bit of the name).

In tests, however, FireWire 400 delivers a higher sustained transfer speed. Benchmarks suggest
that hard drives connected with FireWire will copy information considerably faster than they
would using USB 2.0.

To achieve higher performance, FireWire requires additional circuitry in supported devices. This
often makes FireWire more expensive than USB 2.0.

Firewire 800 (IEEE.1394b) as the names suggests, has a peak speed of almost 800 M/Sec.

Used primarily by PC musicians for recording and transferring multichannel audio at high
sample rates and for digital video cameras and deck

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FireWire

2.2 Working

Fig2.1 FireWire architecture

There are two levels of interface in IEEE 1394, one for the backplane bus within the
computer and another for the point-to-point interface between device and computer on the serial
cable. A simple bridge connects the two environments. The backplane bus supports 12.5, 25, or
50 megabits per second data transfer. The cable interface supports 100, 200, or 400 megabits per
second. Each of these interfaces can handle any of the possible data rates and change from one to
another as needed.

The serial bus functions as though devices were in slots within the computer sharing a
common memory space. A 64-bit device address allows a great deal of flexibility in configuring
devices in chains and trees from a single socket.

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FireWire

IEEE 1394 provides two types of data transfer: asynchronous and isochronous. Asynchronous
is for traditional load-and-store applications where data transfer can be initiated and an
application interrupted as a given length of data arrives in a buffer. Isochronous data transfer
ensures that data flows at a pre-set rate so that an application can handle it in a timed way. For
multimedia applications, this kind of data transfer reduces the need for buffering and helps
ensure a continuous presentation for the viewer.

The 1394 standard requires that a device be within 4.5 meters of the bus socket. Up to 16 devices
can be connected in a single chain, each with the 4.5 meter maximum (before signal attenuation
begins to occur) so theoretically you could have a device as far away as 72 meters.

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FireWire

Fig 2.2 Data exchange between FireWire cameras and computers

Left: company specific system

Right: open system

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FireWire

Isochronous transfers: Isochronous transfers are always broadcast in a one-to-one or one-to-

many fashion. No error correction or retransmission is available for isochronous transfers. Up to
80% of the available bus bandwidth can be used for isochronous transfers. Isochronous data
transfer ensures that data flows at a pre-set rate so that an application can handle it in a timed
way. For multimedia applications, this kind of data transfer reduces the need for buffering and
helps ensure a continuous presentation for the viewer.

Asynchronous transfers: Asynchronous transfers are targeted to a specific node with an explicit
address. They are not guaranteed a specific amount of bandwidth on the bus, but they are
guaranteed a fair shot at gaining access to the bus when asynchronous transfers are permitted.
This allows error-checking and retransmission mechanisms to take place. Asynchronous is for
traditional load-and-store applications where data transfer can be initiated and an application
interrupted as a given length of data arrives in a buffer

IEEE 1394 Capabilities

The IEEE 1394 standard defines a high speed serial interface that can be used to connect
peripheral devices, for example, printers, scanners, and cameras, to your computer. Some
common features of the IEEE 1394 standard are:

• A simple plug and socket connection. This connection is visually similar to universal
serial bus (USB) connections, although USB and IEEE 1394 are not compatible.

• The capacity to have up to 63 devices connected serially (in series) to a single port.

• Data transfer speeds of up to the rate of 400 megabytes (MB) per second. (The
maximum speed is presently 200 MB per second.)

• Thin wire cable.

• Hot plug and play capability. (You do not need to turn off a computer to connect and use

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FireWire

a peripheral device.)

• The ability to chain devices together in a number of different ways without terminators
or complicated setup requirements.

• The ability for IEEE 1394-compliant devices to connect together without the use of a
computer (for example, when you are dubbing video tapes).

• Asynchronous communication for batch or packet data transfer and storage.

• Isochronous communication for real-time voice and video transmission, and any other
program that is better-suited for streaming data transfer.

• Devices as far apart as 4.5 meters (nearly 15 feet) can be connected.

