computer science

Very-high-density cable interconnect

Very-high-density cable interconnect is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Very-high-density cable interconnect rather than just read about it. In short: A very-high-density cable interconnect (VHDCI) is a 68-pin connector that was introduced in the SPI-2 document of SCSI-3. The VHDCI connector is a very small connector that allows placement of four wide SCSI connectors on the back of a single PCI card slot.

Key takeaways

Very-high-density cable interconnect belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Very-high-density cable interconnect to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Very-high-density cable interconnect from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A very-high-density cable interconnect (VHDCI) is a 68-pin connector that was introduced in the SPI-2 document of SCSI-3. The VHDCI connector is a very small connector that allows placement of four wide SCSI connectors on the back of a single PCI card slot. Physically, it looks like a miniature Centronics type connector. It uses the regular 68-contact pin assignment. The male connector (plug) is used on the cable and the female connector ("receptacle") on the device.

Other uses Apart from the standardized use with the SCSI interface, several vendors have also used VHDCI connectors for other types of interfaces:

Nvidia: for an external PCI Express 8-lane interconnect, and used in Quadro Plex VCS and in Quadro NVS 420 as a display port connector ATI Technologies: on the FireMV 2400 to convey two DVI and two VGA signals on a single connector, and ganging two of these connectors side by side in order to allow the FireMV 2400 to be a low-profile quad display card. The Radeon X1950 XTX Crossfire Edition also used a pair of the connectors to grant more inter-card bandwidth than the PCI Express bus allowed at the time for Crossfire. AMD: Some Visiontek variants of the Radeon HD 7750 use a VHDCI connector alongside a Mini DisplayPort to allow a 5 (breakout to 4 HDMI+1 mDP) display Eyefinity array on a low profile card. VisionTek also released a similar Radeon HD 5570, though it lacked a Mini DisplayPort. Juniper Networks: for their 12- and 48-port 100BASE-TX PICs (physical interface cards). The cable connects to the VHDCI connector on the PIC on one end, via an RJ-21 connector on the other end, to an RJ-45 patch panel. Cisco: 3750 StackWise stacking cables National Instruments: on their high-speed digital I/O cards.[1] AudioScience uses VHDCI to carry multiple analog balanced audio and digital AES/EBU audio streams, and clock and GPIO signals.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Very-high-density cable interconnect

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Very-high-density cable interconnect claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Very-high-density cable interconnect before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Very-high-density cable interconnect ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Very-high-density cable interconnect

In research: Very-high-density cable interconnect appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Very-high-density cable interconnect in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Very-high-density cable interconnect is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Analog video connectors, Computer hardware stubs, Digital display connectors, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Very-high-density cable interconnect outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Very-high-density cable interconnect in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Very-high-density cable interconnect means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Very-high-density cable interconnect out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Very-high-density cable interconnect in simple terms?

Why does Very-high-density cable interconnect matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Very-high-density cable interconnect?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Very-high-density cable interconnect.