USB to USB Networking using USBNET Cable

[fruitoftheloom]

Updated April 2019


First and foremost this has nothing to do with USB On-the-Go which some devices support and has nothing to do with Pi Zero "Gadget" Mode....



USBNET Cables have a Chipset to enable negotiation of USB Host / Slave Mode so there is no danger of blowing the USB Port Chipsets.

It has been suggested Belkin & Plugable both use a Prolific PL-25A1 Chipset:

http://www.prolific.com.tw/ShowProductPDF.aspx?p_id=34


The following is a non exhaustive list of various which supposedly use the PL-25A1, in April 2019 found a F5U258 Host to Host cable
for £5.00 on ebay...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plugable-Trans ... B005OTPVMY

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Transfer-C ... B0093HCIQ0

https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Transfe ... B005OTPVMY

https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Transfer- ... B000JJPZW0



These type of Cables are quite often sold as "Microsoft USB Easy Transfer Cables" and cost around £20 / $25 but are not very popular so searching etailers to achieve best price is recommended, though be aware not all will work, I had a Un-branded (Prolific PL-2501 Chipset) Cable which states "Bridge Cable" and is not recognized as a Network Interface ln Linux



Linux USBNET http://www.linux-usb.org/usbnet web page is out-of-date but has some good information.



My x86 PC running Xubuntu 18.04LTS supports USBNET Networking so was able to enable "internet connection sharing" ( please note I do not have a Windows Machine )....

.....my Pi 2B automatically recognized the connection under Raspbian Buster.


Previously also had a RPi Zero as well as running Raspbian Jessie, Wheezy and Stretch, the current Raspbian Buster on my RPi 2B shows similar results to below


Updated July 2019

[mikerr]

Do you get more than ethernet speed using that on the pi ?

USB2 speed of around 35meg/sec is somewhat better than fast ethernet's 10meg/sec

[fruitoftheloom]

Do you get more than ethernet speed using that on the pi ?

USB2 speed of around 35meg/sec is somewhat better than fast ethernet's 10meg/sec

This is connecting to a Pi0, I prefer the Belkins Cables as the centre I/O Chipset has 3 lights, 2 for connection established and the centre one for flashes for data transfer:

This is 60 seconds only iperf running:

Code: Select all

iperf -c 10.42.0.1 -t 60
------------------------------------------------------------
Client connecting to 10.42.0.1, TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 43.8 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
[  3] local 10.42.0.27 port 42685 connected with 10.42.0.1 port 5001
[ ID] Interval       Transfer     Bandwidth
[  3]  0.0-60.0 sec   530 MBytes  74.1 Mbits/sec

This is 180 seconds iperf and web browsing simultaneously :

Code: Select all

iperf -c 10.42.0.1 -t 180
------------------------------------------------------------
Client connecting to 10.42.0.1, TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 43.8 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
[  3] local 10.42.0.27 port 42722 connected with 10.42.0.1 port 5001
[ ID] Interval       Transfer     Bandwidth
[  3]  0.0-180.0 sec   913 MBytes  42.5 Mbits/sec

Code: Select all

 lsusb
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 1a2c:0c23 China Resource Semico Co., Ltd 
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 050d:258a Belkin Components F5U258 Host to Host cable
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 062a:0001 Creative Labs Notebook Optical Mouse
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 050d:0234 Belkin Components F5U234 USB 2.0 4-Port Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

[fruitoftheloom]

This is with a RPi 2B which shows better speed ? :

This is 60 seconds only iperf running:

Code: Select all

 iperf -c 10.42.0.1 -t 60
------------------------------------------------------------
Client connecting to 10.42.0.1, TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 43.8 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
[  3] local 10.42.0.95 port 41370 connected with 10.42.0.1 port 5001
[ ID] Interval       Transfer     Bandwidth
[  3]  0.0-60.0 sec  1.25 GBytes   179 Mbits/sec

This is 180 seconds iperf and web browsing simultaneously :

Code: Select all

iperf -c 10.42.0.1 -t 180
------------------------------------------------------------
Client connecting to 10.42.0.1, TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 43.8 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
[  3] local 10.42.0.95 port 41371 connected with 10.42.0.1 port 5001
[ ID] Interval       Transfer     Bandwidth
[  3]  0.0-180.0 sec  3.56 GBytes   170 Mbits/sec

......just for comparison this is my x86 Lubuntu's PC 10/100/1000 NIC shared to the RPi 2B Ethernet Port by Ethernet Cable

Code: Select all

iperf -c 10.42.0.1 -t 60
------------------------------------------------------------
Client connecting to 10.42.0.1, TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 43.8 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
[  3] local 10.42.0.80 port 56774 connected with 10.42.0.1 port 5001
[ ID] Interval       Transfer     Bandwidth
[  3]  0.0-60.0 sec   673 MBytes  94.0 Mbits/sec

