9.1 Application Information

A major advantage of USB is the ability to connect 127 functions configured in up to 6 logical layers (tiers) to a single personal computer.

Another advantage of USB is that all peripherals are connected using a standardized 4-wire cable that provides both communication and power distribution. The power configurations are bus-powered and self-powered modes. The maximum current that may be drawn from the USB 5-V line during power up is 100 mA. For the bus-powered mode, a hub can draw a maximum of 500 mA from the 5-V line of the USB cable. A bus-powered hub must always be connected downstream to a self-powered hub unless it is the only hub connected to the PC and there are no high-powered functions connected downstream. In the self-powered mode, the hub is connected to an external power supply and can supply up to 500 mA to each downstream port. High-powered functions may draw a maximum of 500 mA from each downstream port and may only be connected downstream to self-powered hubs. Per the USB specification, in the bus-powered mode, each downstream port can provide a maximum of 100 mA of current, and in the self-powered mode, each downstream port can provide a maximum of 500 mA of current.