Input/Output Ports and Connectors
The input/output (I/O) connectors are for attaching external
devices, such as printers, keyboards, and displays, to the
server. The I/O connectors on the server include:
See the illustration in 'Input/Output Connectors and Expansion Slots'
for the locations of the connectors.
Serial Ports: The server comes with two serial ports.
(See 'Input/Output Connectors and Expansion Slots'
for the locations of the connectors.) These ports
are used to communicate with printers, plotters, external
modems, scanners, and auxiliary terminals. These ports
also enable you to transfer data between computers.
Serial ports can transfer data asynchronously, which
means that they can transmit any number of characters at
any time, with no restriction on the duration of the pauses
between characters.
The serial ports can transmit and receive data and
commands at rates of from 300 bits per second up to
115000 bits per second.
Serial port A is shared by the operating system and the
integrated system management processor. Serial port B
can be used by only by the operating system.
Each serial port has a 9-pin, male D-shell connector on the
back of the server. The pin-number assignments of this
connector conform to the industry standard.
When you turn on the server, the POST routine assigns
the serial ports to specific communication port addresses.
Some application programs use only certain ports, and
some modems are designed for use only at certain
communication port addresses. You might need to use the
Configuration/Setup Utility program to change
communication port address assignments to resolve
conflicts.
Management Port C: The server has a dedicated
systems management I/O port. This port can be used to
attach a modem that is dedicated to communication with
the system management processor.
The connector on the back of the server and the
pin-number assignments are the same as for the serial
ports.
Parallel Port: The parallel port usually is used to
communicate with printers, and transfers data one byte at
a time. The parallel port has a 25-pin, female D-shell
connector on the back of the server. It support three
standard IEEE 1284 modes of operation: Standard
Parallel Port (SPP), Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP), and
Extended Capacity Port (ECP). (See 'Input/Output Connectors and Expansion Slots' for the
location of the connector.)
When you turn on the server, the POST routine assigns
the parallel port a specific port address. You can change
the parallel-port assignment by using the
Configuration/Setup Utility program.
Video Port: The system board in the server has one
SVGA video port. This port is used to attach a video
monitor. The video port has a 15-pin analog connector on
the back of the server. (See 'Input/Output Connectors and Expansion Slots' for the location of the
connector.)
Keyboard and Auxiliary-Device Ports: The system
board has one keyboard port and one auxiliary-device port
that supports a mouse or other pointing device. (See
'Input/Output Connectors and Expansion Slots' for the locations of the connectors.)
Ethernet Port: The system board in the Netfinity 5500
contains an Ethernet controller. The controller has an
external RJ-45 connector on the rear of the server that is
used with a category 3, 4, or 5 unshielded twisted-pair
(UTP) cable. The connector enables an Ethernet network
to attach to the internal transceiver in the server.
Note:
The 100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet standard requires that
the cabling in the network is Category 5 or higher.
See 'Configuring the Ethernet Controller' for
additional information about the Ethernet controller.
Table 6 shows the pin-number assignments for the RJ-45
connector. These assignments apply to both 10BASE-T
and 100BASE-TX devices.
Universal Serial Bus Ports: The system board in
the Netfinity 5500 contains two universal serial bus (USB)
ports. Each USB port has an external connector on the
rear on the server for attaching devices that previously
used serial, parallel, keyboard, mouse, and game ports.
USB is an emerging serial interface standard for telephony
and multimedia devices. USB technology uses Plug and
Play to determine what device is attached to the
connector. Each USB device is accessed by a unique
USB address. A device called a hub is used to convert the
USB port into multiple attachment points. A hub has
multiple ports where peripherals can be attached. USB
provides 12 megabits-per-second (Mbps) bandwidth with a
maximum of 63 peripherals and a maximum signal
distance of five meters (16 ft.) per segment.
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