USB Class Codes

                   

USB defines class code information that is used to identify a device’s functionality and to nominally load a device driver based on that functionality. The information is contained in three bytes with the names Base Class, SubClass, and Protocol. (Note that ‘Base Class’ is used in this description to identify the first byte of the Class Code triple. That terminology is not used in the USB Specification). There are two places on a device where class code information can be placed.One place is in the Device Descriptor, and the other is in Interface Descriptors. Some defined class codes are allowed to be used only in a Device Descriptor, others can be used in both Device and Interface Descriptors, and some can only be used in Interface Descriptors. The table below shows the currently defined set of  Base Class values, what the generic usage is, and where that Base Class can be used (either Device or Interface Descriptors or both).

 

Base Class	Descriptor Usage	Description
00h	Device	Use class information in the Interface Descriptors
01h	Interface	Audio
02h	Both	Communications and CDC Control
03h	Interface	HID (Human Interface Device)
05h	Interface	Physical
06h	Interface	Image
07h	Interface	Printer
08h	Interface	Mass Storage
09h	Device	Hub
0Ah	Interface	CDC-Data
0Bh	Interface	Smart Card
0Dh	Interface	Content Security
0Eh	Interface	Video
0Fh	Interface	Personal Healthcare
DCh	Both	Diagnostic Device
E0h	Interface	Wireless Controller
EFh	Both	Miscellaneous
FEh	Interface	Application Specific
FFh	Both	Vendor Specific

Base Class 00h (Device)

This base class is defined to be used in Device Descriptors to indicate that class information should be determined from the Interface Descriptors in the device. There is one class code definition in this base class.  All other values are reserved.

 

This value is also used in Interface Descriptors to indicate a null class code triple.

 

Base Class	SubClass	Protocol	Meaning
00h	00h	00h	Use class code info from Interface Descriptors