Differences between FireWire 400 and FireWire 800

With the development of FireWire 800, the question on everyone’s mind is, what is going
to happen to your legacy devices? Existing peripherals and devices are going to continue
to operate. The performance will remain the same for your legacy FireWire devices
operating at the original FireWire 400 speed.
Essentially, the main difference between FireWire 800 and FireWire 400 can be summed
up in one word – speed. FireWire 800 offers impressive results, with speeds up to
100MB/s, though current drive technology limits this to 55MB/s (maximum sustained
throughput) for a single drive, and up to 100MB/s (maximum sustained throughput) per
bus in RAID 0 configurations.
Other key advancements include the support of increased cabling distances and newly
enhanced arbitration architecture. Utilizing cables constructed of professional-grade glass
optical fiber, when both devices are connected via a FireWire 800 hub, FireWire 800 can
burst data across 100 meters of cable.

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FireWire

The new arbitration scheme greatly improves on the existing architecture by incorporating
advanced 8B10B data encoding (based on codes used by Gigabit Ethernet and Fiber Channel),
which reduces signal distortion, and also improves the arbitration time by prepping while the
current data is being sent, allowing the data to be sent as soon as the current transmission is
completed.

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FireWire

3. REVIEWS

3.1 Operating system support

Full support for IEEE 1394a and 1394b is available for Microsoft Windows XP, FreeBSD,
Linux[6], Apple Mac OS 8.6 through to Mac OS 9[7], and Mac OS X as well as NetBSD and
Haiku. Historically, performance of 1394 devices may have decreased after you installed
Windows XP Service Pack 2, but were resolved in SP3. Some FireWire hardware manufacturers
also provide custom device drivers which replace the Microsoft OHCI host adapter driver stack,
enabling S800-capable devices to run at full 800 Mbit/s transfer rates on older versions of
Windows and Windows Vista. At the time of its release, Microsoft Windows Vista supported
only 1394a, with assurances that 1394b support would come in the next service pack. Service
Pack 1 for Microsoft Windows Vista has since been released. However as of now it does not
work as efficiently as for Windows XP.

FireWire on Windows XP
Windows XP has built-in IEEE 1394 support. To use all the capabilities of the IEEE 1394
standard, your computer must have an IEEE 1394 adapter installed. If your computer has a
FireWire adapter, the adaptor is IEEE 1394 compatible. Some of the capabilities of a Windows
XP-based computer with the IEEE 1394 standard are:

Instant network connectivity by plugging two or more computers together (no additional
•
hardware or software required).

• End-to-end throughput of over 50 Mbps with plenty of digital bandwidth remaining for

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FireWire

demanding audio-visual programs.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) over IEEE 1394. This feature makes
it very easy to share a single Internet connection when you connect one computer to the
Internet and then connect more computers to the first computer. The Windows XP built-in
•
Internet Connection Sharing feature provides the necessary software support.

NOTE: Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) and other networking protocols are not supported.

The ability to use IEEE 1394 drivers for peripheral devices. These drivers are provided by the
manufacturers of the devices.

•Windows XP comes with full support with IEEE 1394; you are not required to install any
software. If you need to install an adapter, simply plug it in to an available adapter slot, and
Windows XP completes the installation.

•To install an IEEE 1394 device, your computer must have an IEEE 1394 adapter. If it does,
then you are only required to plug in the device.

•The IEEE 1394 drivers that you may need are provided by the manufacturer. Most IEEE 1394
devices do not need special drivers.

APPLIES TO

• Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64

Edition

• Microsoft Windows XP Professional

• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

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FireWire

Windows Vista and FireWire

Windows Vista now supports every single device on our test-bed PCs without absolute, dire need
for 3rd party drivers; with the exception of our Creative Sound Cards and every single Firewire
card/chipset we have! When it comes to the sound cards, that’s OK; because after all, the drivers
are available, and all it takes is an internet connection to get it going.

But Firewire cards are different. Manufacturers make them compliant with the original standards,
in a one-driver-fits-them-all kind of attitude. On Windows XP one of our cards showed up as a
“Microsoft IEE1394 Controller” (we didn’t know Microsoft even made these cards!) and the
other as an “NEC Firewire Controller.”

