3.1 - Peripheral Cables

Question 1

USB (Universal Serial Bus)

Answer 1

• Simplify connections - Printers, storage devices,
  keyboard, mouse
• USB 1.1
  – Low speed: 1.5 megabits per second, 3 meters
  – Full speed: 12 megabits per second, 5 meters
• USB 2.0 - 480 megabits per second, 5 meters
• USB 3.0 - SuperSpeed
  – 5 gigabits per second, ~3 meters
  – Standard does not specify a cable length

Question 2

USB-C

Answer 2

• USB has a lot of different connectors
  – And they have changed over time
• Can be annoying to connect USB-A
  – Third time’s the charm
• USB-C replaces all of these
  – One connector to rule them all
• USB-C describes the physical connector
  – It doesn’t describe the signal

Question 3

Various USB connector images

Answer 3

Question 4

USB versions and naming

Answer 4

• There’s a lot to keep track of
  – The names keep changing
• The standard doesn’t change
  – Just the names

Question 5

USB 3.1

Answer 5

• Released July 2013
  – Doubled the throughput over USB 3.0
• USB 3.0 is USB 3.1 Gen 1
  – SuperSpeed USB - 5 Gbit/sec
• USB 3.1 is USB 3.1 Gen 2 - SuperSpeed+
  – Twice the rate of USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1

Question 6

USB 3.2

Answer 6

• USB 3.2
  – Released September 2017
  – Bandwidth can double with USB-C cables
  – Uses an extra “lane” of communication
  associated with the flip-flop wires in USB-C
• USB 3.0 -> 3.1 Gen 1 -> USB 3.2 Gen 1
  – SuperSpeed USB 5 Gbps (single lane)
• USB 3.1 -> 3.1 Gen 2 -> USB 3.2 Gen 2
  – SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps (single lane)

Question 7

Thunderbolt

Answer 7

• High-speed serial connector
  – Data and power on the same cable
  – Based on Mini DisplayPort (MDP) standard
• Thunderbolt v1
  – Two channels
  – 10 Gbit/s per channel, 20 Gbit/s total throughput
  – Mini DisplayPort connector
• Thunderbolt v2
  – 20 Gbit/s aggregated channels
  – Mini DisplayPort connector
• Thunderbolt v3
  – 40 Gbit/s aggregated throughput - USB-C connector
• Maximum 3 meters (copper)
  – 60 meters (optical)
  – Daisy-chain up to 6 devices

Question 8

Serial console cables

Answer 8

• D-subminiature or D-sub
  – The letter refers to the connector size
• Commonly used for RS-232
  – Recommended Standard 232
  – An industry standard since 1969
• Serial communications standard
  – Built for modem communication
  – Used for modems, printers, mice, networking
• Now used as a configuration port