3.2b: Peripheral Cables: Professor Messer

Peripheral Cables

Used to simplify connections to peripherals, such as printers, storage devices, keyboards, and mice.

Universal Serial Bus (USB)

A high-speed wired communication standard that connects devices to peripherals, other devices, or power sources.

USB 1.1

Low speed of 1.5 Mbit/s throughput and max length of 3 meters; full speed of 12 Mbit/s throughput and max length of 5 meters.

USB 2.0

Offers 480 Mbit/s transfer throughput with a max length of 5 meters.

USB 3.0

Also known as SuperSpeed USB, it provides 5 Gbit/s (5000 Mbit/s) throughput with typically a length of 3 meters.

USB 3.1 Gen 1

An updated name for USB 3.0 following USB 3.1 release, supports the same 5 Gbit/s throughput as USB 3.0.

USB 3.1 Gen 2

Released in July 2013, also known as USB SuperSpeed+, offers 10 Gbit/s throughput, double compared to USB 3.1 Gen 1.

USB 3.2

Released in September 2017, doubles the bandwidth/throughput compared to USB 3.1, and can use a second “lane” of communication to double bandwidth

USB 3.2 Gen 1

Name update for USB 3.0 following USB 3.2 release - throughput of 5 Gbit/s as before.

USB 3.2 Gen 2

Name update for USB 3.1 following USB 3.2 release - throughput of 10 Gbit/s.

USB 3.2 Gen 2 × 2

Name for USB 3.2 that offers a throughput of 20 Gbit/s by using two lanes for data transfer.

Serial Communication

Utilizes DB-9 and DB-25 connectors and the RS-232 standard for transmitting data between computers and peripheral devices.

Thunderbolt

High-speed serial connector that uses the Mini DisplayPort (MDP) standard. Can transmit data and power on the same cable.

Thunderbolt v1

Features two transmission channels with 10 Gbit/s per channel, totaling 20 Gbit/s throughput.

Thunderbolt v2

Provides 20 Gbit/s total throughput via aggregated channels, using the same Mini DisplayPort connector.

Thunderbolt v3

Has 40 Gbit/s aggregated throughput, uses a USB-C connector, and can daisy-chain up to 6 devices.