Workaround for Mac OS X Conflicts between DisplayLink and USB ethernet

Posted on 16. Jun, 2010 by in Using

[ Update April 27th, 2011. DisplayLink has fixed this issue in the production version 1.6 release of their Mac drivers. Please download the latest Mac drivers from DisplayLink ]

Plugable uses DisplayLink chips for USB graphics, and ASIX chips for USB Ethernet functionality. And we have both chips in devices like our Plugable USB 2.0 Universal Docking Station.

Unfortunately, on Mac OS X, there is a conflict between recent DisplayLink drivers 1.5+ and the Apple drivers (AppleUSBEthernet) for ASIX chips. The DisplayLink drivers appear to open other USB devices as part of enumeration. As a side effect, this causes USB ethernet devices to show as “disconnected” upon return from system boot or hibernate.

That’s in addition to other graphics and ethernet driver compatibility breaks that Apple’s recent OS X 10.6 updates have introduced, including breaking AppleUSBEthernet for non-Apple USB ethernet hardware.

Until these issues settle down and are fixed in the drivers from DisplayLink, ASIX, and Apple, here is a workaround for the current issues with the ethernet function of the Plugable Universal Docking Station:

Step 1 is to download and install ASIX drivers that are compatible with recent Mac OS X 10.6: http://plugable.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/AppleDefaultDriver_v2.1.5.zip

Step 2 is to copy the following script to a file (call it “install”), and run “sudo ./install”

#!/bin/bash
sudo echo "#!/bin/bash" > /usr/bin/plugable-eth-reset
sudo echo kextunload -b com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEthernet >> /usr/bin/plugable-eth-reset
sudo echo kextload -b com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEthernet >> /usr/bin/plugable-eth-reset
sudo chown root /usr/bin/plugable-eth-reset
sudo chmod o+x /usr/bin/plugable-eth-reset
sudo defaults write com.apple.loginwindow LoginHook /usr/bin/plugable-eth-reset

Now, logging out and logging back in will automatically reload the ethernet driver. Unfortunately, this does not cover the return from low-power cases. Unless we find an improvement to the workaround, you’ll have to log out/log in or just run “sudo /usr/bin/eth-reset” so trigger the script.

As there may be variations in systems out there, please comment if you get different results, and we’ll post an update here at Plugable if (as we hope) this is fixed more directly in the DisplayLink or ASIX drivers in the future.

And, generally if you’re a Mac OS X user, please be cautious about OS updates which might break 3rd party hardware drivers. If you have non-Apple USB hardware, consider deferring updates until there’s time for other people to report on forums about compatibility.

The Nexus One Phone-Top

Posted on 09. Jun, 2010 by in udlfb

Sven Killig has a sense of where computing is headed: Powerful computers are everywhere, including in your pocket. And he has the skills to push things ahead, to show us glimpses of what’s coming.

Last year, he demoed turning your router into a full-fledged computer.

This year, it’s the Google Nexus One phone as a full computer — with attached external keyboard, mouse, display, and more.

The Nexus One demo is using the udlfb Linux kernel module to talk with the DisplayLink device, and it will work with any DisplayLink device, including Plugable’s.

Note the version of udlfb in the 2.6.34 staging tree unfortunately didn’t work for Sven. So he’s now using the latest udlfb from http://git.plugable.com/, which will likely get merged in for kernel 2.6.36.

Also, he used a dual headed cable to get enough power. A powered hub or a docking station/terminal like the UD-160-A won’t need that — it supplies its own power from AC – all the hardware needed is in the one package.

It’s exciting to have all this open source work come together in interesting demos like this.

There was a question recently why udlfb doesn’t use the same compression technique as the Windows drivers. Among other reasons, one is that the RL compression used by udlfb scales down to devices like the ones Sven has been working on — it’s as light as possible on CPU load, while getting decent compression.

Stepping back, it’s clear Apple (and now Microsoft) are making a mistake by limiting the hardware ecosystem around their devices. Android and the other Linux variants have an opportunity here — and considering the Apple juggernaut, they definitely need every advantage.

Sven’s demos show how powerful these scenarios can be. The hardware is ready. Devices like Plugable’s are designed with these scenarios in mind. Now we need to get the software refined and included in standard distributions, so normal consumers can take advantage of all the possibilities and benefits here.

Google Summer of Code Work Kicks Off

Posted on 24. May, 2010 by in udlfb

Today is the kickoff of coding work for Google SoC 2010 projects.

We’re very excited about the Google funded project to refine USB multiseat on Linux, with the winning proposal from Lucas Nascimento Ferreira at the Federal University of Parana in Brazil.

In addition to providing mentoring, Plugable is also providing donated hardware for this project. Two Plugable Universal Docking stations with recent enhancements for use as a terminal, were just picked up by Lucas in Brazil today. By next month, we expect to have updated versions of the UGA-125-HUB for terminal use to send down.

For those interested in learning more and potentially following Lucas’ work:

And we’ll post periodic status updates here.

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