Direct cable connection

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Direct Cable Connection (DCC) is a feature of Microsoft Windows that allows a computer to transfer and share files (or connected printers) with another computer, via a connection using either the serial port, parallel port or the infrared port of each computer. It is well-suited for computers that do not have an ethernet adapter installed, although DCC in Windows XP can be configured to use one (with a proper crossover cable if no Ethernet hub is used) if available.

Contents

Connection types

Serial port

If using the serial ports of the computer, a null modem cable (or a null modem adapter connected to a standard serial cable) must be used to connect each of the two computers to communicate properly. Such connection uses PPP protocol. [1] [2]

Parallel port

If the parallel ports are used, Windows supports standard or basic 4-bit cable (commonly known as LapLink cable), Enhanced Capabilities Port (ECP) cable, or Universal Cable Module (UCM) cable (which was known as DirectParallel cable by Parallel Technologies).

IR

Infrared communication ports, like the ones found on laptop computers (such as IrDA), can also be used.

USB

Connecting any two computers using USB requires a special proprietary bridge cable. A directly connected pin-to-pin USB type A cable does not work, as USB does not support such a type of communication. In fact, attempting to do so may even damage the connecting computers, as it will effectively short the two computers' power supplies together by connecting their 5V and GND lines. This can possibly destroy one or both machines and cause a fire hazard since the two machines may not have exactly the same USB source voltage. [3] Therefore, Direct Cable Connection over USB is not possible; a USB link cable must be used, as seen in the Microsoft knowledge base article 814982. However, with a USB link cable, a program which supports data transfer using that cable must be used. Typically, such a program is supplied with the USB link cable. The DCC wizard or Windows Explorer cannot be used to transfer files over a USB link cable.

Newer hardware technology with identical functionality

There are at least 2 known famous USB-crossover cables capable of bidirectional data-transfer between computers similar to RJ45/Ethernet cables: ProlificUSA.com's TE-C0372 High Speed USB 2.0 Host to Host Bridge Cable (PL25A1 Chipset) and ProlificUSA.com's TE-C0363 Superspeed USB 3.0 Host to Host Bridge Cable (PL27A1 Chipset), and drivers for these seem to have been included in newer versions of the Linux kernel. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Windows Vista changes

Windows Vista drops support for the Direct cable connection feature [10] as ethernet, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have become ubiquitous on current generation computers. To transfer files and settings, Windows Vista includes Windows Easy Transfer, which uses a proprietary USB-to-USB bridge cable known as the Easy Transfer Cable.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USB</span> Standard for computer data connections

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that allows data exchange and delivery of power between many various types of electronics. It specifies its architecture, in particular its physical interface, and communication protocols for data transfer and power delivery to and from hosts, such as personal computers, to and from peripheral devices, e.g. displays, keyboards, and mass storage devices, and to and from intermediate hubs, which multiply the number of a host's ports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serial port</span> Communication interface transmitting information sequentially

On computers, a 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parallel port</span> Computer interface

In computing, a parallel port is a type of interface found on early computers for connecting peripherals. The name refers to the way the data is sent; parallel ports send multiple bits of data at once, 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.

The Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) is an encapsulation of the Internet Protocol designed to work over serial ports and router connections. It is documented in RFC 1055. On personal computers, SLIP has largely been replaced by the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), which is better engineered, has more features, and does not require its IP address configuration to be set before it is established. On microcontrollers, however, SLIP is still the preferred way of encapsulating IP packets, due to its very small overhead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serial communication</span> Type of data transfer

In telecommunication and data transmission, serial communication is the process of sending data one bit at a time, sequentially, over a communication channel or computer bus. This is in contrast to parallel communication, where several bits are sent as a whole, on a link with several parallel channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Null modem</span> Serial cable connecting two computers

Null modem is a communication method to directly connect two DTEs using an RS-232 serial cable. The name stems from the historical use of RS-232 cables to connect two teleprinter devices or two modems in order to communicate with one another; null modem communication refers to using a crossed-over RS-232 cable to connect the teleprinters directly to one another without the modems. It is also used to serially connect a computer to a printer, since both are DTE, and is known as a Printer Cable.

The Parallel Line Internet Protocol (PLIP) is a computer networking protocol for direct computer-to-computer communications using the parallel port normally used for connections to a printer.

