firewire network explained. IP over 1394

IEEE 1394, also known as Firewire or i.Link, is a high speed, connectivity standard capable of transferring data at rates of 100, 200, or 400Mbps. A new firewire standard called 1394b can transfer data at rates up to 800Mbps. Designed by Apple, firewire was originally intended to be a convergence technogoly between Consumer Electronics (like stereos and digital video recorders) and PC's.  Use has expanded to connect CD-ROM’s, hard drives, scanners and computers together. 

Sony calls firewire i.Link and has embraced it with a passion. Sony may be greatly responsible helping bring firewire from the professional realm down to the consumer and pro-sumer realm. Every computer Sony sells comes equipped with a firewire port and many other manufacturers like Dell, Compaq, and Gateway are now following their lead. Motherboards are starting to include on-board firewire as the price decreases. 3 port firewire cards now are available for less than $50 and bargain firewire hubs are starting to make an appearance. High quality 15-ft firewire cabling has even come down to less than $20.  External drive enclosures with IDE or SCSI to firewire converters cost only around $150 now.

At this time, Windows ME is the only operating system with native firewire networking support. Firewire has good support in Windows 2000 and Macintosh systems, but direct networking support is not yet available.  According to microsoft, Whister will definitly have firewire networking at the Consumer and Professional level.  They are unsure of the support in the Server level of Whister.(1394 Hardware Dev, June 2000)

FireNet by Unibrain is ethernet emulating software for Firewire that supports all the standard ethernet protocols like IPX/SPX, TCP/IP, NetBEUI, and Appletalk.  See their site for more info.

Firewire has a maximum range of 15 feet. If you need more distance, a repeater may purchased for around $50.

Topology

Firewire cards come with three or more ports on them. Connecting two computers using firewire can be done with a basic firewire cable. No crossover type cables or other devices are ever necessary. Repeaters may be used to extend the range of your firewire network.

As with all new implementations, there are bugs.  Microsoft has already recognised a couple of them.

1) Network Browsing problems with WinME/Firewire Networks http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q266/0/81.ASP

 

2) PC-to-PC 1394 FireWire Connection Loses Communication After 10 Minutes http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q252/2/08.ASP

 

firewire network explained. IP over 1394