Maharishi university of information

technology

Different types of ports

B Tech in CDS -A
First semester

Submitted by : submitted to:

Khushbu Mr.Navjot Singh
Contents
 What is port?
 What is port in Computer/Computer port
 Characteristics of computer ports
 Types of computer ports
1. Serial port
2. Parallel port
3. PS/2
4. Surround Sound Connectors
or 3.5 mm TRS Connector
5. Video port
6. Digital video interface
7. Display port
8. HDMI
9. USB
10. RJ-45
 Reference
What is a Port
A port in a computer network is a
communication endpoint whereas, in
an operating system, it is a logical construct,
recognizes precise method otherwise a
network service type. These endpoints
recognize the combination of every protocol
and its address through 16-bit unsigned
numbers, called the port number. The
protocols that use port numbers are the TCP
(Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP
(User Datagram Protocol). The port number in
every computer networking uses an IP address
of the type of protocol & the host. There are
some specific ports used for identifying
particular services to transmit an arriving
packet to a working application. This article
discusses an overview of computer ports &
their applications.
What is Port in
Computer/Computer Port?

A computer port or a communication port is a

connection point used as an interface between
the computer & the peripherals like keyboard,
mouse, printer, display unit, monitor, flash
drive and speaker. The computer port
transmits the data from any peripheral to the
computer. In general, the communication ports
are available in two types and the
classification of this can be done based on the
protocol used & type for communication like
Serial Ports as well as Parallel Ports.

Characteristics of Computer
Ports
The characteristics of the computer port
include the following.
  It is an interface between external
devices as well as a computer.

 Ports on the motherboard can be

connected using an external device cable
by plugging in.

 The external devices which are

connected through via ports are the
keyboard, mouse, microphone, monitor,
speakers, etc.

Types of Computer Ports

There are different types of ports available in a
computer network. Some of them are
discussed below .

 Serial port
Serial port is a serial
communication interface through which
information transfers in or out sequentially
one bit at a time. This is in contrast to
a parallel port, which communicates multiple
bits simultaneously in parallel. Throughout
most of the history of personal computers, data
has been transferred through serial ports to
devices such as modems, terminals,
various peripherals, and directly between
computers.
While interfaces such as Ethernet, FireWire,
and USB also send data as a serial stream, the
term serial port usually denotes hardware compliant
with RS-232 or a related standard, such as RS-
485 or RS-422.
Modern consumer personal computers (PCs) have
largely replaced serial ports with higher-speed
standards, primarily USB. However, serial ports are
still frequently used in applications demanding
simple, low-speed interfaces, such as industrial
automation systems, scientific instruments, point of
sale systems and some industrial and consumer
products.
Server computers may use a serial port as a control
console for diagnostics, while networking
hardware (such as routers and switches) commonly
use serial console ports for configuration, diagnostics,
and emergency maintenance access. To interface with
these and other devices, USB-to-serial converters can
quickly and easily add a serial port to a modern PC.

Uses of serial port

This list includes some of the more common
devices that are connected to the serial port on
a PC. Some of these such as modems and serial
mice are falling into disuse while others are
readily available. Serial ports are very common
on most types of microcontroller, where they can
be used to communicate with a PC or other
serial devices.
 Dial-up modems

 Configuration and management

of networking equipment such

as routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers
 GPS receivers (typically NMEA 0183 at 4,800

bit/s)
 Bar code scanners and other point of sale devices

 LED and LCD text displays

 Satellite phones, low-speed satellite modems and

other satellite based transceiver devices

 Flat-panel displays to control screen functions by

external computer, other AV components or

remotes
 Test and measuring equipment such as

digital multimeters and weighing systems

 Updating firmware on various consumer devices
 CNC controllers
 Uninterruptible power supply management and
status reporting
 Stenography or Stenotype machines
 Software debuggers that run on a second
computer
 Console or debugger interface to microprocessor
development or evaluation boards
 Industrial field buses
 Printers
 Computer terminal, teletype
 Networking (Macintosh AppleTalk using RS-422
at 230.4 kbit/s)
 Serial mouse

