Linux 5.5 Bringing Thunderbolt Lane Bonding, DP Tunneling Updates

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Linux 5.5 Bringing Thunderbolt Lane Bonding, DP Tunneling Updates

Intel's Mika Westerberg who continues overseeing the Linux kernel's Thunderbolt code has prepped more changes ahead of the upcoming Linux 5.5 cycle...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Linux-5.5-Thunderbolt-Changes

[schmidtbag]

Interesting... I wasn't aware aggregating TB connections was even possible. But, I don't have any TB compatible devices so I never extensively looked into its capabilities either.

[timofonic]

Does anyone care of Thunderbolt really? Intel did lobbying to resuscitate it in form of USB 4.0 or it would be another FireWire.

What's this interesting for? Will be see widespread availability of external GPUs and any kind of PCIe devices converted to USB 4.0?

Will there be new hardware exploits too?

I don't see the point of this at all, sorry.

[intelfx]

Does anyone care of Thunderbolt really?

I do, thank you very much.

[Guest]

Does anyone care of Thunderbolt really?

Yes! One of these updates are actually pretty interesting to me.

I have a 2014 MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 2 ports. I use a RX 580 eGPU. I was wondering why Linux was reporting the link speed for it to be 2.5 GT/s, instead of the expected 5 GT/s (like I did in macOS). Got a hint from someone that Linux didn't do the bonding thing, and I just ended up dealing with it. But with this news, it sounds like I can actually get decent link speeds now.

Interestingly enough though, I still get better overall GPU performance on Linux even at 2.5 GT/s compared to macOS, so I'm kind of excited to see if 5 GT/s brings any significant changes. I play games mostly at 4K.

[M@yeulC]

I thought that the firat thunderbolt veraion was actually planned to be transmitting trough a fiber optics cable.

I would really like it if they could resurrect that idea for the next USB generation. The current cables are a mess. With optics, there would be a lot more bandwidth, and no cross-talk, so the ability to run thicker power cables. Cables would also be a lot less expensive. The connector? Heck, maybe Jack-like, or even Jack-compatible :P

[Zan Lynx]

Does anyone care of Thunderbolt really?

I've had Thunderbolt on my last three laptops and it's great. It replaces the need for weird manufacturer specific docking stations. I just plug in the connector and the laptop has power, wired Ethernet, 4K DisplayPort, audio and a bunch of USB ports.

[sheepdestroyer]

the whole thing

Troll or Clueless? Really can't say.

[starshipeleven]

What's this interesting for?

Decent and generic laptop "docking stations" with modern high-speed connectivity.

Any future use of high-bandwith equipment (RAID cages, 10GB networking dongles, whatever) stops trying to use the bullshit USB protocol and uses directly PCIe.

Will be see widespread availability of external GPUs and any kind of PCIe devices converted to USB 4.0?

No for GPUs, definitely possible for PCIe devices, like "better USB 3 hubs" where you have an actual USB 3 controller.

Will there be new hardware exploits too?

Probably, but older ones are long since closed or mitigated.

[starshipeleven]

Troll or Clueless? Really can't say.

Given his previous history I would say clueless, he isn't a known troll.