usb networking

[mkh]

i am tying to configure a network b/w 2 computers using usb.. i know about the commercial usb bridges available for this purpose, but unfortunately,i cant seem to get them around here, and the price also seemed very high on the net.... so how do i make one myself?
also is it worth making one(not the effort,but the cost)?

 

[Shax]

DIY usb bridge

The answer to making one simply yourself is "you can't"!! And that's direct from www.usb.org
USB isn't specced to be used for 2 way data transmission between pc's like you need / want. (firewire is tho'.)


But in practice, you could probably use a couple of PICs (with inbuilt USB i/o) to do it.. Coding would be a *****, as would writing the drivers, and the thru put would suck big time!!
It would definately end up costing more than buying a USB bridge.
Current Ebay price is about £5 (GB) including postage from China.

Why not use 2 cheap 100meg network cards and a x-over cable?

 

[mkh]

so we cant achieve the 480mbps speed?
why i got this idea was because it seems so simpler to connect for eg a laptop with another, without going for complicated networking

 

[evandude]

You might as well forget about it. Building something like this would take a ton of time and cost a lot more money than simply buying a USB bridge.

Even if you used a couple of PICs, you'd be very speed limited - PICs only have full-speed (12mbps) USB hardware, and the code would not be efficient enough to even reach that high of a speed anyway - as for high-speed (480mbps) well that's completely out of the question without entirely different (and probably a lot more expensive) hardware.

 

[mkh]

boo hoo any way thanx...

 

[justDIY]

if your two computers have ieee1394 ports (aka firewire aka i.link), you can plug those together, and have a 400mbit link between systems

or make a simple ethernet cross-over cable. unless these are very very old computers, they'll most certainly have a built-in ethernet port.

 

[philba]

I was going to mention the ethernet x-over cable but was late to the show...

Far and away, that is the best solution. you will need to configure the the two tcp/ip stacks but it's not very hard and there is lots out there to help. here's one that looks ok - **broken link removed**

 

[Shax]

so we cant achieve the 480mbps speed?
why i got this idea was because it seems so simpler to connect for eg a laptop with another, without going for complicated networking

There is absolutely no chance of coding a hobbyist level micro controller to buffer data at 480mbs... 12mbs would be pushing the envelope!

Like I mentioned earlier, if you have firewire, that's the way to go. It was designed to stream massive amounts of data, unlike USB which is a BURST mode method of transmission. MTV Europe use firewire hard drives for some of their semi-live-to-air stuff.... I used to support the kit when it occasionally went wonky! Jeez, the staff parties were amazing..... But that's for another forum!!!!

If you are having MAJOR issues getting a cheap USB bridge in India, PM me. I'm sure we can get one there for very little money!

 

[mkh]

or make a simple ethernet cross-over cable. unless these are very very old computers, they'll most certainly have a built-in ethernet port.

yes..... now i too begin to realise this would be the easiest solution...

 

[Sceadwian]

It's usually a good idea to keep all your ethernet cables straight through and pick up a crossover adapter, that way you don't have an ethernet cable floating around that's not going to work if you use it normally. Thinkgeek.com sells ethernet crossover jacks for 7 bucks that fit on your keychain.