 Parallel port
In computing, a parallel port is a type
of interface found on
early computers (personal and otherwise) for
connecting peripherals. The name refers to the
way the data is sent; parallel ports send
multiple bits of data at once (parallel
communication), as opposed to serial
communication, in which bits are sent one at a
time. To do this, parallel ports require multiple
data lines in their cables and port connectors
and tend to be larger than contemporary serial
ports, which only require one data line.
There are many types of parallel ports, but the
term has become most closely associated with
the printer port or Centronics port found on most
personal computers from the 1970s through the
2000s. It was an industry de facto standard for
many years, and was finally standardized
as IEEE 1284 in the late 1990s, which defined
the Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) and Extended
Capability Port (ECP) bi-directional versions.
Today, the parallel port interface is virtually
non-existent in new computers because of the
rise of Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices, along
with network printing using Ethernet and Wi-
Fi connected printers.
The parallel port interface was originally
known as the Parallel Printer Adapter on IBM PC-
compatible computers. It was primarily designed
to operate printers that used IBM's eight-
bit extended ASCII character set to print text, but
could also be used to adapt other peripherals.
Graphical printers, along with a host of other
devices, have been designed to communicate
with the system.

Uses of parallel port

For consumers, USB and computer networks have

replaced the parallel printer port, for
connections both to printers and to other
devices.
Many manufacturers of personal computers
and laptops consider parallel to be a legacy
port and no longer include the parallel
interface. Smaller machines have less room for
large parallel port connectors. USB-to-parallel
adapters are available that can make parallel-
only printers work with USB-only systems.
There are PCI (and PCI-express) cards that
provide parallel ports. There are also some print
servers that provide an interface to parallel
ports through a network. USB-to-EPP chips can
also allow other non-printer devices to continue
to work on modern computers without a
parallel port.
For electronics hobbyists the parallel port is
still often the easiest way to connect to an
external circuit board. It is faster than the other
common legacy port (serial port), requires no
serial-to-parallel converter, and requires far
less interface logic and software than a USB
target interface. However, Microsoft operating
systems later than Windows 95/98 prevent user
programs from directly writing to or reading
from the LPT without additional software
(kernel extensions).
  PS/2
PS/2 connector is developed by IBM for
connecting mouse and keyboard. It was
introduced with IBM’s Personal Systems/2
series of computers and hence the name PS/2
connector. PS/2 connectors are color coded as
purple for keyboard and green for mouse.
PS/2 is a 6-pin DIN connector. The pin out
diagram of a PS/2 female connector is shown
below.

Even though the pinout of both mouse and

keyboard PS/2 ports are same, computers do
not recognize the devise when connected to
wrong port.

PS/2 port is now considered a legacy port as

USB port has superseded it and very few of the
modern motherboards include it as a legacy
port.
  Surround Sound Connectors
or 3.5 mm TRS Connector
It is the most commonly found audio port that
can be used to connect stereo headphones or
surround sound channels. A 6 connector
system is included on majority of computers
for audio out as well as a microphone
connection.

The 6 connectors are color coded as Blue, Lime,

Pink, Orange, Black and Grey. These 6
connectors can be used for a surround sound
configuration of up to 8 channels.
  Video Ports
VGA Port

VGA port is found in many computers,

projectors, video cards and High Definition TVs.
It is a D-sub connector consisting of 15 pins in 3
rows. The connector is called as DE-15.

VGA port is the main interface between

computers and older CRT monitors. Even the
modern LCD and LED monitors support VGA
ports but the picture quality is reduced. VGA
carries analogue video signals up to a
resolution of 648X480.
With the increase in use of digital video, VGA
ports are gradually being replaced by HDMI and
Display Ports. Some laptops are equipped with
on-board VGA ports in order to connect to
external monitors or projectors. The pinout of
a VGA port is shown below.
  Digital Video Interface (DVI)
DVI is a high speed digital interface between a
display controller like a computer and a
display device like a monitor. It was developed
with an aim of transmitting lossless digital
video signals and replace the analogue VGA
technology.

There are three types of DVI connectors based

on the signals it can carry: DVI-I, DVI-D and DVI-
A. DVI-I is a DVI port with integrated analogue
and digital signals. DVI-D supports only digital
signals and DVI-A supports only analogue
signals.

