Attachment Unit Interface

An attachment unit interface (AUI ) is an electrical and mechanical interface to the physical separation from a medium attachment unit ( MAU) (transceiver) and an Ethernet controller (Media Access Control (MAC) ). It is part of the Ethernet standard according to the guidelines of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ( IEEE).

The AUI has a 15 -pin D -sub connector that is fastened with clamp elements instead of screws. The cable an AUI can be up to 50 meters long, but the two elements MAU and MAC are often connected directly.

Development

During the early 1990s, the AUI connections have become increasingly rare since the MAU has been more and more frequently integrated directly into the computer and the hub. Especially by the fact that permeated the 10BASE -T standard and the use of the earlier 10BASE5 ( Thick Ethernet ) and 10BASE2 (Thin Ethernet) declined. The electrical AUI connection, however, was still contained within the equipment. From the mid-1990s, the use has continued to decline and the AUI are almost completely gone by the Fast Ethernet. This had an equivalent in the Media Independent Interface (MII ). The following Gigabit Ethernet and 10- Gigabit Ethernet have according to the standards set by the Gigabit Interface Converter ( GBIC) and the Extended Attachment Unit Interface ( XAUI ), which are equivalent to the AUI.

Apple Macintosh

When the computers Apple Macintosh was a modified and smaller version of the AUI that uses Apple Attachment Unit Interface ( AAUI ), in the early 1990s, as the then usual monitor port in which had Macintosh the same shape and number of pins (DB -15 ).

Occupancy

The pinout of the AUI is as follows:

• Connectors
• Ethernet