When Windows Vista builds first began to come out, there were no drivers. Half-way there (or
quarter of the way – it depends on how many more builds we have to go) Microsoft added
Firewire support. It was (probably) build 5231 when we could finally use our Firewire
networking system, but to our great disappointment, one build later, Firewire support was gone.

RC1 is here and post-RC1 branches have appeared (Windows Longhorn Server builds), and yet
Firewire support is a no-show. Microsoft Has decided to pull support for Apple’s proprietary
Firewire standard from Windows

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FireWire

3.2 USB v/s FireWire

Universal Serial Bus or USB is a competing serial input/output technology was introduced in
1997. USB ports are found on most desktop PCs, notebooks, and peripherals today. There are far
more USB devices than there are FireWire peripherals, and they usually cost $20 to $40 less. But
the current USB standard, version 1.1, is considerably slower than FireWire, with data transfer
rates theoretically up to 12 mbps (real-world transfers vary by device type and are much slower).

The new USB 2.0 specification promises data transfer rates of 480 mbps, which is 80 mbps faster
than FireWire. At this time, however, notebooks (and desktops, for that matter) with USB 2.0
ports are scarce. That should change within the next six months. Gateway, for instance, has
vowed to put USB 2.0 ports in all its computers by year's end. Meanwhile, several new
peripherals, such as some portable hard drives, use the new standard.

It's important to note that USB 2.0 devices are backwards-compatible with USB 1.1 ports. While
you won't get the increased speeds, you can use a USB 2.0 device with your current notebook's
USB 1.1 port

The Transfer rates of the USB and FireWire are as follows

USB 1.1: Transfer limit of around 11Mbps (1.5MB per second)

USB 2.0: 480Mbps (60MB per second)
USB 3.0: 4.8Gbps (Yet to be released)
FireWire 400 (IEEE 1394a): 400 Mbit/s data rates (50MB per second)
FireWire 800 (IEEE 1394b): 800 Mbit/s data rates (100MB per second)
FireWire S1600: 1.6Gbps
FireWire S3200: 3.2Gbps

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FireWire

At first glance it would appear that USB 2.0 is even faster than FireWire (400); however
speed is not the only issue when it comes to DV. One serious issue with USB 2.0 is that it can
not guarantee a specified data transfer rate. This is due to USB 2.0 being a master-slave
technology, which means it needs a computer's CPU to coordinate the appropriate data transfers.
While not a problem when dealing with low demand peripherals such as Web cams, scanners,
printers etc, digital video requires dependable performance to avoid dropping video frames.
FireWire is a much more independent technology in that it works in a peer-to-peer relationship. For this
reason, many professional DV users are now able to download their video from a DV camcorder to an
external hard drive without the use of a PC. Finally, and most importantly, FireWire delivers data
consistently at a specific rate.

It is said that USB 3.0 standard will able to scale up to 4.8Gbps data transmission speed. It is
about ten times higher than current USB 2.0 standard in today PC market. During the last IDF
(Intel Developer Forum), Intel did disclose that the specification could be available in first half
of 2008. But now seems that the new FireWire S3200 standard, a main competitor for USB
standard could get an earlier release by February 2008, before the availability of USB 3.0
specification. The FireWire S3200 is said to be able to achieve up to 3.2Gbps, make it closer to
its competitor’s data speed

FireWire S3200 is the third version of IEEE 1394 proposed by the Trade Association. The
first version, FireWire 400 ran at 400Mbps while the second version, FireWire 800 at 800Mbps.
This third version is getting much higher throughput even though they are based on same
protocol and even physical connections. As compared to USB 3.0 that needs different optical
fiber connectivity as mentioned here in order to achieve gigabyte rate, FireWire S3200 has
greater advantages of reusing existing cable and connectors based on its previous standard that
could shorten development cycle as well as TTM (Time to market). Besides, FireWire utilizes
peer to peer architecture which is less CPU dependent as compared to USB in Master/Slave
mode. Furthermore, FireWire can be extended to up to 100 meter while able to supply more
power over USB port.