The digital signals can be either single link or

dual link where a single link supports a digital
signal up to 1920X1080 resolution and a dual
link supports a digital signal up to 2560X1600

resolution. The following image compares the

structures of DVI-I, DVI-D and DVI-A types along
with the pinouts.

 Display Port
Display Port is a digital display interface with
optional multiple channel audio and other
forms of data. Display Port is developed with
an aim of replacing VGA and DVI ports as the
main interface between a computer and
monitor.
The latest version DisplayPort 1.3 can handle a

resolution up to 7680 X 4320.The Display Port

has a 20 pin connector, which is a very less
number when compared to DVI port and offers
better resolution. The pin out diagram of a
Display Port is shown above.
  HDMI
HDMI is an abbreviation of High Definition
Media Interface. HDMI is a digital interface to
connect High Definition and Ultra High
Definition devices like Computer monitors,
HDTVs, Blu-Ray players, gaming consoles, High
Definition Cameras etc.

HDMI can be used to carry uncompressed video

and compressed or uncompressed audio

signals. The HDMI port of type A is shown
below

 The HDMI connector consists of 19 pins

and the latest version of HDMI i.e.
HDMI 2.0 can carry digital video signal
up to a resolution of 4096×2160 and 32
 audio channels. The pinout diagram of
an HDMI port is as follows.

 USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) replaced serial ports,
parallel ports, PS/2 connectors, game ports and
power chargers for portable devices.

USB port can be used to transfer data, act as

an interface for peripherals and even act as
power supply for devices connected to it. There
are three kinds of USB ports: Type A, Type B or
mini USB and Micro USB.
USB Type A
USB Type-A port is a 4 pin connector. There are
different versions of Type – A USB ports: USB
1.1, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. USB 3.0 is the common
standard and supports a data rate of 400MBps.

USB 3.1 is also released and supports a data

rate up to 10Gbps. Usually, but not all the
times, the USB 2.0 is Black color coded and USB
3.0 is Blue. The following image shows USB 2.0
and USB 3.0 ports.
The pinout diagram of USB Type – A port is
shown below. The pinout is common to all
standards of Type – A.

USB Type C
USB Type – C is the latest specification of the
USB and is a reversible connector. USB Type – C
is supposed to replace Types A and B and is
considered future proof.
The port of USB Type – C consists of 24 pins. The
pinout diagram of USB Type – C is shown below.
The latest USB Specifications (USB4) is an USB-
C only specification i.e., only USB type C devices
can be used with USB4 specifications.
In the latest USB4 specification, USB Type C
Devices can support speeds up to 40 Gbps.

USB Power Delivery specifications allow USB

devices to supply power to devices connected
to the USB Port. USB Type – C can handle a
current of 5A at 20V (only Power Delivery
certified USB Type-C Ports).

This feature of handling high current is used in

the latest Fast Charging Technology where a
Smart Phone’s battery will reach its full charge
is very less time. So, USB Type C Ports can
provide up to 100W of power (which can be
used for charging mobile phones and laptops).
  RJ-45
Ethernet is a networking technology that is
used to connect your computer to Internet and
communicate with other computers or
networking devices.

The interface that is used for computer

networking and telecommunications is known
as Registered Jack (RJ) and RJ – 45 port in
particular is used for Ethernet over cable. RJ-45
connector is an 8 pin – 8 contact (8P – 8C) type
modular connector.

The latest Ethernet technology is called Gigabit

Ethernet and supports a data transfer rate of
over 10Gigabits per second. The Ethernet or a
LAN port with 8P – 8C type connector along
with the male RJ-45 cable is shown below.

The un-keyed 8P – 8C modular connector is

generally referred to the Ethernet RJ-45. Often,
RJ-45 ports are equipped with two LEDs for
indicating transmission and packet detection.
As mentioned earlier, an Ethernet RJ-45 port
has 8 pins and the following picture depicts the
pinout of one.
 Reference
1. WWW.eletriconicshub.com
2. WWW.elprocus.com
3. YouTube
4. Hardware Books