How to extend USB devices on SUN SPARC(R) and SUN x86 machines?

Asset ID:	1-72-1003446.1
Update Date:	2011-01-11
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Solution Type Problem Resolution Sure

Solution 1003446.1 : How to extend USB devices on SUN SPARC(R) and SUN x86 machines?

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GCS>Sun Microsystems>Servers>x64 Servers

PreviouslyPublishedAs
204831

Symptoms
I would like to extend some USB devices up to their maximum distance.
What does SUN recommend?

Resolution
There are several ways to extend USB devices on SUN SPARC and x86 machines.
Below are general SUN USB specifications and recommendations.

SUN USB Specifications

Maximum cable (segment) length for HIGH and FULL speeds is 5m (approx 16ft 5in).
Maximum distance for HIGH/FULL speed device is 25m (82 ft).

Note. The maximum distance for some SUN machines from the root hub to the
last device will be less than 25m because of internal USB wiring that could
range up to 1'. If your device behaves erratically at 25m but works fine at 20m,
consider internal USB wiring in the computer as a possible cause.

Maximum cable (segment) for LOW speed is 3m (9ft 10in)
Maximum distance for LOW speed device is 27m (88ft 7in)
Maximum number of external hubs for Open Boot PROM (OBP) devices (keyboard) is 3.
Note. OBP cannot reliably probe beyond four levels of devices.

Maximum number of external hubs for non-OBP devices is 5.
Maximum number of devices per USB bus is 127 (126 + root hub).

(All conversions to feet and inches are approximate.)

Maximum Device Speeds

Low Speed (LS) 1.5Mb/sec
Full Speed (FS) 12.5Mb/sec
High Speed (HS) 480Mb/sec

USB Cables Supported by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) and SUN

A - B
A - Mini B
Mini A - Mini B
A - A (Not Supported)

Extending USB Device (Recommendations)

SUN does not recommend using extenders, but if extenders are the only option
then use 'self powered' ones in preference to 'bus powered'.
Using bus powered extenders has a tendency to drain the power from other
devices,causing erratic operation.

If the device is going to be more than 25m from the internal root hub on
the SUN machine, the recommended method is to daisy chain several external
self powered hubs.
The console keyboard can be attached to any hub in the daisy chain, but no
further than the fourth hub, otherwise the OBP will not detect it.

Additional Information
Third party vendor that provides USB extenders that work with SUN USB:

http://www.opticis.com/product_5.htm

Product
Sun Blade 150 Workstation
Sun Blade 1000 Workstation
Sun Blade 100 Workstation
Sun Blade 2500 Workstation
Sun Blade 2000 (Hot Box) Workstation
Sun Blade 2000 (20th Anniversary Personal) Workstation
Sun Blade 2000 Workstation
Sun Blade 1500 Workstation
Sun Java Workstation W2100z

Internal Comments
The following is strictly for the use of Sun employees:

Sources: http://www.usb.org, Solaris 10 System Admin Guide, SUN engineering.

USB, cables, extending, opticis, extensions, maximum, extenders, hubs, powered
Previously Published As
72746

Change History
Date: 2006-01-17
User Name: 18392
Action: Update Canceled
Comment: *** Restored Published Content *** SSH Audit

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