Multiport USB hubs/switches on Raspberry Pi

[Ian Lepore]

On Sun, 2019-03-10 at 10:10 -0700, bob prohaska wrote:
> Does anyone have experience using multiport USB hubs on freebsd-arm,
> specifically in the context of Raspberry Pi 2 or 3?
> 
> I'm interested in trying to use a hub/switch (not sure there's a
> difference in the case of USB) to construct a terminal server for
> serial console access on a small cluster of Pi's. I'd want about
> seven or eight ports, each holding a USB-serial adapter that would
> then connect to the GPIO UART pins on one Pi in the cluster. I've
> used both USB 3.0 and USB 1.1 hubs, and in both cases odd things 
> seem to happen from time to time. One potential example is 
> 
> 
> 
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Port-USB-2-0-Hub/dp/B00GGYU46O/ref=sxin_2?keywords=powered+usb+hub&pd_rd_i=B00GGYU46O&pd_rd_r=83f1e3f0-a1e6-40aa-bdd8-aa86a7c0b360&pd_rd_w=foNmt&pd_rd_wg=ncKZR&pf_rd_p=0395a9fd-d124-46c0-a48f-d8582ed1a45c&pf_rd_r=2P9WWPAZGMAA29NMVVV2&qid=1552234319&s=gateway
>  
> 
> If anyone has experience along these lines or a suggestion
> for/against
> particular USB devices or versions I'd be curious to know.
> 
> Thanks for reading,
> 
> bob prohaska
> 

I know I've connected a hub to an rpi and didn't have any trouble with
it.  Probably best to use a hub that has its own power brick.

Also, you can get multi-port usb-serial adapters.  This is my fave:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ETDC8K/

There are also models that are more the size and shape of a usb hub,
with DB9 connectors around the edges.

If you need to connect up to four bare boards like other RPIs that have
.1 headers, I spotted this cool thing:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JW4J7KJ

-- Ian