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Is Ethernet Aggregation possible with USB-C dongles ?

drsox

drsox

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 29, 2011
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I'm trying to get the 2x USB-C ports on my M1 Mini to aggregate using 2x Ethernet dongles. I have dual NICs on the NASs with a Smart Switch connecting them (using LACP). So far no success with 2x Belkin units.

The Belkins work once and then fail with the message "Invalid Link".

Anyone have this working ?
 
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Doesn't work. Must only work with internal NICs with access to the main M/B bus.
 
sublunar said:
Would Thunderbolt to Ethernet connectors work?
Click to expand...

Not sure. To make it work on an M1 Mini, it would need 2x dongles - USB-C>TB, TB>Ethernet. USB-C would still be the I/F to the Mini Motherboard, so probably not IMO.

I've never tried on external connectors before.
 
drsox said:
USB-C would still be the I/F to the Mini Motherboard, so probably not IMO.
Click to expand...
USB-C is the physical connector but Thunderbolt devices don’t use USB protocols to connect. The Thunderbolt ethernet adapters are super compact PCIe devices.
 
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chrfr said:
USB-C is the physical connector but Thunderbolt devices don’t use USB protocols to connect. The Thunderbolt ethernet adapters are super compact PCIe devices.
Click to expand...

Yes, except the interface on the M1 Mac Mini is not a TB2 physical format, so there needs to be a second dongle - USB-C>TB2. These I don't have and, unless it's guaranteed, I'm not motivated to spend any more on fixing this problem.

The Belkins I have are USB-C>Ethernet.

Update : I would have thought that if the USB-C I/F and TB2 I/F are carrying the same protocols then TB2>Ethernet would fail also.
 
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drsox said:
Yes, except the interface on the M1 Mac Mini is not a TB2 physical format, so there needs to be a second dongle - USB-C>TB2.
Click to expand...
That adapter is Thunderbolt 2 to 3. It doesn’t convert a Thunderbolt device to a USB device electronically so the ethernet to Mac connection remains PCIe.
 
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chrfr said:
That adapter is Thunderbolt 2 to 3. It doesn’t convert a Thunderbolt device to a USB device electronically so the ethernet to Mac connection remains PCIe.
Click to expand...
Exactly, I have a TB2 Raid Attached to my M1 Pro MBP using this adapter. The protocol is Thunderbolt, not USB. It adapts the physical connector from the Mini Display Port connector used by TB 2 to the USB-C connector of TB 3, the signaling is not changed.

I can confirm LAG works with the Apple Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter. We actually has a mini setup one time with a LAG using the built-in ethernet, a TB ethernet dangle and the ethernet port built into a TB Cinema Display, kinda whacky, but it worked.

Another option you could look into is getting a Thunderbolt to PCI-E enclosure and putting in a Mac compatible multi-port ethernet card in it.
 
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chrfr said:
That adapter is Thunderbolt 2 to 3. It doesn’t convert a Thunderbolt device to a USB device electronically so the ethernet to Mac connection remains PCIe.
Click to expand...

OK, so why isn't the USB-C>Ethernet working (works once but isn't persistent)
 
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sevoneone said:
Exactly, I have a TB2 Raid Attached to my M1 Pro MBP using this adapter. The protocol is Thunderbolt, not USB. It adapts the physical connector from the Mini Display Port connector used by TB 2 to the USB-C connector of TB 3, the signaling is not changed.

I can confirm LAG works with the Apple Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter. We actually has a mini setup one time with a LAG using the built-in ethernet, a TB ethernet dangle and the ethernet port built into a TB Cinema Display, kinda whacky, but it worked.

Another option you could look into is getting a Thunderbolt to PCI-E enclosure and putting in a Mac compatible multi-port ethernet card in it.
Click to expand...

The Mi Mini has 2x USB-C sockets. I also have 2x TB2>Ethernet dongles. What do I need to put in-between ?

"Thunderbolt to PCI-E enclosure" sadly much too expensive compared to the value of the solved problem.
 
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drsox said:
OK, so why isn't the USB-C>Ethernet working (works once but isn't persistent)
Click to expand...
The USB-C ethernet adapters are USB devices.
Apple’s Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter, connected to the M1 Mini using Apple’s Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapter is a Thunderbolt device. The Thunderbolt ethernet adapter uses an entirely different chipset than what’s in the USB-C ethernet adapters.
 
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Finally solved. The TB connections work - the USB-C connection did not.

Success = USB-C>TB2 + TB2>Ethernet
Failure = USB-C>Ethernet

Double dongles work wonder, work wonder, work wonder - so get some today.*

*. Homage to TV advertising.
 
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