Exercise01e

Ex 1.1.1.5 - Identify common input/output ports

KNOWLEDGE

INPUT/OUTPUT PORTS

Common input/output ports include:

USB port
Serial port
Parallel port
Network port
FireWire port

A port is the interface component between you computer and an external device. External devices that can be connected to ports include printers, digital cameras, joysticks, etc.

USB port
The universal serial bus (USB) port is an external bus that supports "plug and play" installation. With a USB port you can connect and disconnect external devices without having to switch the computer off and restarting it. You can use a single USB port to connect to up to 127 different external devices such as speakers, CD-ROM drives, joysticks, external had disks, scanners or cameras. The USB port, as with other ports discussed here, is normally located on the rear of the computer as shown above.

Serial port
An serial port is an interface on the computer that allows asynchronous transmission of data characters one bit at a time. It can also be called a communication or COM port.

There are many programs available today that are designed to communicate with devices through serial (COM) ports. With Bluetooth COM ports, Windows XP can allow these programs to communicate using Bluetooth wireless technology. For example, you can synchronize your calendar and contact information on your personal digital assistant (PDA) with your computer by using Bluetooth COM ports.

Some programs that use COM ports to communicate using Bluetooth wireless technology include:

HotSync used by Palm
ActiveSync used by Pocket PC
Microsoft Streets and Trips

For Bluetooth devices that use a COM port, you must install a special program on your Windows XP computer. The program either comes with the Bluetooth device or can be obtained from the manufacturer.

Parallel port
The parallel port on your computer is typically used to connect to a printer (laser or ink jet). Because it is normally the case that once a printer is connected it will remain connected always, the parallel port is really only used for this purpose. It should be noted however that some printers can be connected to the USB port and some can also use wireless technology.

Network port
If your computer is connected to a network rather than acting as a stand alone PC the connection to the network will be made via the network port.

FireWire port
FireWire is technology like USB but originated on the Apple machine rather than the more common PC. FireWire allows for extremely fast data transfer and can be used therefore to add external devices like hard disks to your machine. FireWire ports are not exclusive to Apple machines and they can be found on some PCs.