Firewire Hard Drives

Firewire is a high-speed serial connection that allows for asynchronous and isochronous data transfers. The IEEE 1394 specification was originally created by Apple in 1995 and was developed in coordination with the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) group. Apple wanted to create an adaptable, low-cost digital interface that could be used on electronic devices and computers. The Firewire standard has been adopted by a number of manufacturers and can now be found on a variety of devices, such as digital cameras, CD recorders, computer audio interfaces, and hard drives and other storage devices.

The Firewire Standard

     The Firewire standard works in two different versions. The first version (known as the backplane version ) uses a backplane physical layer and supports transfer burst rates of 12.5, 25, and 50 Megabits per second (Mbits/sec). The second version (known as the cable version ) supports data burst rates of up to 100, 200, and 400 Mbits/sec. This makes Firewire one of the fastest peripheral standards ever created. Firewire peripherals are also "hot-swappable" — so you can plug or unplug any number of devices while the devices and computer are "running". (This is vastly different from SCSI and IDE devices, for example, all of which must be powered down before they can be connected and disconnected.)

What is the maximum cable length recommended between Firewire hard drives?

     Another great feature of Firewire is that is supports up to 63 devices with a maximum cable length of 4.5 meters (14.8 ft.). If longer cable lengths are desired, you can run up to 16 devices with a maximum length of 72 meters (236 ft.). When multiple Firewire devices are used, each device automatically determines its own address, which makes Firewire very easy to use.

Firewire Hard Drives are IDE Hard Drives

    Another interesting fact: all Firewire hard drives are actually IDE hard drives with an interface controller. This controller transfers the data between the Firewire bus and the IDE hard drive. Almost all Firewire hard drives function in half duplex mode, which means they cannot read and write at the same time. Most users of Firewire hard drives experience a large amount of dropouts and glitches when recording to and from their drives. This makes the drive only useful for storage.

Firewire Hard Drives are IDE Hard Drives

    Another interesting fact: all Firewire hard drives are actually IDE hard drives with an interface controller. This controller transfers the data between the Firewire bus and the IDE hard drive. Almost all Firewire hard drives function in half duplex mode, which means they cannot read and write at the same time. Most users of Firewire hard drives experience a large amount of dropouts and glitches when recording to and from their drives. This makes the drive only useful for storage.

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Options to look for when purchasing a Firewire hard drive?

    One of the first requirements you need to look at is what kind of data throughput you are going to need. The best Firewire hard drives, that are made specifically for audio, are able to stream up to a maximum of around 30 MB per second. While this is fine for most recording applications, some people require better throughput. Most "over the counter" hard drives only stream up to a maximum of around 20 MB/sec.