Devices and Peripherals

Question 1

What are the following storage devices? Flash Memory, NAS (Network Access Storage), RAID and Cloud Storage?

Answer 1

• Flash Memory is commonly used in USB Drives for portable and ease of access storage.
• NAS is a dedicated server in a network whose sole purpose is to store data.
• RAID allows to be distributed across multiple drives within a server, if one drive fails data is still saved in another.
• Cloud Storage is the use of remote servers managed by third parties for storage.

Question 2

What is Refresh Rate?

Answer 2

Is the measureof how many times a display is update with new pixels per second. Measured in Hertz.

Question 3

What’s the difference between VGA, DVI, HDMI, Display Port and Mini Display Ports?

Answer 3

• VGA is a legacy visual interface that supports a resolution of up to 640 by 480 pixels.
• DVI is made up of DVI-I, DVI-D and DVI-A provides a better resolution than VGA, also considered legacy cable.
• HDMI is a bit more modern and provides not only provides visual display with high resolutions but also carries audio and video signals.
• Displayport supplies higher resolutions than HDMI.
• Mini Display Ports offer video output of up to 4k resolution,audio + signals and multi-monitor setup.

Question 4

What are the following peripheral connection types? Firewire? USB(Type A, Type B, Type C, USB Mini, USB Micro, USB Micro-A, USB Micro-B), Thunderbolt, Bluetooth?

Answer 4

• Firewire is a legacy apple peripheral connection interface.
• USB is commonly used to connect peripherals types ranging from USB 1.0 to current USB 4.0.
• Thunderbolt is a more current Apple Peripheral Interface that uses the same port as USB C (Thunderbolt 1+2).
• Bluetooth is the use of wireless signals within a PAN that enables connection between devices.

Question 5

What are the following network connection types? RJ-11, RJ-45, WI-FI, Bluetooth and NFC?

Answer 5

• RJ-11 is a wired network connection interface that connects telephones to their telephone lines which in turn connects to a phone network.
• RJ-45 is a wired network connection that transmits data between devices within a network via ethernet and connects devices.
• Bluetooth creates a PAN, which enables devices to connect to each other via wireless signals. Works within 10 metres of devices.
• NFC uses wireless signals much like Bluetooth but only works within a metre between devices. Commonly used in payment systems.

Question 6

What do the following input devices do? Scanners, Camera and Microphones?

Answer 6

• Scanners convert physical objects such as documents and photographs and convert them into digital files.
• Digital Camera takes a picture of surroundings and converts that image into digital data to be stored.
• Microphones convert sound into digital data for a computer system to process.

Question 7

What do the following output devices do? Displays, Speakers, Printers?

Answer 7

• Displays provide a visual output of the data processed into useful information on a monitor.
• Speakers provide audio.
• Printers create a copy of processed data into a printout.

Question 8

What’s plug and play? What’s a Driver?

Answer 8

• Plug and Play is connection and automatic configuration of a device to a computer when connected to a USB cable or some other type of connection.
• Driver is a software file that enables the OS of a computer to communicate and connect with the hardware.