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FireWire

FireWire—up to and including S3200—has always offered certain advantages that USB
lacks. Not only is it markedly less CPU-intensive due to its peer-to-peer nature (USB is
master/slave), but FireWire is capable of delivering more power over a single cable. FireWire
also allows for cable runs of up to 100 meters; USB 2 allows for a mere fraction of this, though
USB 3.0 should increase cable lengths considerably

One advantage that FireWire devices have over USB devices is the ability to draw power
from the computer. Standard FireWire cables have six-prong connectors on either end and
consist of six wires, two of which can carry power to external devices. That means an external
FireWire hard drive could run without AC power when connected to a notebook's six-pin
FireWire port. In theory, that's a big benefit for travelers. You'd be able to back up your
notebook's hard drive to an external drive while on a plane, for instance.

But it's not that simple, unfortunately. To save space and conserve power, many notebooks
come with four-pin FireWire ports. External devices must connect to them with a four-pin cable
or six-to-four-pin adapter, which means you lose the two power wires of the six-wire FireWire
cables. These devices must use an AC adapter in order to operate on a notebook with a four-pin
FireWire port, meaning that notebook owners with four-pin FireWire ports have to forget about
backing up to an external hard drive while flying over the Rockies.

Many FireWire devices ship with the standard six-pin cables, so those with four-pin
FireWire ports will need a four-to-six-pin adapter (about $5 to $15) or a FireWire cable with a
six-pin connector on one end and a four-pin connector on the other (about $20). Check out
StarTech.com for FireWire accessories.

On average, FireWire devices are more expensive than their USB counterparts--but usually
not by much. For example, Iomega's 80GB external FireWire hard drive was selling recently at
PC Connection for $300, compared to $280 for Iomega's 80GB external USB 2.0 drive.

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FireWire

The bottom line? If you're in the market for a new notebook, consider one with USB ports
as well as a six-pin FireWire port for the greatest speed and flexibility when traveling. That's
easier said than done, however, as many computer makers don't differentiate in their product
literature between four- and six-pin ports. If the FireWire specs are unclear or unstated, call the
manufacturer for details.

If the peripheral you need is USB-only, hold out for a USB 2.0-compatible device, if
possible. Even if your current notebook has a USB 1.1 port, you might be upgrading at some
point to a computer with a USB 2.0 port, so the faster peripheral may be a better investment in
the long run.

Of course, you could also consider waiting until notebooks with USB 2.0 ports are
available. Some vendors may even offer models with both USB 2.0 and FireWire ports, though
which manufacturers and when isn't clear at the moment. Keep in mind that new technologies
usually appear in desktop computers first, so it could be six months or so before there's much of
a selection for notebooks with USB 2.0 ports.

The maximum speed of USB2 at 480M/Sec is a little quicker than Firewire 400 (IEEE.1394a)
which runs at 400 M/Sec (hence the "400" bit of the name).

In tests, however, FireWire 400 delivers a higher sustained transfer speed. Benchmarks
suggest that hard drives connected with FireWire will copy information considerably faster than
they would using USB 2.0.

To achieve higher performance, FireWire requires additional circuitry in supported devices.

This often makes FireWire more expensive than USB 2.0.

Firewire 800 (IEEE.1394b) as the names suggests, has a peak speed of almost 800 M/Sec.

Used primarily by PC musicians for recording and transferring multichannel audio at high
sample rates and for digital video cameras and deck

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FireWire 800 verses SCSI

The SCSI based system has a number of disadvantages to FireWire 800. SCSI based systems
have a parallel interface, which cases it to have very limited connectability, unlike FireWire that
can connect to almost all computer peripherals. SCSI is still a very expense route for computer
speed and has a maximum capacity per drive of 146GB compared to 500GB for LaCie’s Big
Disk. FireWire devices are truly plug and play, unlike SCSI devices which require a device ID,
FireWire devices can be plugged or unplugged without the need to restart your computer.

USB 3.0 and FireWire

USB is 3.0 is said to get an upper hand over the FireWire. USB 3.0 standard that able to
scale up to 4.8Gbps data transmission speed. It is about ten times higher than current USB 2.0
standard in today PC market. During the last IDF (Intel Developer Forum), Intel did disclose that
the specification could be available in first half of 2008. But now seems that the new FireWire
S3200 standard, a main competitor for USB standard could get an earlier release by February
2008, before the availability of USB 3.0 specification. The FireWire S3200 is said to be able to
achieve up to 3.2Gbps, make it closer to its competitor’s data speed.

