!USBInfo User Manual

Contents of this page

1. Introduction 1.1 Two main windows 1.2 The Topology window 1.3 The Status window 1.4 Within a device 1.5 'Full info' display Further information Links

1. Introduction

!USBInfo is a small application that can be used to monitor the USB system in your RISC OS computer. Once installed it will scan your computer for USB devices and report them in a graphical manner. Currently the program can only be used for diagnostics, e.g. when creating drivers for USB devices.

1.1 Two main windows

!USBInfo can be installed anywhere on your RISC OS computer and can be started in the usual way by double clicking. Once started it will install itself in the iconbar and open the main window.

!USBinfo has two main windows: The Topology window (left) and the Status window (right). Examples of both are shown here. By default the program will open the Topology window. The example windows shown here, show a variety of devices, such as HUBs, mice, a keyboard, a flash-pen and a flash card reader. The default window to open and the level of detail shown in the windows can be set in the Choices... window.

1.2 The Topology window

The default window opened by !USBinfo shows the topology of your USB sub system. In other words: it shows the way in which the various devices are connected together, in a graphical manner. In the example to the right, you can clearly see the two different buses: USB 1 and USB 2. Each bus starts with the internal HUB of the USB card. Bus 1 shows one more HUB (the pedestal of an IIyama monitor in this case) two which three devices are connected: a mouse, a keyboard and mouse combination and a flash pen. Each rectangular box shows a single device with its address in the top left corner. In the top right the box shows the port number of the parent device. E.g. device 4 shows a port number of 2/3, which means that it is connected to physical port 3 of device 2. Click the button More... in the top right to reveal the Vendor logo of each device. |  |

1.3 The Status window

The highest level of detail can be obtained from the Status window. A typical window is shown here. If only a sub set of information is visible, press the + key on the keyboard twice, to enter Full info mode. A computer may contain various USB file systems, each having its own unique DeviceFS name. The USB interface in this example is called USB. Each file system may consist of multiple buses. The USB system in the example, consist of two buses, called USB 1 and USB 2. In this case, the USB card in the IYONIX pc contains two USB HUBs. Within each bus, each device has been assigned an Address ranging from 1 (one) onwards. The address is shown in the label icon to the left. The DeviceFS name and bus number is shown above the address label. A device is equivalent to a physical device (e.g. a camera). Address 1 will always be present as it is the USB Hub inside the USB card in your computer. Further Hubs may be connected to allow more devices (upto a theoretical maximum of 127) to be connected. |  |

1.4 Within a device

A device may consist of multiple Interfaces, as the 4th device in the example shows. It is device 4 on bus USB 1. In this case its a combined wireless keyboard and mouse from Logitech. A device may consist of any number of interfaces. Each device has an endpoint called Endpoint 0. As this endpoint is always present, it is shown inthe Device box. Most interfaces will contain one or more endpoints, but this is mandatory. Various types of endpoints exist, depending on their use to the device: Control Interrupt Bulk Isochronous Each type of endpoint is represented by its own icon (refer to the legend for an explanation). Each endpoint can have only one function. If the device supports multiple functions, additional endpoints will be needed for each function. E.g. the multi flash card reader (bottom) supports both reading and writing of data. It therefore contains two endpoints: one for bulk in and one for bulk out.

The Interface number (and it's Alternate) are shown in the top left corner of the Interface box (0.0 in this case). If the device supports Full speed data transfer, this is indicated by a red double arrow in the interface. If possible !USBInfo will try to show a useful sprite of the connected devices and show a suitable name for it. ➤ More information on Interfaces |  |

1.5 'Full info' display

In User mode all information will be displayed in its simplest form. If you want additional information to be displayed, you need to switch to either Advanced or Full info. When in Full info mode, a typical line will look like this:
The box at the left shows the Vendor information. Click on it to reveal the names of the Vendor and the Product if known by the software. The small label refers to the Address and leads to a further box containing the actual Device. In the Device you'll find the only Endpoint that is always present: Endpoint 0. The box also shows the maximum power that may be used by the device or, as in this case, the fact that the device is self-powered. Endpoint 0 uses a maximum packet size of 8 bytes. The next box shows the only Interface present in this device: the printer, followed by it's Endpoints (2 in this case). As the printer is bi-directional, it uses 2 endpoints: one for sending data to the printer and one for receiving data from it. The data transfer is of the type Bulk which is indicated by the solid square in the endpoint. ➤ More information on Interfaces

Further information

More informations on Interfaces (within a Device) Different speeds supported by a USB device

Links

Latest version of !USBInfo Other products from XAT The USB Implementers Forum

| © Copyright Paul Reuvers X-Ample Technology bv usb@xat.nl Last changed: Last changed: Thursday, 18 June 2020 - 11:04 CET.