Computer Port

Definition - What does Computer Port mean?

A computer port is a connection point or interface between a computer and an external
or internal device. Internal ports may connect such devices as hard drives and CD ROM
or DVD drives; external ports may connect modems, printers, mice and other devices.

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Techopedia explains Computer Port

Computer ports have numerous functions and connectors of varying designs. Types of
computer ports include:

 Serial Ports: These are most commonly used for connections to mice and
modems.
 Parallel Ports:These are most commonly used for printers.
 Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) Ports: These are used to connect
printers and up to seven total devices, such as hard disks and tape drives, to the
same port; they can support higher data transmission speeds than serial or
parallel ports.
 Universal Serial Bus (USB) Ports: As the name implies, these can be used to
connect many devices including all previously mentioned plus keyboards,
scanners, external hard drives, USB drives (also sometimes called thumb drives
or portable USB drives), cameras, iphones and many other peripherals and
devices.

Typical serial ports may use a serial RS-232C or an RS-232 connector. A parallel port
on a personal computer (PC) may use a Centronics interface with a 25-pin connector.
SCSI ports come in a variety of interface connections; these include:

 Parallel SCSI (SPI): This port uses a parallel electrical bus configuration.
 Serial Attached SCSI (SAS): This port uses a serial design with SCSI technology.
 Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI): This port is not a physical
connection at all, but uses TCP/IP to facilitate data transfer over intranets, local
area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs) or the Internet.

There are also many other interfaces that do not conform to the SCSI standard but use
the SCSI command protocol.
USB ports are one of the most common computer ports in use today. They are hot
pluggable external connectors with 4 pins (1 for power supply, 2 for data and 1 for a
ground connection), measure 4.5 mm by 11.5 mm and come with a maximum length
cable of 5 meters. The maximum number of devices that can be connected to a single
computer with USB computer ports is 127.
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