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): High-speed wired communication standard that connects devices to peripherals, other devices, or power sources.

  • Common USB 1.1/2.0 connectors:

  • Common USB 3.0 connectors:

  • USB-C connector has the same physical orientation on both ends

USB 1.1

  • Low speed: 1.5 Mbit/s throughput, 3 meters max length

  • Full speed: 12 Mbit/s throughput, 5 meters max length

USB 2.0

  • 480 Mbit/s transfer throughput, max length of 5 meters.

USB 3.0

  • Sometimes referred to as SuperSpeed USB

  • 5 Gbit/s (5000 Mbit/s) throughput, and typically has a length of 3 meters - USB 3.0 doesn’t specify a max cable length.

USB 3.1 Gen 1

  • Name update to USB 3.0 (i.e., this is USB 3.0 but with a different name)- supports the same 5Gbit/s throughput as USB 3.0.

USB 3.1 Gen 2

  • Released in July 2013

  • Referred to as USB SuperSpeed+

  • Is the actual “USB 3.1” - 10 Gbit/s throughput double compared to USB 3.1 Gen 1, which is just USB 3.0

USB 3.2

  • Released in September 2017

  • Doubles the bandwidth/throughput compared to USB 3.1

  • USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbit/s) now becomes USB 3.2 Gen 1

    Logo:

  • USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbit/s) now becomes USB 3.2 Gen 2

    Logo:

  • Can use a second “lane” of communication to further increase bandwidth:

    • USB 3.2 Gen 1×2 = 10 Gbit/s using two “Gen 1” (i.e., USB 3.0, 5 Gbit/s) lanes.

    • USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 = 20 Gbit/s using two “Gen 2” (i.e., USB 3.1, 10 Gbit/s) lanes.

      Logo:

Serial

  • Includes DB-9 and DB-25 connectors

  • Commonly use the RS-232 standard connection for serial communication, which facilitates the transmission of data between computers and peripheral devices.

  • Used for connecting modems, printers, or earlier devices and configuring them from the command line.

Thunderbolt

Image of a Thunderbolt cable

  • High-speed serial connector that uses the Mini DisplayPort (MDP) standard

    • Can transmit data and power on the same cable.

Thunderbolt v1

  • Two transmission channels

  • 10 Gbit/s per channel

  • 20 Gbit/s total throughput

  • Mini DisplayPort connector

Thunderbolt v2

  • 20 Gbit/s total throughput via aggregated (combined) channels

  • Same Mini DisplayPort connector

Thunderbolt v3

  • 40 Gbit/s aggregated throughput

  • Uses a USB-C connector:

  • Maximum length of 3 meters for copper connections

  • Max length of 60 meters for optical/fiber connections

  • Can also daisy-chain up to 6 devices - multiple devices can transmit data by plugging multiple Thunderbolt cables in between them

Use a Thunderbolt Daisychain to Connect Your Mac Accessories Like a Boss