3.3 Security Issues

Devices on a FireWire bus can communicate by direct memory access, where a device can
use hardware to map internal memory to FireWire's "Physical Memory Space". The SBP-2
(Serial Bus Protocol 2) used by FireWire disk drives uses this capability to minimize interrupts
and buffer copies. In SBP-2, the initiator (controlling device) sends a request by remotely writing
a command into a specified area of the target's FireWire address space. This command usually
includes buffer addresses in the initiator's FireWire "Physical Address Space", which the target is
supposed to use for moving I/O data to and from the initiator. [26]

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On many implementations, particularly those like PCs and Macs using the popular OHCI,
the mapping between the FireWire "Physical Memory Space" and device physical memory is
done in hardware, without operating system intervention. While this enables high-speed and low-
latency communication between data sources and sinks without unnecessary copying (such as
between a video camera and a software video recording application, or between a disk drive and
the application buffers), this can also be a security risk if untrustworthy devices are attached to
the bus. For this reason, high-security installations will typically either purchase newer machines
which map a virtual memory space to the FireWire "Physical Memory Space" (such as a Power
Mac G5, or any Sun workstation), disable the OHCI hardware mapping between FireWire and
device memory, physically disable the entire FireWire interface, or do not have FireWire at all.
This feature can also be used to debug a machine whose operating system has crashed, and in

some systems for remote-console operations.

FireWire S3200 is the third version of IEEE 1394 proposed by the Trade Association. The
first version, FireWire 400 ran at 400Mbps while the second version, FireWire 800 at 800Mbps.
This third version is getting much higher throughput even though they are based on same
protocol and even physical connections. As compared to USB 3.0 that needs different optical
fiber connectivity as mentioned here in order to achieve gigabyte rate, FireWire S3200 has
greater advantages of reusing existing cable and connectors based on its previous standard that
could shorten development cycle as well as TTM (Time to market). Besides, FireWire utilizes
peer to peer architecture which is less CPU dependent as compared to USB in Master/Slave
mode. Furthermore, FireWire can be extended to up to 100 meter while able to supply more
power over USB port.

Regardless of so many pros and cons, nobody can predict if FireWire will able to take up
more market segment (now dominant by USB 2.0) in few years down the road. Even on the
throughput delta, there is not much to say now on how much it will affect the actual device
performance since the gigabyte rate usage is still under utilized.

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4. APPLICATIONS

4.1 Main applications

The major application of FireWire is in media sharing. There are certain other applications also
which are also listed.

Aircraft: IEEE 1394b is used in military aircraft, where weight savings are desired. Developed
for use as the data bus on the F-22 Raptor, it is also used on the F-35 Lightning II.[20] NASA's
Space Shuttle also uses IEEE 1394b to monitor debris (foam, ice) which may hit the vehicle
during launch.[20] This standard should not be confused with the unrelated MIL-STD-1394B.

Automobiles: IDB-1394 Customer Convenience Port (CCP) is the automotive version of the
1394 standard.

IIDC: IIDC (Instrumentation & Industrial Digital Camera) is the FireWire data format standard
for live video, and is used by Apple's iSight A/V camera. The system was designed for machine
vision systems,[25] but is also used for other computer vision applications and for some webcams.
Although they are easily confused since they both run over FireWire, IIDC is different from, and
incompatible with, the ordinary DV (Digital Video) camcorder protocol.

DV: Digital Video (DV) is a standard protocol used by nearly all digital camcorders. Formerly,
all DV cameras had a FireWire interface (usually a 4-pin), but recently many consumer brands
have switched to USB. Labeling of the port varies by manufacturer, with Sony using either its
i.LINK trademark or the letters 'DV'. Many digital video recorders have a "DV-input" FireWire
connector (usually a 6-pin connector) which can be used to record video from a directly-
connected DV camcorder ("computer-free"). The protocol also allows remote control (play,
rewind, etc.) of connected devices.