USB communications device class is a composite Universal Serial Bus device class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terminal server</span> Device that interfaces serial hosts to a network

A terminal server connects devices with a serial port to a local area network (LAN). Products marketed as terminal servers can be very simple devices that do not offer any security functionality, such as data encryption and user authentication. The primary application scenario is to enable serial devices to access network server applications, or vice versa, where security of the data on the LAN is not generally an issue. There are also many terminal servers on the market that have highly advanced security functionality to ensure that only qualified personnel can access various servers and that any data that is transmitted across the LAN, or over the Internet, is encrypted. Usually, companies that need a terminal server with these advanced functions want to remotely control, monitor, diagnose and troubleshoot equipment over a telecommunications network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serial cable</span> Networking cable used for serial communication

A serial cable is a cable used to transfer information between two devices using a serial communication protocol. The form of connectors depends on the particular serial port used. A cable wired for connecting two DTEs directly is known as a null modem cable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DSL modem</span> Type of computer network modem; network equipment

A digital subscriber line (DSL) modem is a device used to connect a computer or router to a telephone line which provides the digital subscriber line (DSL) service for connection to the Internet, which is often called DSL broadband. The modem connects to a single computer or router, through an Ethernet port, USB port, or is installed in a computer PCI slot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector</span> Discontinued wireless game adapter

The Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector is a wireless game adapter, developed by Nintendo and Buffalo Technology, which allows the Nintendo DS, Wii and 3DS users without a Wi-Fi connection or compatible Wi-Fi network to establish an Internet connection via a broadband-connected PC. When inserted into the host PC's USB port, the connector functions with the Nintendo DS, Wii, DSi and 3DS, permitting the user to connect to the Internet and play Nintendo games that require a Wi-Fi connection and access various other online services. According to the official Nintendo website, this product was the best-selling Nintendo accessory to date on 15 November 2007, but was discontinued in the same month. On September 9, 2005, Nintendo announced the Nintendo Wi-Fi Network Adapter, an 802.11g wireless router/bridge which serves a similar purpose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SiS 630/730</span> Family of integrated chipsets from Intel and AMD

The SiS 630 and SiS 730 are a family of highly integrated chipsets for Intel and AMD respectively. At the time of release they were unique in that they not only provided VGA, Audio, LAN, IDE and USB functionality on board, but were also in a single-chip solution. At the time of release (1999) most chipsets were composed of physically separate north-bridge and south-bridge chips. Only later have single-chip solutions become popular in the mainstream, with chipsets such as the nVidia nForce4.

Windows Rally is a set of technologies from Microsoft intended to simplify the setup and maintenance of wired and wireless network-connected devices. They aim to increase reliability and security of connectivity for users who connect the devices to the Internet or to computers running Microsoft Windows. These technologies provide control of network quality of service (QoS) and diagnostics for data sharing, communications, and entertainment. Windows Rally technologies provide provisioning for the following devices:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huawei E220</span> Modem developed by Huawei

The Huawei E220 is a Huawei HSDPA access device (modem) manufactured by Huawei and notable for using the USB interface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Easy Transfer</span> File transfer program by Microsoft

Windows Easy Transfer was a specialized file-transfer program developed by Microsoft that allowed users of the Windows operating system to transfer personal files and settings from a computer running an earlier version of Windows to a computer running a newer version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IEEE 1394</span> Serial bus interface standard, also known as Firewire

IEEE 1394 is an interface standard for a serial bus for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer. It was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Apple in cooperation with a number of companies, primarily Sony and Panasonic. It is most commonly known by the name FireWire (Apple), though other brand names exist such as i.LINK (Sony), and Lynx.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LIO (SCSI target)</span> Open-source version of SCSI target

In computing, Linux-IO (LIO) Target is an open-source implementation of the SCSI target that has become the standard one included in the Linux kernel. Internally, LIO does not initiate sessions, but instead provides one or more Logical Unit Numbers (LUNs), waits for SCSI commands from a SCSI initiator, and performs required input/output data transfers. LIO supports common storage fabrics, including FCoE, Fibre Channel, IEEE 1394, iSCSI, iSCSI Extensions for RDMA (iSER), SCSI RDMA Protocol (SRP) and USB. It is included in most Linux distributions; native support for LIO in QEMU/KVM, libvirt, and OpenStack makes LIO also a storage option for cloud deployments.

Commodore 64 disk/tape emulation and data transfer comprises hardware and software for Commodore 64 disk & tape emulation and for data transfer between either Commodore 64 (C64), Commodore (1541) disk drive or Commodore tape deck and newer computers.

Laplink was a proprietary piece of software developed by Mark Eppley and sold by Traveling Software. First available in 1983, LapLink was used to synchronize, copy, or move, files between two PCs, in an era before local area networks, using the parallel port and a LapLink cable or serial port and a null modem cable or USB and a USB adhoc network cable.

References

  1. "Windows 95 to Linux Direct Cable Connection LG #41". tldp.org.
  2. "XP Direct Cable to Linux". howto.gumph.org.
  3. "USB FAQs". Archived from the original on 2007-10-02. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  4. "USB Connectivity Archives".
  5. "USB Connectivity Cables Archives".
  6. "Products Archive".
  7. "prolificusa linux driver - Google Search". www.google.com.
  8. "Torvalds/Linux". GitHub . 9 July 2022.
  9. "Torvalds/Linux". GitHub . 9 July 2022.
  10. "Direct cable connection not available in Windows Vista".

Newer software enables the use of DCC-like technology over the Internet: