Figure 2-29.—Example of I/O jacks and other connections
located on the rear of a microcomputer.
to make a connection. In figure 2-28, you’ll notice that
the jacks are not keyed; but because of their shapes, the
connector can only fit one way.
External connector receptacles vary in location on
the computer; it depends on the type of computer.
However, they are usually located on the top or the rear
of the frame or cabinet. Take a microcomputer for
example, the I/O jacks and all other connections are
located in the rear of the microcomputer. Look at figure
2-29; you’ll notice the I/O jacks and other connections
are located in the rear of the microcomputer’s frame or
cabinet. Some of the more common I/O external
connectors used for the parallel and serial input/output
of data are shown in figure 2-30. Notice the shape of
each connector receptacle; the connector plug can only
be inserted in one way.
Cable Architecture
A cable consists of two or more insulated
conductors in a common jacket. Cables are used to
receive electrical power from power sources, to send
data to (input) or receive data from (output) other
Figure 2-30.—Examples of the different types of external connector receptacles used by computers.
2-23
