Plugable’s New USB 2.0 2-Port Hub

Posted on 30. Dec, 2011 by in USB2-2PORT

The newest small and light laptops and tablets don’t have enough USB ports.

Because of that, it’s nice to be able to throw a small USB hub in your bag for extra connectivity when you’re travelling. You want a durable hub without any parts sticking out that are easy to break. Where the hub is a single integrated unit, so nothing will get disconnected and lost. With ports that are in line with the cable, so cables aren’t running all directions on your desk when you’re using it. And a hub without so many ports that it needs its own power adapter anyway (which would be too bulky).

It’s for these kinds of needs that we’re targeting our simple new USB 2.0 2-Port Hub.

It features a clean, compact design. With a standard USB 2.0 High Speed hub controller inside (NEC/Renesas µPD720114 2-port), it enables two devices to share a single available USB port with full USB 2.0 compatibility and performance.

Because it’s bus powered, the 2 ports share the available 500 mA from the single upstream port. It’s a perfect match for use with low powered devices such as keyboards and mice or self powered devices like printers, powered hubs, and powered external hard drives. Note, though, that you won’t want to use an unpowered hub like this for charging.

Features

  • Standard 2 Port USB 2.0 compliant USB hub controller chipset
  • Compatible with all USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices
  • Supports full data rates of 1.5/12/480 Mbps
  • USB bus powered
  • Compact, in-line design to minimize cable clutter

Have any questions? Email support@plugable.com anytime – we’ll be happy to help.

Where to Buy

Plugable USB 2.0 2 Port Hub Product Details $9.20

Howto: DisplayLink USB Single Monitor on Linux

Posted on 23. Dec, 2011 by in Using

Unfortunately, Linux doesn’t support multiple graphics adapters the way Windows does, which means you can’t just plug in USB graphics adapters and expect them to extend your desktop (the good news is there is progress on this support).

What is possible, however, is running a single DisplayLink adapter, or several with a Xinerama or multiseat configuration — just as long as you don’t expect to use your main GPU at the same time.

The single-display case is relatively easy to set up, and we’ll cover that here.

First, make sure you’re running kernel version 2.6.35 or later (Ubuntu 10.10 or later). For older kernel versions, you’ll need to update udlfb and run a modified fbdev X server (not covered in this post). On these kernel versions, when you plug in your DisplayLink-based USB graphics device, you should get a green screen. This means that at the driver built into the Linux kernel is happy, healthy, and talking to the device.

Second, if you are running Unity Desktop in Ubuntu 11.04 or later, you’ll need to switch back to Classic Mode so you’re running straight X. Here’s how on Ubuntu:

Click on the power button in the upper right corner (mine looks like a light switch) and choose the last option, System Settings. Search for Login Screen, Double-click to display, Choose Unlock and enter your password, Select Ubuntu Classic as default session.

Third, if you’re running kernel versions between 2.6.35 to 3.1, enable the fb_defio option of udlfb. To do this, create or edit a file like
/etc/modprobe.d/50-displaylink.conf

and add the single line

options udlfb fb_defio=1

And reboot (or run “sudo depmod -a” and unplug/replug your adapter). This will turn on defio (page fault change detection) support. This option is already enabled by default in kernels 3.2+.

Lastly, create an X config file called 60-plugable.conf (or similar) with the following contents and place it in /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d (on recent distros; on older distros, make this your xorg.conf):

 
Section "Device" 
  Identifier "uga" 
  driver "fbdev" 
  Option "fbdev" "/dev/fb0" 
EndSection 
 
Section "Monitor" 
  Identifier "monitor" 
EndSection 
 
Section "Screen" 
  Identifier "screen" 
  Device "uga" 
  Monitor "monitor" 
EndSection 
 
Section "ServerLayout" 
  Identifier "default" 
  Screen 0 "screen" 0 0 
EndSection

Note: if your main GPU creates a /dev/fb0 even when the USB display is not attached, then your USB display is probably getting assigned to /dev/fb1. In that case, change /dev/fb0 in the “Device” section above to /dev/fb1

Now, on reboot, you should (hopefully!) see your login come up on your DisplayLink USB attached display!

This kind of simple setup is useful for:

  • Testing or playing with your USB graphics adatper on Linux.
  • Embedded systems with USB but no GPU.
  • As a backup method when the main GPU or its driver isn’t available or working.
  • Systems where a USB graphics adapter enables higher modes (up to 2048×1152) than the main GPU screen.

Please comment if you have any trouble with this single display case. See our past posts for additional information about the DisplayLink Linux kernel driver and some more involved setups.

The instructed here work on all Plugable USB 2.0 graphics adapters and Plugable USB 2.0 docking stations and thin clients (and should also generally work on all DisplayLink based products).

Updating firmware on the Plugable 4-Port SuperSpeed USB 3.0/2.0 Hub

Posted on 01. Nov, 2011 by in USB3-HUB81X4

Because USB 3.0 is still maturing, it’s helpful to choose devices with upgradable firmware (and/or drivers). Our Plugable 4-Port SuperSpeed USB 3.0/2.0 Hub uses the VIA VL810 chipset both because it’s the best selling hub chipset currently on the market, and updating the firmware is relatively easy.

First, download VIA’s USB 3 Firmware Upgrade Tool (Windows required).

When the package is finished downloading click on the .zip file to extract the contents and run Usb3HubFWUpgrade_Setup_VX.XX.exe (to match the version you downloaded). This will install the USB3.0 firmware upgrade tool.

Reboot your machine, and connect your hub to AC power and to a USB3.0 port directly on your computer. Now, run the Usb3HubFWUpgrade program from the start menu. You will see a screen like this:

When the upgrade tool reports 1 device found, click the “Start Upgrade” button. Once it has completed you will see:

Disconnect both the AC power and the USB cable from the hub to reset it, reconnect, and you’re done!

See VIA’s Release Notes (PDF) for the list of features and fixes in each firmware version.

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