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Special cameras

In the domains of industry, medicine, astronomy, microscopy and science FireWire cameras are
often used not for aesthetic, but rather for analytical purposes. They output uncompressed image
data, without audio. These cameras are based on the protocol DCAM (IIDC) or on company
specific protocols.

Due to their field of application, their behavior is considerably different from photo cameras or
video cameras:

1. Their case is small and built mainly from metal and do not follow aesthetic, but rather
functional design constraints.
2. The vast majority of special cameras does not offer integrated optics, but a standardized
lens mount called "C-mount" or "CS-mount". This standard is not only used by lenses,
but also by microscopes, telescopes, endoscopes and other optical devices.
3. Recording aids, such as autofocus or image stabilization are not available.
4. Special cameras often utilize monochrome CCD or CMOS chips.
5. Special cameras often do not apply an infrared cut filter or optical low pass filters, thus
avoid affecting the image.
6. Special cameras output image data streams and single images, which are captured using
an external trigger signal. In this way, these cameras can be integrated into industrial
processes.
7. Mass storage devices are not available since the images have to be analyzed more or less
immediately by the computer connected to the camera.
8. The vast majority of special cameras is controlled by application software, installed on a
computer. Therefore, the cameras do not have external switches.
9. Application software is rarely available off-the-shelf. It usually has to be adapted to the
specific application. Therefore, camera manufacturers offer programming tools designed
for their cameras. If a camera uses the standard protocol DCAM (IIDC), it can also be
used with third party software. A lot of industrial computers and embedded systems are

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compatible to the DCAM (IIDC) protocol (please cf. Structure / Interface and
Exchanging data with computers).

In comparison to photo or video cameras, these special cameras are very simple. However, it
makes no sense to use them in an isolated manner. They are, as other sensors, only components
of a bigger system

Optimum use for FireWire 800

FireWire 800 is not ideal for every device, but due to its high bandwidth and support of
both isochronous and asynchronous data delivery, FireWire has found a very successful
place in both the computer and consumer electronic industries. In the past year, we have
been disk drive performance bump into the limits of 400 Mbps FireWire, with most
Implementations in the range of 35-40 Mbytes/sec. Users should see better than 40 Mbytes
per second for single drives and up to 80-90 Mbytes per second for striped drives.
FireWire 800 is ideal for hard drives, video, digital audio and digital cameras to name a
few, but is overkill for tape drives and CD/DVD burners.

4.2 Networking over FireWire

FireWire can be used for ad-hoc (terminals only, no routers) computer networks.
Specifically, RFC 2734 specifies how to run IPv4 over the FireWire interface, and RFC 3146
specifies how to run IPv6. Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD, Windows ME, Windows 2000,
Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 all include support for networking over FireWire. A
network can be set up between two computers using a single standard FireWire cable, or by
multiple computers through use of a hub. This is similar to Ethernet networks with the major
differences being transfer speed, wire length, and the fact that standard FireWire cables can be
used for point-to-point communication.

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On December 4, 2004, Microsoft announced that it would discontinue support for IP

networking over the FireWire interface in all future versions of Microsoft Windows.
Subsequently, support for this feature was removed from both Windows Vista and Windows
Server 2008. The PlayStation 2 console had an i.LINK-branded 1394 connector.

All Apple computers sold today include one or more FireWire ports. Mac OS X versions
10.3 and later support the Internet Protocol (IP) on FireWire. Operating at up to 400 or 800
megabits per second, IP over FireWire provides many useful capabilities for developers and
customers.

IP over FireWire

Customers can immediately enable IP over FireWire and then connect two or more Macintosh
systems by FireWire for file sharing, Internet sharing, or the use of any other IP-based service.
IPv6 and zero-configuration networking are also supported. Many Macintosh products have
10/100 Ethernet and FireWire 400, making FireWire the fastest option for local area IP. For help
activating IP over FireWire, open Mac Help and enter "IP over FireWire".

Developers can use IP over FireWire in many additional ways. IP services are already
found in a broad variety of devices, such as access points, printers, scanners, and storage
solutions. If these products are moved to FireWire, existing IP services such as web-based
configuration or IP-based data transfer can be preserved while gaining the high speed, power,
and real-time capabilities of FireWire. IP over FireWire can also be used as the starting point for
new development, such as for cluster computing applications. Established IP services such as
AFP, HTTP, FTP, SSH and TCP/IP can all be used on FireWire to support new development.

