3 ms·

So if I've got two computers, each with a port labelled 40 Gbps and a USB cable labelled 40 Gbps, what's the protocol I can use to copy files at close to that?

So if I've got two computers, each with a port labelled 40 Gbps and a USB cable labelled 40 Gbps, what's the protocol I can use to copy files at close to that? FWIW I used to run PLIP back in the nineties (IP over parallel port) to share my dialup Internet connection between my desktop and "laptop", so I'm not afraid of anything.

chx 4y ago
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/component-guidelines/usb4-interdomain-connections https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/co... > the Ethernet over USB4 interdomain protocol, also known as USB4NET enables two USB4 PCs to establish a network connection between each other when connected using a USB4 cable, akin to connecting an ethernet cable between network cards on two PCs. I wrote about this a month ago at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32714807 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32714807 it gets confusing because the USB4 protocol uses the word "routers" for hosts, devices, hubs which of course is used by Ethernet for something totally else.
- TacticalCoder 4y ago
  Ah I missed it, TYVM! It's great to see that such a feature made it into USB4 now that it's going to reach these speeds. > I do not quite know what happens if you were to plug three hosts together via a USB4 hub. As my post above details, USB4NET properly travels over the hub but which hosts pair, I can't even guess. Can't wait to see people trying this and reporting!
- int_19h 4y ago
  It's rather unfortunate that you still have dig so deep to look up the auto-assigned IPs and then manually type them in Explorer. It really ought to be as simple as file transfers from a PC to a phone - plug the cable, each side gets a prompt on whether it wants to provide access, and once you confirm, the other end shows it in the drive/device tree in Explorer.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
wmf 4y ago
Just don't expect to get more than ~20 Gbps due to undocumented controller bottlenecks.
- userbinator 4y ago
  Look up how much 10Gbit Ethernet hardware costs, and you'll find that 20Gbps is already a great value at this time.
  - wmf 4y ago
    10G is fairly cheap but yeah, it's not as cheap as built-in Thunderbolt. (Also, attaching a 10G NIC to a laptop costs far more than the NIC.)

chx 4y ago

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/component-guidelines/usb4-interdomain-connections https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/co... > the Ethernet over USB4 interdomain protocol, also known as USB4NET enables two USB4 PCs to establish a network connection between each other when connected using a USB4 cable, akin to connecting an ethernet cable between network cards on two PCs. I wrote about this a month ago at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32714807 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32714807 it gets confusing because the USB4 protocol uses the word "routers" for hosts, devices, hubs which of course is used by Ethernet for something totally else.

TacticalCoder 4y ago
Ah I missed it, TYVM! It's great to see that such a feature made it into USB4 now that it's going to reach these speeds. > I do not quite know what happens if you were to plug three hosts together via a USB4 hub. As my post above details, USB4NET properly travels over the hub but which hosts pair, I can't even guess. Can't wait to see people trying this and reporting!
int_19h 4y ago
It's rather unfortunate that you still have dig so deep to look up the auto-assigned IPs and then manually type them in Explorer. It really ought to be as simple as file transfers from a PC to a phone - plug the cable, each side gets a prompt on whether it wants to provide access, and once you confirm, the other end shows it in the drive/device tree in Explorer.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

wmf 4y ago

Just don't expect to get more than ~20 Gbps due to undocumented controller bottlenecks.

userbinator 4y ago
Look up how much 10Gbit Ethernet hardware costs, and you'll find that 20Gbps is already a great value at this time.
- wmf 4y ago
  10G is fairly cheap but yeah, it's not as cheap as built-in Thunderbolt. (Also, attaching a 10G NIC to a laptop costs far more than the NIC.)