11 ms·

I2c-USB-hub: An i2C Controllable USB 2.0 Hub

79 points by zdw 3y ago

fodkodrasz 3y ago
I think an USB controllable USB hub might be more handy.
- riedel 3y ago
  There are already off the shelf hubs that support power control: https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl
  - dividedbyzero 3y ago
    I tried to get one (USB3, 4ports, not too pricey) earlier this year, but all the qualifying ones on the list there were either discontinued or had been updated and weren't individually switchable anymore. It's a pity because this would be so handy.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- puzzlingcaptcha 3y ago
  You'd only need to use something like a MCP2221a breakout [1] with the linked project. Although it would be more convenient to integrate it directly on board. https://www.adafruit.com/product/4471 https://www.adafruit.com/product/4471
- m_eiman 3y ago
  This one works fine for me: https://www.yepkit.com/product/300110/YKUSH3 https://www.yepkit.com/product/300110/YKUSH3
- hglee 3y ago
  I used Acroname USB hub: https://acroname.com/store/programmable-industrial-hub-s79-usbhub-3p https://acroname.com/store/programmable-industrial-hub-s79-u... It was very expensive but works reliable. You can use API to control it.
seba_dos1 3y ago
USB hubs are controllable via USB, so I guess this is for cases where your hub is connected to a device you don't control.
- rickdeckard 3y ago
  No need to guess. First sentence on the page: "Have you ever wanted to control USB devices using an Arduino, ESP32, or Raspberry Pi? with the i2C USB Hub, you can!"
  - seba_dos1 3y ago
    But you can control USB devices using an Arduino, ESP32 or Raspberry Pi via USB just fine :P
- gsich 3y ago
  Not all.
  - seba_dos1 3y ago
    All. The available features vary though.
    - gsich 3y ago
      Not all. I have several that can't be controlled.
      - seba_dos1 3y ago
        All. You can't have a USB hub that can't be controlled over USB, it wouldn't be able to work at all. The spec requires hubs to be active devices that show up on the bus and that can handle requests from the host, such as selective suspend or port power control. Whether your hub actually offers a physical ability to turn off power of individual ports is another matter. The spec allows port power to be ganged (all ports being disabled at once after all of them have been requested to be disabled) and for all ports to be always powered - you can find out which mode the hub implements by reading wHubCharacteristics field in the hub descriptor.
rx_tx 3y ago
Unfortunately, this is not an ideal design. - Most USB hub chips can be strapped/hard wired configured, or controllable by i2c already directly. Funnily enough this chip isn't, but is extremely cheap (less than 24 cents!). - The "port enable" feature on this design only controls VBUS (power pin of each connector), not the hub itself, so on a self-powered device it may not actually disconnect the device if it doesn't need VBUS to operate. [1]: https://www.lcsc.com/product-detail/USB-ICs_CoreChips-SL2-1A_C192893.html https://www.lcsc.com/product-detail/USB-ICs_CoreChips-SL2-1A...
- boffinAudio 3y ago
  Very good points - have you made an Issue on their repo to report these points? As they are currently doing a new revision, it would be good to see these sticking points submitted and get addressed by the devs, if they're not aware of them already. I do a lot of firmware development and am constantly having to unplug/replug devices during the process .. for this reason I have an I-Tec 16-port Charging Hub, which has individual switches for each port - and this works fine, as long as I get the druthers to launch out of my chair and turn things off and on again... however being able to do all of this remotely, with software, would mean I could a) automate the hell out of a lot of things that requires monkey-tapping, and b) put the whole mess in a closet where it belongs, away from my coffee cup. So I'm quite eager to see this project proceed - especially if there is a way the port capacities can be expanded (16-port would be ideal) .. so please consider officially reporting any issues in the design that you see!
  - codazoda 3y ago
    I wonder if it supports software control? I haven’t messed with this in a long long time, but here’s a C program for controlling USB port power via software. It works on a pretty limited set of hubs, because most cheap out on including the switches. https://github.com/codazoda/hub-ctrl.c https://github.com/codazoda/hub-ctrl.c
    - loxias 3y ago
      What hub(s) do you use it on?
brunorsini 3y ago
Last year I bought a second computer for my music studio. I wanted to use the same set of 2 monitors and wired keyboard + trackpad on both machines. I wrote simple scripts to switch my monitor inputs with keyboard shortcuts (even simpler with Lunar, amazing new Mac app — https://lunar.fyi https://lunar.fyi), which saved me from having to press annoying input-source buttons. But I couldn't for the life of me find a simple, suitable software controllable KVM switch. That still requires the hardware button to be controlled, so frustrating.
- boffinAudio 3y ago
  I am constantly on the lookout for a monitor that has a USB port/KVM switch built in - it seems like such a no-brainer, but alas there are very few options like this available out there .. I do recall someone making an open-source KVM switcher design some time ago, will have to try and dig it out of the archives ..
  - Hendrikto 3y ago
    > I am constantly on the lookout for a monitor that has a USB port/KVM switch built in Dough (formerly Eve) Spectrum monitors have this feature. They are also great all-round monitors.
  - the_pwner224 3y ago
    Lots of Dell monitors support this - probably every single currently-in-production Ultrasharp supports it, and I think some of the lower tier non-Ultrasharps may support it as well. Dell monitors all support DDC, I'm not sure if KVM switching can be controlled over DDC but it's likely. Somewhat unrelated, but some of the Dell monitors also have USB-C support, where a single USB-C cable connects to your laptop and: charges it (Power Delivery from the monitor), hooks up the display (DP alt mode), and connects to the USB hub on the monitor. So if you use a wireless kb/mouse with receivers plugged into the monitor, you'll have literally just 2 cables on your desk - a power cable for your monitor, and a USB-C cable between the monitor and laptop.
    - 3y ago
TheLoafOfBread 3y ago
I think adding USB to I2C chip and connecting it to USB hub would make device self-contained and great candidate for automated testing of USB hardware - i.e. 3 different hardware revisions which needs to be tested after release of new firmware by test software to verify that all 3 are working the same.
dementik 3y ago
There is also wifi-connected Sinilink XY-WFUSB: https://devices.esphome.io/devices/Sinilink-XY-WFUSB-USB-Switch-Relay https://devices.esphome.io/devices/Sinilink-XY-WFUSB-USB-Swi... Not opensource hardware, but available immediately for order and ESPHome/Tasmota can be used as a firmwre.

