E Port Plus PR02X with non-blue USB ports on the back?

There are 4 versions of the E-Port docking station, not counting the variants that involve sending the same docking station unit with different wattage power supplies based on the requirements of the system it will be used with.

E-Port (original version, with USB 2.0 only)
E-Port Plus (original version, with USB 2.0 only)
E-Port with USB 3.0 (sometimes called E-Port II)
E-Port Plus with USB 3.0 (sometimes called E-Port Plus II)

Note that even on the docks with USB 3.0, only the two blue ports are 3.0.  The other USB ports on the left edge are still 2.0.  Also, the docks that added USB 3.0 ports also added support for DisplayPort 1.2 rather than 1.1, which allows them to run higher resolution displays and/or refresh rates and also support DisplayPort MST daisy-chaining.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

So, is there any obvious way of differentiating between the USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 version visually - e.g. from the label? or are the two USB 3.0 at the back always blue?

Mine are all black and USB 2.0 - if I dock my laptop I see several more USB generic entries in the device manager. There is only one USB 3.0 entry - whether docked or not - which I expect is the laptops own 3.0 ports

Thanks ordered with Blue ones and it works great.

Pretty sure they have controllers..but not sure how to 100% confirm?

I only have the WD19TB now - the D6000 was also sold off

@harrywi66 

Do you know if the new dock you ordered added an additional USB 3 Controller?

Sorry - can't remember - it been so long, I moved onto D6000 and WD19TB docks as my laptop changed

I see, do you know if those new docks you have added new USB 3 controllers or just hubs?

This is how to confirm..

Unplug the dock.. Go to device manager,, count how many USB 3.0 controller that appears

Now plug the dock, count how many USB 3.0 controller appeared on device manager.

Can you please confirm it. Thank you

@vvavepacket  I'll be curious to see the answer, but I would NOT expect an actual host controller chip to exist in the dock.  It's very likely just a hub.  A host controller chip would require a PCIe interface back to the system, and I doubt that's available.  But we'll see!

Hi,

Whilst my 5501 is connected to the WD19TB, DM shows 3 x Intel USB 3.1 eXtensible Host Controller.

If I disconnect the 5501 from the WD19TB, the above drops to 2 x  Intel USB 3.1 eXtensible Host Controller.

I am not sure if I still have the D6000 - will have to take a look in my storage area.

I may still have a PRO2X as well - will hopefully check these on the weekend and report back.

@remuallan  A USB host controller chip on the WD19TB is expected because it's necessary.  Thunderbolt only supports carrying DisplayPort and PCIe traffic, not native USB.  So to use USB peripherals from the WD19TB, the WD19TB needs to have a host controller chip that will talk PCIe back to the system.

Thanks guys for testing.

The Thunderbolt docks can add USB controller because Thunderbolt is like an extension of PCI-E where it allows you to add further devices at full bandwidth..

Problem is, Im using an old laptop - E5470. and it doesnt support thunderbolt.. Is there anyway I can add additional USB 3 controllers on it? Or its impossible?

@jpughpugh 

My use case is Im running a storage array of a E5470 as a low cost solution. I have 100 Hdd externals powered via USB. And the limit of a single Intel based USB 3 chipset is 32 devices at most due to hardware limitations.. Heck AMD can handle 256 devices on a single USB 3 chipset.

Thanks,, im interested in either a M2 or wifi hack... Is that even possible? Like im okay with a cable dangling around,, since it will be just a server.. My concern is,, is there a ribbon cable that does that I can buy off Amazon? I couldnt find any wifi m2 to PCI slot adapter

@vvavepacket The only way I know of for adding actual USB host controllers to a laptop prior to Thunderbolt was via ExpressCard, since ExpressCard slots could run PCIe.  But your system doesn't have ExpressCard.  The only utter hack solution I can think of would be to commandeer an M.2/MiniPCIe slot within your system and use a ribbon cable to route it to an external PCIe enclosure where you would install a desktop-style USB expansion card, but if you don't already have an unused M.2/mPCIe slot (which is unlikely), you'd probably have to give up WiFi to achieve that, and of course you'd have a ribbon cable sticking out from the underside of your system.

Just purely out of curiosity, why do you need additional controllers rather than just ports?