[fruitoftheloom]

RPi Zero iPerf Server to my Lubuntu PC iPerf Client with the USBNET Cable:

Code: Select all

iperf -c 10.42.0.95
------------------------------------------------------------
Client connecting to 10.42.0.95, TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 85.0 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
[  3] local 10.42.0.1 port 42384 connected with 10.42.0.95 port 5001
[ ID] Interval       Transfer     Bandwidth
[  3]  0.0-10.0 sec   156 MBytes   131 Mbits/sec

RPi 2B iPerf Server to my Lubuntu PC iPerf Client with the USBNET Cable:

Code: Select all

iperf -c 10.42.0.40
------------------------------------------------------------
Client connecting to 10.42.0.40, TCP port 5001
TCP window size: 85.0 KByte (default)
------------------------------------------------------------
[  3] local 10.42.0.1 port 59844 connected with 10.42.0.40 port 5001
[ ID] Interval       Transfer     Bandwidth
[  3]  0.0-10.0 sec   196 MBytes   164 Mbits/sec

In conclusion will need a RPi 1A+ to undertake a comparison, but it seems that on a RPi 2B the speed is approaching that obtained by Jeff Geerling using a USB3 GigaBit Ethernet Adaptor*:

viewtopic.php?f=36&t=100991&p=699957

http://www.midwesternmac.com/blogs/jeff ... networking


*Quality USB3 Gigabit Ethernet Adaptors are around £10.00 / $15.00 so compare favourably with a USBNET Cable

[paulwratt]

March 2017 Linux usbnet hardware update.

cant confirm linux modules (without a kernel configuration) but here is a run down on the hardware listed on http://www.linux-usb.org/usbnet.

AN2720 - Anchor Chips Single-Chip EZ-Link (AN2720SC) (Xircom, PGUNET..)
In 2001, Intel acquired Xircom and in early 2003 laid off most of Xircom's Thousand Oaks employees
kernel module http://clevitonmendes.blogspot.co.nz/20 ... n2720.html
Cypress Semiconductor Corp. acquired Anchor Chips Inc in 1999
USB controllers http://www.cypress.com/products/usb-controllers (maybe EZUSB-FX1 under Full-Speed USB Peripherals ?)

eTEK (design) - eTEK Labs sold to Belkin International in 1999, last used 2003 (USB1.1)
(see links in Opening Post for belkin cables) F4U060 F5U279

NetChip 1080 - NetChip sold to Avago who bought Broadcom, now make NET2272REV1A-LF (USB2)
Hi-Speed Peripheral Controller http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Bro ... 72REV1A-LF
(not sure of any cable sources yet)

Prolific 2301 - made 2501, now make 25A1 (USB2), make 2701 (USB3)
cables http://prolificusa.com/usb-connectivity-cables/
PL-25A1 http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/ShowProdu ... 34&pcid=43
PL-2701 http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/ShowProdu ... 44&pcid=43

It is possible that the 2501 & 25A1 are compatible with the 2301 driver.
The 25A1 and 2701 should also work with RDNIS (Microsoft WET) kernel module (according to their technical reference)
RDNIS https://support.criticallink.com/redmin ... IS_Support

on ebay there are a whole lot of generic "New Made in Malaysia" cables that may be PL-25A1 based (unverified).
"480Mb/s USB 2.0 Laptop PC To PC Online Data Link File Transfer Cable Bridge" (60MB/sec)
(1Gbps) "High Speed USB 2.0 Network Link Data Transfer Cable Adapter Bridge" (125MB/sec)
cables http://www.ebay.com/bhp/usb-bridge-cable


hope that helps someone out

Paul
(I'll update as I find out about the other chipsets)

Might be nice if a few people posted the cable they use, and what chipset (if they can find out), and what speeds they get
(thanks for the effort above guys, much appreciated)

[fruitoftheloom]

March 2017 Linux usbnet hardware update.

cant confirm linux modules (without a kernel configuration) but here is a run down on the hardware listed on http://www.linux-usb.org/usbnet.

eTEK (design) - eTEK Labs sold to Belkin International in 1999, last used 2003
(see links in Opening Post for belkin cables) F4U060 F5U279

NetChip 1080 - NetChip sold to Avago who bought Broadcom, now make NET2272REV1A-LF
chip http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Bro ... dtZr1k8P0=
(not sure of any cable sources yet)

Prolific 2301 - made 2501, now make 25A1 (USB2), make 2701 (USB3)
cables http://prolificusa.com/usb-connectivity-cables/
PL-25A1 http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/ShowProdu ... 34&pcid=43
PL-2701 http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/ShowProdu ... 44&pcid=43

