Question Thunderbolt: My experience, why I ditched it, and what I did.

[foscooter]

After “upgrading” my PCs to Gen 15 and Z890 motherboards (more on this later), I noticed that they had 2 USB-C ports on the back panel. One of them was also a Thunderbolt 4/USB4 port. After looking up what this meant and discovering “Thunderbolt Sharing” as a very fast file sharing tool, I started on the adventure to use this tool and get what I needed to make it work.

I was using Microsoft SyncToy to file share between my 2 PCs via my LAN connections. Both PCs have 2.5G ethernet ports, but my ISP (Xfinity) only had 1G to my house (another story), so the router in the office is only 1G. And I need to use the 2.5G port for internet access. And 1G is plenty fast for browsing, checking e-Mails, etc. BUT 1G is not fast enough for file sharing when other options are way faster and available.

But the biggest problem is Microsoft “new” security features in Windows 11 v24H2 for “home networking.” To get what used to work before, now you have to turn off several security features in Windows to share files the way I want to.

Anyway, I started with 2 sets of cables for each PC (they are almost identical, each with an ASUS TUF Gaming Z890 Plus WiFi motherboard).

• Silkland USB-C 20 Gbps, 240W capable cable, 10 FT.
• Silkland USB4 40 Gbps, 240W capable cable, 10 FT.
• USB-C Coupler rated at 40 Gbps/240W
• (because the longed USB4 cables are 10’, and I needed 20’)

After routing the cable between the 2 PC, using the coupler as a link (discovering that the cables are “directional” requiring a certain orientation to make the “link” correct), I found that just using those cables did not qualify as a “thunderbolt licensed” connection.

I should mention that Intel’s Thunderbolt File Sharing software states “at least 1 device in the chain needs to be thunderbolt licensed. I thought the motherboards were, since they have the lightning bolt on the back panel next to the ports. The cables are rated for TB4 but not licensed. Same as the couplers. So, I purchased (2) ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 Add-in-cards (a whole other story). Still no licensed product.

I returned the add-in-cards and gave up…for a week or so.

Then I thought maybe I needed a Thunderbolt Dock in the middle of the cable connections, so I purchased a few things, make sure I get something TB Certified:

• (2) Apple certified 10’ Thunderbolt cables ($159 each!)
• A OWC Thunderbolt hub to put between the cables linking the PCs.
• A Thunderbolt drive (Sabrent 1TB Rocket Nano XTRM External SSD, USB3/TB3)

I first connected the TB drive to my PC using the Silkland cables, and my PC recognized the drive as a TB drive, but didn’t install or require the drivers for TB.

Once I completed the link between the 2 PCs with the hub, the hub wasn’t recognized as a TB product. If I plugged the TB drive into it, the drive was still TB certified. The hub was listed in System Devices (Device Manager) as a USB4 hub, the TB drive a was listed under USB Controllers as a TB drive. I installed the Intel TB File Sharing software, and it worked, stating that the TB drive was licensed. If I unplugged the drive, File Share wouldn’t connect.

But I found that the software wasn’t customizable as Microsoft SyncToy is. It was an all-or-nothing file share/copy, unlike choosing specific folders on a drive to “sync.” I had to go back and clean up all the folders shared of all the unneeded files shared. This was very tedious!

In the end, since I do not need an external TB drive, and it would be required to get TB Sharing to work, I returned almost everything. And this was pricey (Over $600!). I kept the Silkland USB3/USB4 cables, to use for flash drives or future iPhones or what not.

After intense research of my ISP options (Fiber or Cable for streaming, TV, AND file sharing), I went this direction, which was only over $100 for all:

• (2) 10Gb NIC Dual RJ45 Port PCIe Network cards.
• (2) 25’ Cat8 Ethernet Cables
• (2) Ethernet Crossover Adapters

After installation and set up for all (a driver problem that I figured out, researched IP address for internal file sharing, etc.), the 2 PCs saw each other. I could file share using SyncToy, and it is way faster. I even “network bridged” the 2 10G ports on each PC, so I am now “getting” 20Gbps using file sharing. Half of my original goal, but 20x faster than what I was using before this all.

My question now is: Do I still need to turn off all the security features in Windows for this method of file sharing. I think the answer is “YES,” as I cannot separate which ethernet connection I want these features turned off. I do have some security features on to limit access to my PCs from outside my network but unsure if they are enough.

If anyone wants to know specifics, or anyone has further knowledge about Windows Security options for build 24H2, please reply.

 

[helpstar]

which motherboard brand and model is it? Bios version?

do the parts you used have this logo?
https://heise.cloudimg.io/v7/_www-h...t=avif,webp,jpeg&org_if_sml=1&q=70&width=1025

 

[Misgar]

My question now is: Do I still need to turn off all the security features in Windows for this method of file sharing.

Do you mean SMB1 under "Turn Windows Features On or Off" in Control Panel? If so, it's not recommended to enable SMB1 due to security weaknesses in the old protocol.

When sharing files over my home LAN via 10GB Ethernet and 10GB SFP+ fibre NICs, I check the IP address of the PC holding the shared files, using IPCONFIG in a Command Prompt window. Let's say this PC sharing files is set to 192.168.0.22.

I move over to the computer I want to copy files to, open File Explorer, then type in:

\\192.168.0.22\ into the field at the top of window. This points Explorer at the PC with shared files.

If you've shared folders successfully on the first PC, you should see either the shared folder, or a prompt to type in the UserName and Password of an account with Permissions to see the shares. You can enter the UserName and Password for the account used to boot into the PC sharing the files.

You may have to fiddle around in the Windows firewall, but there are plenty of help pages available.
https://www.wintips.org/how-to-set-up-network-file-sharing-on-windows-11/

Life was easier with SMB1 enabled in Windows XP, but only when the motley assortment of home PCs had decided who would be the Master Browser. It could take 15 minutes for them to settle down and even then, you still might not see all the PCs on the LAN.

so I am now “getting” 20Gbps using file sharing. Half of my original goal,

If you have only two PCs, you could try faster 40GBps fibre NICs, obtained second hand on eBay. You could probably get away with just a single optical cable linking the two NICs, if you manually assigned IP addresses to each card. I've not tried this myself, because I'm using two 10G switches and all my PCs run Windows 10.

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/cheap-40gbe-at-home-too-good-to-be-true.26143/

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2251854783...hQZ374/pcub44Cd65FtRpmotG2bc|tkp:BFBMgp-PgZ5l

 

[dev_cyberpunk]

your network and its security is the front line defence from any internet attack. So its not going to effect anything turning off security features particular to one machine.

I've been running a 10Gb network for the past 10 years and I raised the eyebrow and laugh at that thunderbolt networking when it came out. It must have been someone that couldn't get real networking cards to come up with repackaging serial networking which has been around longer than the windows operating systems.