Serial protocols: FireWire

FireWire (I-Link, Lynx, IEEE 1394)

High-performance serial bus developed by Apple Computer Inc. in late 1980s Designed for interfacing independent electronic components

e.g., Desktop, scanner

Data transfer rates from 12.5 to 400 Mbits/s, 64-bit addressing Hot insertion & Plug-and-play capabilities Packet-based layered design structure

FireWire
Capable of supporting a LAN similar to Ethernet

64-bit address:

10 bits for network ids, 1023 sub networks 6 bits for node ids, each sub network can have 63 nodes 48 bits for memory address, each node can have 281 terabytes of distinct locations Applications using FireWire include:
disk drives, printers, scanners, cameras

IEEE-1394
Supports

high-bandwidth requirements of devices such

as digital video equipment and high-performance mass storage

Performs well in Real-time data streaming and non real-

time
Allows

both

asynchronous

(explicit

addr)

and

Isochronous (broadcast) transfer

Evolution of IEEE-1394 (Cont)

IEEE Std. 1394a-2000, was approved in 2000:

Speeds of 100 Mbytes per second, 200 Mbps, and up to 400 Mbps Supports up to 63 devices Maximum cable length of 4.5 meters between devices Improved traffic control and power management features

Connector Diversity

Six-pin connector is composed of 6 wires (2 for power + 4 for signals)

Four-pin connector (power wires are missing) is about half the size of a USB:
connector choice for many consumer electronics products especially self-powered portable devices.

IEEE-1394 Connectors

Connector

Communication Diversity IEEE 1394 supports both isochronous communications asynchronous and

Ideal for applications such as digital audio and video, which demand real-time data transfer Its peer-to-peer interface makes it possible to dub from one device (a digital video camera, for instance) to another without a computer.
For example, a digital camera can send pictures directly to a printer

IEEE 1394 network

IEEE 1394 network is made of point-to-point connections It becomes a logical bus by repeating the signal at input of a node to all its outputs.

Characteristics Overview

Asynchronous/Isochronous transfer Four layers are defined to simplify hardware and software implementation -Bus Management Layer -Transaction layer -Link layer -Physical Layer

Isochronous Transfer

Its a broadcast mode of transfer Data delivery at constant intervals (125 s) Do not require confirmation of data delivery Defines 6-bit channel number allowing data stream to be broadcast
Example: data from a CD to a speaker that must occur at a constant rate to reproduce the sound without distortion

Applications must request the bandwidth from the resource manager node

Isochronous Transfer

Asynchronous Transfer

Confirmation to the initiator that transfer was successfully received Verifies data delivery via CRC, if errors occur retries are attempted under software control Targets a particular node using a 64-bit address Amount of data transferred depends on transmission speed
Example: applications that require that data transfers without any corruptions

Asynchronous Transfer
Initiated by a requester

node and received by a

responder node that returns a response.

Consist of two sub actions:

1. Request sub action.- transfers the address, command and data from requester to responder 2. Response sub action.- returns completion of

Asynchronous Transfer

IEEE 1394 Protocol Layers

Bus Management Layer

Supports bus configuration and management activities Channel

number and bus bandwidth allocation for

asynchronous transfers
The

1394

specification

identifies

three

global

management roles:
Cycle master Isochronous Resource Manager Bus manager

Transaction Layer
Supports only asynchronous transfer. Supports request-response protocol for read, write and lock operations. Provides the following services: Request: used by the requester to start a transaction Indication: notifies the responder of the request. Response: used by the responder to return status or data to requester Confirmation service: notifies the requester that the response has been received Adds verification of packet delivery and supplies a 1byte

Transaction Layer (Cont)

Link Layer

For asynchronous transfers

Translates transaction layer requests into packets to be delivered over the serial bus and back when received by responder. Performs CRC.

For isochronous transfers

Provides interface between isochronous software driver and physical layer. During transmission creates the packet to be sent across the cable. Also receives packets and decodes the channel number and if

Link Layer

Physical Layer
Provides the electrical and mechanical interface Implements an arbitration process to ensure only one

node at a time transfers data across the bus

Uses two twisted pairs for signaling events

Bus configuration Arbitration Data transfer

Two type of cables are supported: 6 and 4 pin

connectors

Applications

Advantages
High speed

1394a supports speeds of up to 400Mbps 1394b supports speeds of 800 Mbps

Competes with the parallel back plane bus solutions

Distance between nodes

1394a was limited to 4.3 m distance 1394b allows distances up to 100 m

Advantages - Isochronous Mode

IEEE-1394 guarantees time-based delivery of

data packets
Critical in

Closed loop servo control applications Data acquisition from analog sources Machine vision using digital video
It guarantees

Delivery time Delivery order

Advantages -Asynchronous Mode

Ability to respond instantaneously to events

1394a allows messages generation every 125 microseconds 1394b this is further reduced to 62.5 microseconds
For Control systems having intelligent nodes

Change control parameters on the fly in parallel loop operations

Advantages -Broadcast Mode

Control system environment

Synchronization with an event or a trigger generated by a central processor

Intimate information to all nodes for safety violation

conditions affecting the whole system Done at once using this mode.

Data transfer speed is not dependent upon operating

systems interrupt latency.

FireWire v/s USB

Fire Wire USB

400Mbit/s 800Mbit/s Works without control, devices communicate peerto-peer Limited devices supported

1.5 Mbit/s 12Mbit/s 480Mbit/s

USB controller is required to control the bus and data transfer Great number of devices supported The only computer bus used Full compatibility with USB in digital video cameras 1.1 devices Cable up to 100 m. Cable up to 30 m.