Reference Guide

Table 6. Types of audio ports (continued)
RCA S/PDIF port—Transmits digital audio without the need
of analog audio conversion.
Optical S/PDIF port—Transmits digital audio, using optical
signals, without the need of analog audio conversion.
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) enables you to connect peripherals to a computer or a tablet. These peripherals include the mouse,
keyboard, printer, external drives, cameras, phones, and so on.
USB port may be used to transfer data between your computer and the device and also to charge supported devices. For more
information, see the documentation for your device.
Some computers also have USB ports with integrated PowerShare feature that enables you to charge your USB devices even
when the computer in turned off.
USB also supports Plug-and-Play and hot swapping.
● Plug‑and‑Play—Enables your computer to recognize and configure a device automatically.
● Hot swapping—Enables you to remove and connect USB devices without restarting your computer.
USB ports
Table 7. Types of USB ports
Standard USB The standard USB port is present on most laptops and desktops. Most USB devices connect to
the computer using this port.
Mini‑USB A mini‑USB port is used in small electronic devices such as cameras, external storage drives,
tablets, and so on.
Micro‑USB A micro-USB port is smaller than mini-USB port and is used in phones, tablets, wireless
headphones, and other small electronic devices.
Powered USB A powered USB port uses a more complex connector than a standard USB. It essentially has two
connectors in a single cable, one for standard USB plug and the other for power, thus allowing
higher-power devices to be connected without the use of an independent power supply. It is used
in retail equipment such as barcode reader and receipt printers.
USB standards
Table 8. USB standards
USB 3.1 Gen 2 This is also referred to as SuperSpeed USB+. This port supports peripherals such as storage
devices, printers, and so on. Provides data transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps. It can be found with
USB Type-C connections and has capabilities of Gen 1 in addition to DisplayPort over USB video
capability.
USB 3.1 Gen 1 This is also referred to as SuperSpeed USB. This port supports peripherals such as storage
devices, printers, and so on. Provides data transfer speeds up to 5 Gbps. Systems with Legacy
USB 3.0 ports are now USB 3.1 Gen 1.
USB 2.0 This is referred to as Hi-Speed USB. It provides additional bandwidth for multimedia and storage
applications. USB 2.0 supports data transmission speed up to 480 Mbps.
USB 1.x Legacy USB standard supporting data transfer speeds up to 11 Mbps.
38 Ports and connectors