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FireWire

FireWire Repeaters

• FireWire Repeater / FireWire Active Extension Cable - This FireWire repeater active extension
cable extends your current FireWire cable another 5 meters, combine up to 5 cables and connect
up to 80 feet away!

• 6-Port FireWire Hub - Repeater

• Unibrain CAT5 Repeater-400 Kit FireWire Repeater - Low cost solution for extending the
distance between FireWire devices using standard CAT-5e (crossover) or CAT-6 type cables!

• Newnex FireNEX-CAT5 S400 Repeater - The world's first FireWire repeater using Cat 5 cabling
that supports FULL FireWire 400 (1394a) speeds!

• Newnex FireNEX800 1394b Optical Repeater - The latest in FireWire 800 - 1394b and optical
technology! Connect any FireWire device up to 500 meters (1640 feet) away!

Piscataway (NJ) – IEEE 1394, better known under the brand names of Firewire and i.Link,
will get a speed bump before the end of the year: The IEEE has approved the new IEEE 1394-
2008 specification that provides support for a bandwidth of up to 3.2 Gb/s.

Firewire has come a long way. From the initial development by Apple in the late 1980s, to
the technology’s completion in 1995 and surge in popularity in the early 2000s, the technology
has become a serial bus interface common in Sony and Apple computers as well as a range of
consumer electronics devices such as video cameras.

Most IEEE 1394 devices are still running on the S400 (400 Mb/s) specification despite the

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fact that S800 (800 Mb/s) was introduced with the IEEE 1394b spec in 2003. The problem with
this spec was a different connector than the design that was used for S400. However, bilingual
cables that are compatible with S400 and S800 ports are available.

The IEEE today announced that it formally approved the IEEE 1394-2008 spec, which will
introduce support for S1600 (1.6 Gb/s) and S3200 (3.2 Gb/s) while offering full backwards
compatibility with S400 and S800 ports. Down the road, it is expected that IEEE 1394 will scale
up to 6.4 Gb/s.

Firewire and i.Link desperately need the upgrade in order to remain competitive with
USB, which will receive an upgrade to 4.8 Gb/s in version 3.0.
The IEEE 1394-2008 spec will become available in October, according to the IEEE. The USB
3.0 spec is expected to be published by the end of this year

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5. CONCLUSION

The battle between USB and FireWire may not be over just yet. IEEE has recently
approved 1394-2008, a faster version of the standard widely known as FireWire. The combined
amendments, enhancements and more than 100 errata now increase the bandwidth of the twelve
year-old interface to 3.2Gbit/s, dubbed as S3200. At the same time, the group also gave the green
light to S1600 which offers 1.6Gbit/s.

The good news is that the new standard will reuse existing 9-pin FireWire 800
connectors; this should be a relief for those concerning incompatibility issue. USB 3.0, on the
other hand, calls for completely different cabling to accommodate optical in addition to copper
wiring. 1394-2008 and USB 3.0 will be the first version of their respective interfaces to break the
gigabit mark. USB 3.0 (aka. Super Speed USB) will be making a tenfold increase to 4.8Gbit/s
whereas its nemesis FireWire will quadruple its bandwidth to 3.2Gbit/s. However, as we have
already seen we cannot judge anything from the throughput values alone. So we will have to put
them into use in order to find the better Serial bus standard.

Compared to SCSI or USB, it can be seen that FireWire easily outperforms the other
technologies because it is more robust, efficient, and has some great features. Some of the great
things are that Firewire can be used to connect 63 peripherals in a cyclic network structure where
SCSI follows a linear structure. Firewire also facilitates peer-to-peer device communications
without using PC memory. Firewire also permits multiple hosts per bus, without the aid of an
additional chip set like a USB cable. Firewire also supports plug and play and acts as a useful
power cord for moderately power consuming devices.

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6. REFERENCES

1. Don Anderson “FireWire System Architecture-IEEE 1394”

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