How USB Devices Appear to the System

A USB device can support multiple configurations. Only one configuration is active at any given time. The active configuration is called the current configuration.

A configuration can have more than one interface, possibly with intervening interface-associations that group two or more interfaces for a function. All interfaces of a configuration are active simultaneously. Different interfaces might be operated by different device drivers.

An interface can represent itself to the host system in different ways by using alternate settings. Only one alternate setting is active for any given interface.

Each alternate setting provides device access through endpoints. Each endpoint has a specific purpose. The host system communicates with the device by establishing a communication channel to an endpoint. This communication channel is called a pipe.