Whether deploying a docking station (opens in new tab) for mobile use or fixed in a huddle space, conference room or classroom, a good docking solution is the best first step in the design. Docking stations are the unsung heroes of productivity installations. Where the rubber meets the road for USB Type-C is when identifying a well-designed docking station with the features needed to support a specific installation. With a reversible plug orientation and cable direction, USB Type-C supports scalable power and performance to future-proof your solution. It enables a veritable gourmet menu of technical capabilities, including adaptive power and dynamically assignable channels that can support a smorgasbord of digital payloads.Ī peek at the pin map of a USB Type-C connector (opens in new tab) reveals there are no less than two dozen connection points in a space just over 8mm wide. USB Type-C is a small, symmetrical connection found on anything from smartphones and tablets to advanced solid-state storage drives and virtual reality headsets. A T4-enabled laptop or dock will accept T4, T3, USB4, USB 3.x and USB 2.0 devices. If someone has a USB4 laptop, they can use a T4 device (the opposite is true, too). Remember: All Thunderbolt devices contain USB4, as they are based on the same underlying protocol. T4 devices must support 40Gbps data transfer speed over cables of up to 6.5 feet in length, 32Gbps PCIe data transfer, a minimum of two 4K displays, and at least 100W power delivery/charging.

Promoted by Intel, Thunderbolt 4 is a superset standard incorporating USB4, DisplayPort, and PCIe. It’s easy to see how this can create a nightmare of similar looking cables that don’t do the same things. USB Type-C ports can support different kinds of payloads in different situations.

Half height usb 3 card