eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series User Manual
8
THUNDERBOLT TECHNOLOGY AND DAISY CHAIN
THUNDERBOLT TECHNOLOGY
Thunderbolt technology is an active cable technology with extraordinary promise. A single Thunderbolt
technology connection includes two bi-directional streams, each with a potential bandwidth of up to 10Gb/s. As
the illustration demonstrates, the streams run in opposite directions to support simultaneous operations: one
bi-directional stream for data operations and another bi-directional stream for video operations. For example,
files can be copied (upstream) while playing back an HD film from your computer (downstream). Certainly, it is
possible to perform both actions with existing interface technologies but not at the speeds offered by a
Thunderbolt technology connection. See the comparison in the illustration.
While maximum theoretical transfer rates are rarely sustained, it is no less impressive to imagine the amount of
high-end data that can be passed to and from your LaCie eSATA Hub.
