Thunder2 Dock
The Thunder2 Dock from Akitio links past, present, and future technologies to your computer at speeds of up to 20 Gb/s with just one Thunderbolt cable. The Thunder2 Dock has two built-in Thunderbolt 2 ports and allows you to access your data on both legacy and future storage devices by providing multiple host ports for USB 3.0 (up to 5 Gb/s), eSATA (up to 6 Gb/s), and FireWire 800 (up to 800 Mb/s). The two USB 3.0 ports and the FireWire 800 port are bus-powered; the USB 3.0 ports also support UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol). Regarding the eSATA ports, they each have a dedicated controller, allowing each port to deliver speeds of up to 6 Gb/s, instead of the 6 Gb/s being shared between the two ports. The eSATA ports also support port multipliers, which allows multiple devices to be connected to one port. Additionally, 4K monitors and displays are supported and you also will be able to daisy chain up to 6 Thunderbolt devices together.
The Thunder2 Dock is also able to charge mobile devices, as each USB 3.0 port provides up to 2.1A of power for charging iPhones, iPads, and more. They also provide power for devices such as the Apple Keyboard and Apple SuperDrive. Please note that in order to charge an iOS device using this dock, the Thunderbolt cable must be connected to the computer and the system has to be running (S0 or S3). The OS must also be updated to 10.9.2 or later and a driver must be installed. For users running Apple's Boot Camp, the Thunder2 Dock is not compatible with this product.
While Windows is not officially supported, this docking station may be used on a Windows computer as long as the Thunderbolt cable is connected to the computer before the system is booted up and is never disconnected while the system is running. Also, make sure that the Thunder2 Dock and all its attached devices are turned on before starting up the system.
The Thunder2 Dock includes a Thunderbolt cable and a power adapter. It runs on 100-240VAC and outputs +12V / 5A.
Linking Past, Present, and Future Technology
- USB 3.0 Supporting UASP
- The two USB 3.0 ports both support UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) for increased performance over USB 3.0. However, the same ports can also be used to connect USB 2.0 storage drives. The maximum transfer rate for each USB port is about 370 MB/s
- FireWire 800 with Bus-Power (7W)
- Long a favorite of Mac users but now replaced by Thunderbolt and USB 3.0, the FireWire 800 interface can still be used through the Thunder2 Dock. Simply hook up your legacy FireWire 800 drives (bus-powered and self-powered) to the dock and you can access all your existing data without having to buy new hard drive enclosures
- eSATA Storage (6 Gb/s)
- While not as common as the other interfaces, there are also two eSATA ports available to hook up external eSATA drives at up to 6 Gb/s
High Speed I/O Performance
- Thunderbolt I/O
- Thunderbolt is a connection technology that simultaneously supports high-resolution displays and high-performance data devices through a single, compact port. Thunderbolt technology gives you two channels on the same connector with 10 Gb/s of throughput in both directions. The faster and flexible Thunderbolt 2 connection now pushes that to 20 Gb/s but the two generations of Thunderbolt technology are compatible with each other. In comparison, it is up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0 and up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800
- Thunder Dock
- One Thunderbolt cable to connect them all. Simply connect the dock to your computer with just one cable and get instant access to all the additional storage drives that are hooked up to the dock. The fast Thunderbolt interface helps guarantee that you can achieve efficient data transfer rates
Thunderbolt Daisy Chain
- Storage & 4K Display
- The second Thunderbolt port allows you to connect up to 5 additional Thunderbolt devices (storage or display) in a daisy chain. Thunderbolt 2 also has more than enough bandwidth to daisy chain multiple high-speed devices and it gives you access to 4K monitors
eSATA
- Independent eSATA Controllers
- Two independent eSATA controllers help guarantee that the performance doesn't drop when a second eSATA storage device is connected at the same time. Please note that the maximum transfer rate for each eSATA port is about 370 MB/s
USB Charger (2.1A)
- Recharge Mobile Phones & Tablets
- The USB ports can be used to recharge your electronic devices (e.g. iPad or iPhone) over USB on Mac OS X 10.9.2 or above (driver installation is required). Providing up to 2.1A, the Thunder2 Dock can even recharge your larger devices such as the iPad. It also provides power for the Apple Keyboard and the Apple SuperDrive for computers that do not have a built-in SuperDrive
