page
LaCie Little Big Disk
User Manual
Using Your LaCie Little Big Disk
4.2. Connecting Multiple Devices
Both the FireWire and USB interfaces allow for multiple devices to be connected.
4.2.1. FireWire
FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 allow for the connection of up to 63 devices on the bus, with a maximum of 16 devices on
one branch. FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 devices can be connected on a chain and do not necessarily need a hub. Sim-
ply connect the first peripheral to a FireWire 400 or FireWire 800 port on your computer. Connect the second peripheral to
the other FireWire 400 or FireWire 800 port on the first drive etc., using the cables provided with your drives.
FireWire 800 devices can be chained together with the original FireWire 400 standard (provided the correct cables are
used), but transfer rates will be limited to the original FireWire 400 speeds. For reliable performance, LaCie does not rec-
ommend daisy-chaining more than 4 FireWire devices one after the other; instead, use several FireWire cards/ports directly
from the computer.
TEChNICAL NOTE:
To daisy-chain devices, you must be using the same interface, either FireWire or USB. Your
computer will not recognize the daisy-chained device if the interfaces are mixed, i.e. a FireWire device attached to a
drive that is connected to the computer via the Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface.
Daisy-chain configurations:
• FireWire 400 device connected directly to the LaCie Big Disk Extreme with Triple Interface, which is connected to the
computer via the FireWire 800 port.
• iLink/DV device connected directly to the LaCie Big Disk Extreme with Triple Interface, which is connected to the
computer via the FireWire 800 port.
• FireWire 800 device connected directly to the LaCie Big Disk Extreme with Triple Interface, which is connected to the
computer via the FireWire 800 port.
For more information about FireWire and improving performance, please see sections 5.3.
Optimizing data transfers
and 6.
FireWire questions & answers
.
