I need to connect about 10 different experimental devices (lasers, cameras, motorized stages etc.) to two PCs, such that you can choose to control the whole setup from either one of those PCs.
My first thought was to get a 10-port USB 3.0 hub, connect all devices to it, then use a 2-port USB 3.0 switch to connect the hub to the PCs:
,-------,
Device 01 ----| |
Device 02 ----| |
Device 03 ----| | ,-------,
Device 04 ----| USB | | USB |---- PC 01
Device 05 ----| 3.0 |----| 3.0 |
Device 06 ----| HUB | | Switch|---- PC 02
Device 07 ----| | '-------'
Device 08 ----| |
Device 09 ----| |
Device 10 ----| |
'-------'
I’ve read that it’s best to use externally powered hubs and switches in order to ensure that all devices get enough power, so I was considering something like this for the hub:
But I’m uncertain about the switch, as many product descriptions seem to imply the support of only a single device and not, as required here, up to 10 connections coming through the USB hub. For example, the description of the following model,
says “Up to two PCs have shared access to one terminal (printer, scanner, etc.)”. But to my understanding, the USB standard allows for up to 127 devices bidirectionally connected and converging to a single host line, with daisychaining of up to five hubs (i.e. a total of 7 “levels” including the host and client devices).
Question:
- How can I tell for certain how many devices a switch supports, so I can get the right one for my application? I.e. do all USB controllers inside these hubs and switches support the full network size (i.e. 7 levels, 127 devices) specified in the USB standard and, if not, how does one tell? For example, how can you tell whether or not the 2-port switch linked above can handle 10 device connections coming through the single line from the hub?