It is possible that the 2501 & 25A1 are compatible with the 2301 driver.
The 25A1 and 2701 should also work with RDNIS (Microsoft WET) kernel (according to their technical reference)
RDNIS https://support.criticallink.com/redmin ... IS_Support

on ebay there are a whole lot of generic "New Made in Malaysia" cables that may be PL-25A1 based (unverified).
"480Mb/s USB 2.0 Laptop PC To PC Online Data Link File Transfer Cable Bridge" (60MB/sec)
(1Gbps) "High Speed USB 2.0 Network Link Data Transfer Cable Adapter Bridge" (125MB/sec)


hope that helps someone out

Paul
(I'll update as I find out about the other chipsets)

Might be nice if a few people posted the cable they use, and what chipset (if they can find out), and what speeds they get

As you appended to my year old ancient post, would you like to buy the Belkin Cable if you live in UK (PayPal) ?? Sold my RPi Zero and have no x86 PC's

.

[paulwratt]

if you had four of them maybe

I found this thread about a week ago, noticed t(like you) the age of the linux-usb page, and wanted to find some chips "for a project"

I am interested to see what happens with the new (2014) Prolific 2701 cable when its plugged into USB2, weather is can still do HID sharing

if so, then I need 16 for a prototype

Paul
PS hope you got something to replace your Pi Zero

[paulwratt]

I just saw this in the kernel src for usb, cdc_subset.c:

... quite a lot of "host-to-host" USB cables (which embed two devices back-to-back).

[fruitoftheloom]

PS hope you got something to replace your Pi Zero

Yes a RPi 3B: https://www.element14.com/community/doc ... tarter-kit

.

[paulwratt]

whoop bad as, whoop bad as

now there is some lateral thinking

have u thought about connecting 2xPi3 with usbnet, I'm thinking about connecting 4x

and I think I just figured out how pi2design designed there CM3 daughter board (you can get a device wit Gigabit+USB in SMT/D)

but thats another (cluster) story,...

..what I do see from researching those original chipsets, is there appears to be collusion in the semiconductor world to not make usb host-to-host controllers. I just saw on Cypress site they aquired Broadcoms IoT division in 2016. On mouser there is a couple of hundered vendors and only one usb host-to-host device, Broadcoms, no listing for the Prolific devices, or any others.. does not stop making 2x back-to-back like kernel comment says though.. and as far as I know Prolific have the only USB3 device (even tho the USB3 spec allows for it without a special cable)

Just an observation

Cheers

Paul

[philipmather]

Sorry to bump this thread back to life but it seemed better than starting a new one.

What are the actual components used in the middle of these cables? Can it be DIYed with appropriate skill?

I have one of the data link cables already, my source even seems to have a reasonably cheap supply but... the cable itself is ridiculously long and I want to use several to connect multiple Pi 3s. Yes, I have a switch, I have plenty of switches, even fully managed ones. Yes, I could use Bluetooth or even a wifi mesh but that's not really what I want to model here.

I can solder, I can recompile kernels and I've found all the other bits I'm likely to need...

http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/usb-typea-plug-diy
http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/4-core-signal

...is it possible to grab a bunch of the USB host chips & jerry-rig them together? If I crack one of these cables open am I likely to find something similar to...

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/1245506/ or http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/usb-host-mini back to back?

...I'm guessing it's little more than that but I'm presuming this isn't go to work out as cost effective really. Might just be better off chopping the cables down and reattaching some of the above DIY plugs if it really bothers me?

[fruitoftheloom]

Sorry to bump this thread back to life but it seemed better than starting a new one.

What are the actual components used in the middle of these cables? Can it be DIYed with appropriate skill?

I have one of the data link cables already, my source even seems to have a reasonably cheap supply but... the cable itself is ridiculously long and I want to use several to connect multiple Pi 3s. Yes, I have a switch, I have plenty of switches, even fully managed ones. Yes, I could use Bluetooth or even a wifi mesh but that's not really what I want to model here.

I can solder, I can recompile kernels and I've found all the other bits I'm likely to need...

http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/usb-typea-plug-diy
http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/4-core-signal

...is it possible to grab a bunch of the USB host chips & jerry-rig them together? If I crack one of these cables open am I likely to find something similar to...

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/1245506/ or http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/usb-host-mini back to back?

...I'm guessing it's little more than that but I'm presuming this isn't go to work out as cost effective really. Might just be better off chopping the cables down and reattaching some of the above DIY plugs if it really bothers me?

It uses a controller chipset, so more than just cables and connectors.

net1080.jpg

http://www.linux-usb.org/USB-guide/x573.html


http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/ShowProdu ... 34&pcid=43