IEEE 1394 is a standard defining a high speed serial bus. This bus is also named FireWire by Apple or i.Link by Sony. All these names refer to the same thing, but the neutral term IEEE 1394 (or just 1394) is more commonly used. IEEE 1394 provides a Plug and Play-compatible expansion interface for the PC. It has a mode of transmission which guarantees bandwidth which makes it ideal for consumer electronics audio/video (A/V) appliances, storage peripherals, and portable devices.



In addition, 1394 equipped computers will offer:

1. High speed communications. Speeds up to 400 Mbps are allowed with IEEE1394.
2.Self-configured addressing. Users do not have to set address switches. There is no potential for address conflicts.
3.A tiered-star topology, allowing up to 63 devices to be connected.