EasyServer universal serial bus daughtercard providing real connectivity
Raymond Grasso · The University of Queensland · 1999
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an attractive new way of connecting peripherals to personal computers. The USB uses a host (usually within a PC) that allows communication with many different USB devices. USB can only support maximum connection lengths of 5m, but some applications require distances larger than this. This thesis takes a different approach to that of a PC based system. Instead of connecting a USB device directly to a PC, the EasyServer USB daughtercard provides a USB server that connects a USB peripheral to an Ethernet network. The goal of this project is to construct a functional USB host controller that can be embedded in an existing EasyServer system, providing an interface between Ethernet and a USB camera peripheral. The EasyServer USB daughtercard will act as a digital USB camera server. The EasyServer USB system is not as complex as a PC and provides a cheaper USB Host option. The EasyServer USB daughtercard provides basic host functionality allowing communication with any high-speed USB device using bulk or control endpoints. More functionality can be added to the general system produced here with any number of new peripherals being developed.