Clarification of type-c superspeed device mode

[cpwrunner]

Hi everyone,

The Rock64Pro looks like it would make for a perfect home made nbase-t usb3 adapter, assuming that the type-c port can operate in peripheral superspeed mode. Some parts of the website indicate that the type-c port has otg support in which case I think it would be the Rock64pro would be able to behave as usb device for another computer. Also it is unclear whether the usb-c port operates in superspeed mode as either a host or a peripheral. Can someone confirm that it will behave as a superspeed peripheral?

Assuming that it can act as a superspeed type-c peripheral, then it may be possible to install an 10Gbe ethernet card into the x4 slot and turn the whole thing into a 10Gbe type-c ethernet adapter. 

Does anyone see any obvious obstacles to this idea?

Thanks

[tllim]

Hi everyone,

The Rock64Pro looks like it would make for a perfect home made nbase-t usb3 adapter, assuming that the type-c port can operate in peripheral superspeed mode. Some parts of the website indicate that the type-c port has otg support in which case I think it would be the Rock64pro would be able to behave as usb device for another computer. Also it is unclear whether the usb-c port operates in superspeed mode as either a host or a peripheral. Can someone confirm that it will behave as a superspeed peripheral?

Assuming that it can act as a superspeed type-c peripheral, then it may be possible to install an 10Gbe ethernet card into the x4 slot and turn the whole thing into a 10Gbe type-c ethernet adapter. 

Does anyone see any obvious obstacles to this idea?

Thanks

Seems possible, just need the driver support.

[cpwrunner]

Hi everyone,

The Rock64Pro looks like it would make for a perfect home made nbase-t usb3 adapter, assuming that the type-c port can operate in peripheral superspeed mode. Some parts of the website indicate that the type-c port has otg support in which case I think it would be the Rock64pro would be able to behave as usb device for another computer. Also it is unclear whether the usb-c port operates in superspeed mode as either a host or a peripheral. Can someone confirm that it will behave as a superspeed peripheral?

Assuming that it can act as a superspeed type-c peripheral, then it may be possible to install an 10Gbe ethernet card into the x4 slot and turn the whole thing into a 10Gbe type-c ethernet adapter. 

Does anyone see any obvious obstacles to this idea?

Thanks

Seems possible, just need the driver support.

Could you elaborate a little more? Have you used the rock64pro as a usb 3 peripheral? Are you saying that I would need driver support for the 10Gbe ethernet card?

[CaptainZalo]

Short answer: You need drivers for all peripherals, regardless of connection. They don't magically work because they're connected to a supported port. Some os'es come with a plethora of drivers preinstalled and some distros come with specialized drivers for certain peripherals. If you're lucky, you can find a driver for your 10Gbe pcie card on aarch64 architecture, it'll work.

[cpwrunner]

Short answer: You need drivers for all peripherals, regardless of connection. They don't magically work because they're connected to a supported port. Some os'es come with a plethora of drivers preinstalled and some distros come with specialized drivers for certain peripherals. If you're lucky, you can find a driver for your 10Gbe pcie card on aarch64 architecture, it'll work.

Ok, but my question only partly deals with software support. The other part of my question is a clarification of the type of usb type c port which is available on the RockPro64.
- Is the usb type-c port OTG? Can it act as a peripheral in addition to acting as a host? (this is only a partly a question about software, it is also a question about the hardware capabilities of the rockpro64)

- If the type-c port can act as a peripheral, can it do so at super speed?

Thanks