Computer Input/output ports

Input/output ports

The Input and Output ports are normally located at the back or on the side of your computer. These

include ports such as USB, serial, parallel, network and FireWire ports. You plug cables into these ports to connect your computer to other devices, such as printers, scanners and cameras.

Universal Serial Bus (USB) Port

The Universal Serial Bus is a relatively new item within the PC. You will see one or more USB sockets at the back of the system unit, allowing you to plug in devices designed for the USB. These devices include printers, scanners and digital cameras. Memory sticks can also be plugged into a USB port allowing you to copy data to or from your hard disk.

Serial Port

The serial port is a socket located at the back of your computer which enables you to connect items to the computer, such as a modem. They are commonly labelled as COM1 or COM2.

Parallel Port

 The parallel port is a socket located at the back of your computer which enables you to connect items to the computer, such as a printer. It is commonly labelled as LPT1 or LPT2.

NOTE: The parallel port used to be the main way the computer connected to a printer. These days you are more likely to use a USB cable to connect the computer to a printer.

Network Port

The network port allows you to plug a ‘network cable’ into your computer, which then lets you communicate with other computers connected to your local network or to other computers via the Internet.

FireWire Port

FireWire is an interface from Apple Inc. that allows high data transfer between your computer and a compatible device such as a digital camera. FireWire has largely replaced earlier ways of transferring data, such as parallel or SCSI cables. There are numerous versions of FireWire including fibre optic, coaxial and wireless versions. Most multimedia computers will have FireWire ports built into them. Firewire connectors usually look like this: