Clarinet USB platform

 

What is USB?

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a new communication standard device developed by the computer and telecommunication industries.  USB provides a powerful  hot-plug-capable; "true plug-and-play" interface between a host computer and add-on peripheral devices.

USB devices use two types of plugs, Type A and Type B:
  • Type A Plug connects to the host computer or an upstream hub.
  • Type B Plug connects downstream to the USB device. It has a sort of "house-shape" design.  Some devices(like a mouse) have the cable soldered into the device, and therefore don't use this connector.
  • Each connector has four pins, two for power and two for data.

  • USB ports, cables, and plugs are often labeled with this standard USB symbol:symbol.gif (1414 octets)

Why is Acacia migrating Clarinet products to USB?

Acacia chose to adopt USB since USB offers many advantages that benefit customers:

  • USB host is available on any new Notebook or Desktop computer
  • USB uses reliable and low-cost connectors
  • USB offers hot-plug-capable, auto-configuring ease of use.
  • All without having to restart the host computer or even go into sleep mode.

USB also provides a fast connection  and a large number of ports (by daisy-chaining up to 127 devices).

How to setup a Clarinet-Book configuration?

The 3 steps to build a protocol test platform:cd_run-time.gif (24948 octets)

  • Select any PC equipped with built-in USB interfaces and run Windows 98 or Windows 2000.
  • Install the Clarinet Run-time Package (version 10.1 or greater)
  • Plug the Clarinet-Book USB device into an available port.  The Clarinet device is "bus-powered" by the USB network. The device should be sensed automatically, driver should automatically load, and the device should then be ready for use.

Example of a single Clarinet-Book USB configuration

A single USB port notebook drives Clarinet E1/T1 directly without any other connection besides the USB cable.

 

book_usb_e1t1_single02.jpg (29467 octets)

Example of a dual Clarinet-Book USB configuration

Most desktops and some notebooks have a Host supporting two USB ports. A dual USB port notebook drives two Clarinet E1/T1 devices directly without any other connection but the USB cable. Both devices are synchronized by the USB bus to provide a common time-stamping (accuracy of 1 ms).

book_usb_e1t1_dual03.jpg (36221 octets)

 

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Last modification: 27/02/04