Firewire: Network connection 1394

Fireware / 1394 is a high-speed serial connection used to connect external storage devices and multimedia devices. But you can also run TCP / IP via Fireware to network the two systems together.

Recently, I asked a few friends about 1394 Net Adapter, which is usually on Windows XP systems. Some people consider it with suspicion, assuming it may be a form of spyware.

In fact, this network adapter is quite popular and completely harmless. In this article, we will examine the feature and explore some of the potential uses of this connection.

If your computer is running Windows XP (Me or Windows Server 2003, not Vista) and has a Fireware port, you may see the 139 Net Adapter network adapter installed on it. If you don't believe it, please check it again by going to Start> My Network Places> View Network Connections. Built-in Fireware ports are quite popular on many systems over the past few years. Although most people use the Fireware name (Sony itself is called i.LINK on their systems), the official name of this interface is IEE 1394.

Another type of network

Firewire: Network connection 1394 Picture 1 Source: gtk.co Although most people are not familiar with the name Fireware / 1394, this is a high-speed serial connection that is commonly used in many residential electrical systems. On computers, Fireware ports are primarily used to connect external storage devices (hard drives) and multimedia devices such as digital camcorders. But if you are running one of the Windows versions mentioned above, you can also run TCP / IP via Fireware and use it to network the two systems together.

So why do you want to use Fireware instead of Ethernet to network computers? Usually there is no reason, but the actual Fireware standard supports four times faster than Fast Ethernet (400 Megabits per second compared to 100 Megabits per second). Therefore, using Fireware will be very convenient if you need to transfer large amounts of data between two computers as quickly as possible (eg transferring data files from an old computer to a new one).

All you need to do to network two computers with Fireware is a standard, similar Fireware cable with Fireware peripherals. You also need to make sure that the cable connectors must match on the system you want to link. The desktop mainly uses a 6-pin rectangular connector while the notebook mainly uses a more compact 4-foot square connector. If you've never used a Fireware port before, don't worry. In Windows, the 1394 Net Adapter connection is set by default. Therefore, after plugging the cable into their respective systems, they can perform their communication tasks without you interfering.

Since there is no DHCP server IP address provided on the 1394 network, the connection will be automatically configured via APIA (Automatic Private Internet Addressing - The organization allocates a private Internet address automatically) and finally provides the address. in subnets 169.254 reserve (this process may take a minute). After connecting, you can check the address on each system with IPCONFIG (or WINIPCFG on Windows Me) and use the PING command to check the connection between them. If you prefer to use specific IP addresses, you can do the same. Just configure the 1394 connection in Windows like an Ethernet network.

You may be wondering if you can do the same with the popular USB port type? Anyway, USB is quite similar to Fireware and the speed is even higher (480 Megabits per second with USB 2.0). That's possible, but it's not very easy because you need a special USB cable with type A connector on the endpoints (most USB cables with connectors of type B, which are plugged into a device and not one computer at the end). Networking via USB also requires third-party software, since USB links are not supported in the Windows Direct Cable Connection component.

Sure, you can use some method other than Fireware to network directly a pair of two systems. You can use an infrared or special wireless connection such as a non-switch Ethernet (although you'll need some special horizontal cables to do this). But no method is close to the performance of Fireware (except Gigabit Ethernet or 1000 Megabits per second). Therefore, Fireware deserves attention in case you need speed or when other types of connections are not feasible.

If you don't plan to use the Fireware network and want to simplify your network connection list, you can disconnect by clicking on the program's icon. To remove it completely, right-click 1394 Net Adapter inside Windows Device Manager and select Disable. (Only the network is disconnected, you can still use your Fireware port to connect to peripheral devices).