How many devices can connect to a FireWire bus?

The FireWire bus can support a maximum of 63 devices. This limitation is due to the way FireWire assigns unique addresses to each device on the bus. The 64th address is reserved for the bus itself, which means that only 63 additional devices can be connected to a single FireWire bus.

In the context of FireWire's architecture, this addressing scheme allows for efficient communication among devices while maintaining a manageable complexity. Each device connected to the FireWire interface can communicate with the host and other devices, but the system is designed to prevent collisions and ensure stable data transfer across the bus.

Understanding this technical detail is essential for utilizing FireWire effectively in various applications, particularly where multiple devices, like audio, video equipment, or external storage, need to be interconnected.