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394089
March 9th, 2016 16:00
TB15 Dock Linux Support
Today I received the new TB15 dock. I'm disappointed to find it doesn't work on Linux, unlike the WD15, with which some Linux users have had some success.
My experience thus far:
- XPS 15 9550. Windows edition wiped with only Ubuntu installed.
- Ubuntu 15.10, Kernel 4.3.3
- Connecting the dock *does* charge the computer (yay!) but when restarting, BIOS gives a warning saying it's only charging at 60W instead of the recommended 130W. I have the 230W power brick attached to the dock, so I'm not sure if that message is accurate.
- Unfortunately, other than charging, the dock doesn't seem to do anything. No USB replication, headphones, ethernet, or any of the monitor ports work. Indeed, nothing is seen by the system at all. I'm a bit surprised as I expected firmware level support for the dock, such that at least the USB ports would work within even BIOS screens.
- Other USB-C adapters I've had great luck with: VGA, DisplayPort, and Ethernet dongles all work flawlessly.
- The one function that does work is the power button on the top of the dock. Pushing this button prompts Ubuntu to Sleep/Restart/Shutdown, as though I'd pressed the power key on the laptop.
What has been others' experiences with this dock and Linux?
UPDATE (July 26, 2016): Multiple users (including myself) have confirmed that the TB15 dock is now *mostly* working in Linux, including display ports, USB, and ethernet (with caveats). The key change seems to be upgrading the BIOS using "Dell XPS 15 9550 A10 System BIOS". For more info see this comment: http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/os-applications/f/4613/p/19678284/20922879#20922879
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Ervytis
23 Posts
0
February 3rd, 2017 13:00
So based on users feedback, seems like WD15 is the best shot for Ubuntu 9360?
RWHobbs
5 Posts
0
February 4th, 2017 07:00
No, I currently have no requirement for sshfs so did not test this.
srumancik
6 Posts
0
February 10th, 2017 06:00
Dell just sent me a tb16 to replace my tb15 (I didn't request it) Has anyone had any better success with the tb16?
srumancik
6 Posts
0
February 10th, 2017 13:00
**Update On TB16** Using stock 16.04 and running the recommended firmware updates through Windows, I have successfully used the Mouse (USB), Hot plugged the Dock and I am running Two monitors + the built in laptop, I used the display port and the HDMI PORT. No issues so far. I will continue to test the box. Next up is the Network connectivity & the USB-C capabilities. But the TB16 looks promising.
cocoder
4 Posts
0
February 10th, 2017 14:00
I never could get the TB15 working right, but I got my TB16 replacement last week and so far it's working pretty well. I'm running Ubuntu 16.10 (only) on my 5510, so I rolled the dice with the existing TB16 firmware since Dell provides no means of updating it from Linux. I updated my 5510's BIOS and changed the BIOS' USB/Thunderbolt Configuration to select the "Security level - No Security" selection.
At this point, all the USB ports work, as does multi-monitor configuration using both the HDMI and Display Port at the same time. The ethernet port and headphone jack seem to work as well. I have noticed that things seem to work better if I boot up the laptop before plugging in the dock.
After a year of frustration with the TB15, I'm actually satisfied with the TB16.
Verdellt
23 Posts
0
February 11th, 2017 03:00
Can you try / do you have a possibility to try sshfs with the TB16?
Whats about the cable length, is it longer compared to the TB15? My DELL XPS 13 9350 has its plug on the left, the TB16 also. It's not easy to connect the TB15 to the Notebook because the cable is so short, it has to go around the housing of the TB15...
srumancik
6 Posts
0
February 11th, 2017 04:00
I will check the cable length on Monday when I get back to work. I have experienced this annoyance as well. I have no requirement for sshfs, but if you provide details and instructions I will let you know.
Verdellt
23 Posts
0
February 11th, 2017 04:00
Thanks!
To test sshfs you would need two linux computers, the one not connected the dock should have a ssh server installed. You need to have an ssh accessible account on the server computer.
If you don't have one, temporarily create an empty directory, e.g. testmount:
mkdir testmount
Now try the sshfs commando:
sshfs user@server:/home/user/ testmount
change to directory testmount
cd testmount
Recursively list all files:
ls -R .
If you have many files in there you should see them all. If the test fails, not all files are shown and the mountpoint (your directory testmount) will be empty. I didn't see any side effects, the network interface still will work, only the sshfs-connection is gone.
If everything worked fine umount the directory by leaving it:
cd ..
and carrying out the umount commando:
fusermount -u testmount
You can delete the temporary mount directory:
rmdir testmount
srumancik
6 Posts
0
February 13th, 2017 12:00
I can confirm that the cord length is the same. I have tried sshfs, it failed on a large remote directory. Thanks for the useful information on mounting a remote drive easily. I will put that one in my toolbox.
srumancik
6 Posts
0
February 13th, 2017 13:00
I had the same thought, as the network went out frequently on the tb15. Large pings (< 50000) have packet loss @ 76% loss. I haven't had any time to test moving large files around. I will try it.
Verdellt
23 Posts
0
February 13th, 2017 13:00
Hi cregganna,
I already did what you suggested and tried again right now:
sshfs works over WLAN, 10GB of random data can be transferred without harm or alteration via the TB15 dock ethernet board and via WLAN. I always get the same md5sum.
Verdellt
23 Posts
0
February 13th, 2017 13:00
I don't see any transmission erros neither on the server, nor on the client.
ping -s 512 works, ping -s 513 does not work for me for both the wlan and the ethernet interface.
cregganna
1 Rookie
•
5 Posts
0
February 13th, 2017 13:00
I think the cord length is restricted to 50cm because it also carries power for charging.
Interesting about your issues with sshfs - is it only that protocol that you have problems with across the network connection on the dock? What about if you dd a large file across ssh. Or maybe download / upload files using something like ftp or http? What if you use the standard USBC-RJ45 netwrok adapter that came with the laptop?
Do you see NW errors on the sender or receiver interfaces: Run "ifconfig -a" before and after and check if there are any increases in RX or TX errors, overruns, collisions etc. Anything in dmesg on either machine?
What happens when you "ping -s 15000" to send large packets across the NW?
To check large file transfer with ssh do something like this:
# Sum large file on local box
md5sum largefile
# Sum large file on remote box
ssh remotebox md5sum < largefile
Verdellt
23 Posts
0
February 13th, 2017 13:00
Thanks, srumancik, for checking!
vajper
12 Posts
0
July 13th, 2017 05:00
Hi there!
Have been using the TB15 with a XPS 13 (9350) running Ubuntu 16.04 with kernels > 4.9 for quite a while. Things actually works pretty well... up until yesterday :(
I did an upgrade to install latest security updates in 16.04, just pressing OK on everything. Remember something about grub-ufi-amd64 and secure boot. After reboot of system all peripherals and USB ports stopped working on the TB15, only external monitors works.
I didn't change the kernels and I get the feeling this is related to secure boot, Thunderbolt security or something similar. I tried with both UEFI Secure boot enabled and disabled, same symptoms. Does any bells ring on this issue? Think it simple but so far I haven't managed to sort it out.