79 points by zdw 3y ago

fodkodrasz 3y ago

I think an USB controllable USB hub might be more handy.

riedel 3y ago
There are already off the shelf hubs that support power control: https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl
- dividedbyzero 3y ago
  I tried to get one (USB3, 4ports, not too pricey) earlier this year, but all the qualifying ones on the list there were either discontinued or had been updated and weren't individually switchable anymore. It's a pity because this would be so handy.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
puzzlingcaptcha 3y ago
You'd only need to use something like a MCP2221a breakout [1] with the linked project. Although it would be more convenient to integrate it directly on board. https://www.adafruit.com/product/4471 https://www.adafruit.com/product/4471
m_eiman 3y ago
This one works fine for me: https://www.yepkit.com/product/300110/YKUSH3 https://www.yepkit.com/product/300110/YKUSH3
hglee 3y ago
I used Acroname USB hub: https://acroname.com/store/programmable-industrial-hub-s79-usbhub-3p https://acroname.com/store/programmable-industrial-hub-s79-u... It was very expensive but works reliable. You can use API to control it.

seba_dos1 3y ago

USB hubs are controllable via USB, so I guess this is for cases where your hub is connected to a device you don't control.

rickdeckard 3y ago
No need to guess. First sentence on the page: "Have you ever wanted to control USB devices using an Arduino, ESP32, or Raspberry Pi? with the i2C USB Hub, you can!"
- seba_dos1 3y ago
  But you can control USB devices using an Arduino, ESP32 or Raspberry Pi via USB just fine :P
gsich 3y ago
Not all.
- seba_dos1 3y ago
  All. The available features vary though.
  - gsich 3y ago
    Not all. I have several that can't be controlled.
    - seba_dos1 3y ago
      All. You can't have a USB hub that can't be controlled over USB, it wouldn't be able to work at all. The spec requires hubs to be active devices that show up on the bus and that can handle requests from the host, such as selective suspend or port power control. Whether your hub actually offers a physical ability to turn off power of individual ports is another matter. The spec allows port power to be ganged (all ports being disabled at once after all of them have been requested to be disabled) and for all ports to be always powered - you can find out which mode the hub implements by reading wHubCharacteristics field in the hub descriptor.

