Significance

• USB plugs replaced serial port connections.USB image by Ewe Degiampietro from Fotolia.com
  
  Older computer peripherals require a serial port to communicate with the computer. Since serial port connections are largely obsolete, newer computers often forgo the serial port entirely, replacing it with USB. For a newer computer to communicate with older serial peripherals, it requires a serial-to-USB adapter.
  
  

Function

• Computer with direct serial port.port replicator isolated on the white background image by Elnur from Fotolia.com
  
  Using a serial-to-USB adapter is relatively simple: the user plugs the peripheral into the serial port on the adapter, and plugs the USB jack on the adapter into the computer. The computer then recognizes a serial device has been attached, allowing the user seamless access to the device's functions, exactly as if the device were directly plugged into a port on the computer motherboard.
  
  

Considerations

• Modern operating systems, such as those running on newer computers that do not have serial ports, automatically identify serial-to-USB adapters, and immediately install any required software upon plugging in the adapter. Before purchasing an adapter, ensure it is compatible with your computer hardware and operating system software.