daisy chaining USB hubs?

Question

Is there a limit to the number of USB Hubs you can link together? For example, could you plug one 7 port USB hub into one USB port on your computer, then plug another 7 port USB hub into the original 7 port hub? Im talking about daisy chaining Usb hubs, so that potentially you've got 13 USB devices going into the one USB port on your PC.

Answer 1

The speed would get increasingly slower as the signal gets split. USB is only 11mbps to start (usb 2 can be 'up to' 400 or so mbps).



Also, USB cables have a max range of 16 feet; so I am not sure if you string that many together that it will work.



The whole point of USB is plug and play. and many devices don't like Hubs in general.



So if you need that many USB devices, I would get an PCI card for the back of that tower with a bunch of USB 2 ports.

Answer 2

Yes, no and maybe....



You can have up to 127 devices running on a single USB port. And you can daisey chain hubs.



However, USB ports not only transfer data, but also a small electrical charge that some devices need to run. When you daisey chain, the data goes through, but the power does not. So not all devices will work on a daisey chained hub (or even on a single hub). They do however make "powered hubs" which plug in so that they supply the power right from the hubs port rather then through the USB port.

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

I believe you can daisy chain them, but beware of overloading the internal power supply feeding the USB connection. The maximum power for a USB port is 500 mA, and the maximum allowable current downsream of a hub is 400 mA. If you install external power supplies to your hubs, you should be OK. By the way, the power requirement for USB is 5V DC.

Answer 5

You can daisy-chain up to 127 devices off a USB port according to the spec. In reality, you'll probably start having problems long before you get to 127.

Answer 6

Easy answer: Yes, but use powered hubs. I have run 5 sucessfully. However, you will have a more stable signal with a router then hubs from the router. Like any shared signal, it will be degraded. The router helps, and make sure you use hubs and not switches.

Answer 7

{edit} pr is right - 127



* I think* you can have a max of 255 USB devices on one PC/laptop....... so daisy chaining is OK as long as you dont exceed that limit (i wouldnt expect any of the devices to work particularly fast, though)