rx_tx 3y ago

Unfortunately, this is not an ideal design. - Most USB hub chips can be strapped/hard wired configured, or controllable by i2c already directly. Funnily enough this chip isn't, but is extremely cheap (less than 24 cents!). - The "port enable" feature on this design only controls VBUS (power pin of each connector), not the hub itself, so on a self-powered device it may not actually disconnect the device if it doesn't need VBUS to operate. [1]: https://www.lcsc.com/product-detail/USB-ICs_CoreChips-SL2-1A_C192893.html https://www.lcsc.com/product-detail/USB-ICs_CoreChips-SL2-1A...

boffinAudio 3y ago
Very good points - have you made an Issue on their repo to report these points? As they are currently doing a new revision, it would be good to see these sticking points submitted and get addressed by the devs, if they're not aware of them already. I do a lot of firmware development and am constantly having to unplug/replug devices during the process .. for this reason I have an I-Tec 16-port Charging Hub, which has individual switches for each port - and this works fine, as long as I get the druthers to launch out of my chair and turn things off and on again... however being able to do all of this remotely, with software, would mean I could a) automate the hell out of a lot of things that requires monkey-tapping, and b) put the whole mess in a closet where it belongs, away from my coffee cup. So I'm quite eager to see this project proceed - especially if there is a way the port capacities can be expanded (16-port would be ideal) .. so please consider officially reporting any issues in the design that you see!
- codazoda 3y ago
  I wonder if it supports software control? I haven’t messed with this in a long long time, but here’s a C program for controlling USB port power via software. It works on a pretty limited set of hubs, because most cheap out on including the switches. https://github.com/codazoda/hub-ctrl.c https://github.com/codazoda/hub-ctrl.c
  - loxias 3y ago
    What hub(s) do you use it on?

brunorsini 3y ago

Last year I bought a second computer for my music studio. I wanted to use the same set of 2 monitors and wired keyboard + trackpad on both machines. I wrote simple scripts to switch my monitor inputs with keyboard shortcuts (even simpler with Lunar, amazing new Mac app — https://lunar.fyi https://lunar.fyi), which saved me from having to press annoying input-source buttons. But I couldn't for the life of me find a simple, suitable software controllable KVM switch. That still requires the hardware button to be controlled, so frustrating.

boffinAudio 3y ago
I am constantly on the lookout for a monitor that has a USB port/KVM switch built in - it seems like such a no-brainer, but alas there are very few options like this available out there .. I do recall someone making an open-source KVM switcher design some time ago, will have to try and dig it out of the archives ..
- Hendrikto 3y ago
  > I am constantly on the lookout for a monitor that has a USB port/KVM switch built in Dough (formerly Eve) Spectrum monitors have this feature. They are also great all-round monitors.
- the_pwner224 3y ago
  Lots of Dell monitors support this - probably every single currently-in-production Ultrasharp supports it, and I think some of the lower tier non-Ultrasharps may support it as well. Dell monitors all support DDC, I'm not sure if KVM switching can be controlled over DDC but it's likely. Somewhat unrelated, but some of the Dell monitors also have USB-C support, where a single USB-C cable connects to your laptop and: charges it (Power Delivery from the monitor), hooks up the display (DP alt mode), and connects to the USB hub on the monitor. So if you use a wireless kb/mouse with receivers plugged into the monitor, you'll have literally just 2 cables on your desk - a power cable for your monitor, and a USB-C cable between the monitor and laptop.
  - 3y ago

TheLoafOfBread 3y ago

I think adding USB to I2C chip and connecting it to USB hub would make device self-contained and great candidate for automated testing of USB hardware - i.e. 3 different hardware revisions which needs to be tested after release of new firmware by test software to verify that all 3 are working the same.

dementik 3y ago

There is also wifi-connected Sinilink XY-WFUSB: https://devices.esphome.io/devices/Sinilink-XY-WFUSB-USB-Switch-Relay https://devices.esphome.io/devices/Sinilink-XY-WFUSB-USB-Swi... Not opensource hardware, but available immediately for order and ESPHome/Tasmota can be used as a firmwre.