USB Device Replication
Bookmark this page:
 Yahoo!
 Google
 Windows Live
 del.icio.us
 digg
 Netscape
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Posted by El Phantazmo on November 20, 2006, 12:37 pm
Please log in for more thread options Has anyone heard of a USB "hub" that can replicate a device for simutaneous use amongst multiple PCs? I've seen the USB device sharing switches that require manual (either through software or mechanical switch) switching, but what I need is a sharing device that is completely transparent... Any ideas? Good project for the EE department at the local U? tia, Elp. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Posted by Rod Speed on November 20, 2006, 2:16 pm
Please log in for more thread options > Has anyone heard of a USB "hub" that can replicate a device for simutaneous
use amongst multiple
> PCs?
> I've seen the USB device sharing switches that require manual (either through
software or
> mechanical switch) switching, but what I need is a sharing device that is
completely
> transparent...
> Any ideas?
> Good project for the EE department at the local U?
Nope, too messy trying to keep the multiple PCs happy about what USB devices they can currently access etc. No real point with simple USB devices, too hard with complex ones like hard drives etc. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Posted by kony on November 20, 2006, 3:23 pm
Please log in for more thread options On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 17:37:24 GMT, El Phantazmo
>Good day,
> >Has anyone heard of a USB "hub" that can replicate a device for >simutaneous use amongst multiple PCs? You're jumping the gun. Better to first ask "is it possible"? No, it's not possible. USB uses a host model where no dumb hub could do the work, you'd have to have a USB link to a separate host that these USB devices were plugged into, and then that host capable of sharing these resources. >
>I've seen the USB device sharing switches that require manual (either >through software or mechanical switch) switching, but what I need is a >sharing device that is completely transparent... You want it, but I doubt you need it. For controlling peripherals, consider a USB KVM. For printers, a print server. For drives, a fileserver. Other devices- depends on the device | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Posted by El Phantazmo on November 20, 2006, 3:37 pm
Please log in for more thread options kony wrote:
> You're jumping the gun. Better to first ask "is it
> possible"? Hub was perhaps not the best term to use, but its transparency as a "device" of unspecified type is implied. > You want it, but I doubt you need it.
Rather glib statement. Without understanding the model I perceive, your response is understandable. Needless to say, while its availability is not paramount (and I can see that this may be the brutal truth), its existence would solve a problem. I wonder if it would be possible to use the USB-over-IP model to create multiple virtual instances of a USB device... something to experiment with. Thank you for your comments. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Posted by Paul on November 20, 2006, 3:56 pm
Please log in for more thread options El Phantazmo wrote:
> kony wrote:
>> You're jumping the gun. Better to first ask "is it
>> possible"? >
> Hub was perhaps not the best term to use, but its transparency as a > "device" of unspecified type is implied. > >> You want it, but I doubt you need it.
>
> Rather glib statement. > > Without understanding the model I perceive, your response is > understandable. Needless to say, while its availability is not > paramount (and I can see that this may be the brutal truth), its > existence would solve a problem. > > I wonder if it would be possible to use the USB-over-IP model to create > multiple virtual instances of a USB device... something to experiment with. > > Thank you for your comments. > There is a network connected device here. You plug a USB device into the box, then plug the box into your Ethernet router. Requires software to support the remoting of the device. Since software is "greasing the rails", expect a few problems. http://www.everythingusb.com/silex_sx-2000u2_usb_device_server.html There are the usual hardware devices, but these appear to be exclusive control solutions. This one allows two PCs to ahare four peripherals in some way. http://www.smsc.com/main/multiswitch.pdf I suggest spending a little time with a search engine, as you might find what you are looking for. Just remember that to share devices, there have to be protocols in place to prevent damage to file systems and the like. Imagine that two users start a hardware operation on a device at the same time - if the access to the device is not single-threaded at some point, there is the possibility of incorrect results of the attempted operations. Imaging sharing a USB hard drive, only to find the file system is corrupted. Controls have to be in place, to lock the device for a short interval, until an operation completes, and that would be missing from ordinary USB protocols. Paul | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Similar Threads | Posted |
| USB Device Replication | November 20, 2006, 12:37 pm |
| Should it be in Device manager? | February 9, 2005, 7:39 pm |
| Which should be Master/Device 0: HD or OD? | May 6, 2005, 6:17 am |
| Device Manager unknown item | October 26, 2005, 6:33 am |
| When setting a TV as a Second display device will i get componet as a | June 19, 2005, 3:34 pm |
| A7V133 - Boot hangs at "PCI device list" | March 19, 2006, 3:57 pm |
| scsi question...same device id on different host adapters??? | September 3, 2006, 10:53 pm |
| any difficulty in size of hard disc when using it as external device? | September 17, 2007, 8:28 am |
| Device manager shows no MIDI devices with Intel D101ggc motherboard | October 7, 2006, 7:30 pm |