Parallel and Serial Data/Information Transfers

Data transfer is known as bandwidth, which specifies how much data is being sent per second. The speed at which data is computed is known as Hertz, which also dictates the frequency used to transfer data.

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Data transfer is known as ________, which specifies how much data is being sent per second. The speed at which data is computed is known as Hertz, which also dictates the frequency used to transfer data.
Bandwidth
Other than bits and bytes and their multiples, probably the second most significant concept to understand about computer measurements is bandwidth, also known as __________________. Bandwidth refers to the amount of information that can be sent or received through a computer or network connection in one second. This can be measured in bits (with a lower case b) or bytes (with an upper case B). For example, the bandwidth of a USB 1.1 port running at full speed transfers a maximum of 11 megabits per second (11 Mbps, notice the lower case b), while the bandwidth of a USB 2.0 port running at high speed is 480 Mbps, and a user might download 300 kilobytes (300 KB/s, notice the upper case B) of data per second. Or an expansion card that goes into a PCI slot could transfer a maximum of 266 MB/s.
Data transfer rate
Bandwidth measurements are used for measuring the performance of serial, parallel, wired and wireless network connections, expansion slots (PCI, PCIe, and AGP), hard disk interfaces (PATA and SATA), and multipurpose device interfaces (SCSI, USB, and FireWire). It defines the _____________________ that can flow through the computer.
Amount of information
The ___is the central point for most information.
CPU
When you start a program, the CPU instructs the storage device to load the program into RAM. When you create data and print it, the CPU instructs the printer to output the data.
___________________use multiple “lanes” for data and programs, and in keeping with the 8 bits = 1 byte nature of computer information, most parallel transfers use multiples of 8. This type of transfer take place between the following devices:
  • Processor (CPU) and RAM
  • Processor (CPU) and interface cards
  • LPT (printer) port and parallel printer
  • SCSI port and SCSI devices
  • PATA /IDE host adapter and PATA/IDE drives
  • RAM and interface cards, either via the CPU or directly with direct memory access (DMA)
Parallel transfers
For parallel transfers, many wires or traces (wire-like connections on the motherboard or expansion cards) are needed, leading to _____.
Interference concerns and thick, expensive cables
For parallel transfers, excessively long parallel cables or traces can cause data to arrive at different times. This is referred to as ___________
Signal skew
Differences in voltage between wires or traces can cause ______
Jitter
As a result of these problems some compromises have had to be included in __________________________
Computer and system design:
  • Short maximum lengths for parallel, PATA/IDE, and SCSI cables
  • Dual-speed motherboards (running the CPU internally at much faster speeds than the motherboard or memory)
A _______________ uses a single “lane” in the computer for information transfers.
Serial transfer
This sounds like a recipe for slowdowns, but it all depends on how fast the speed limit is on the “data highway.”
The following ports and devices in the computer use serial transfers:
  • Serial (also called RS-232 or COM) ports and devices
  • Modems (which can be internal devices or can connect to serial or USB ports)
  • USB (Universal Serial Bus) 1.1 and 2.0 ports and devices
  • IEEE 1394 (FireWire, i.Link) ports and devices
  • Serial ATA (SATA) host adapters and drives
Serial transfers
One ___at a time is transferred to the device.
Bit
Serial transfers
___________________ can vary greatly, depending on the sender and receiver.
Transmission speeds
Serial transfers
Very few ___________ are needed in the cable and ports (one transmit, one receive, and a few control and ground wires).
Connections
Serial transfers
____________ can be longer with serial devices. For example, an UltraDMA/133 PATA/IDE cable can be only 18 inches long for reliable data transmission, whereas a Serial ATA cable can be almost twice as long.
Cable lengths