iMac mid 2011 thunderbolt splitter

[ccsmbrk]

Hi,
I have a a mid 2011 iMac (27") and I would like to connect to it two external drives (one for backup and one to extend my space).
There is only one thunderbolt port available. Is there a splitter or other solution to get a reasonable throughput from these two hard drives? the usb ports are v 2 and too slow.
Thanks,
Mike

 

[Fishrrman]

I don't think you can "split" a thunderbolt port.
Rather, it works in a "daisy-chain" topography.

That means, you need a drive with TWO ports. One port will serve as "tbolt in", the second will be "tbolt OUT". You connect the second drive to this port.

I welcome correction from others.

 

[Bigwaff]

Or a TB2 hub or dock

 

[Juicy Box]

There is only one thunderbolt port available. Is there a splitter or other solution to get a reasonable throughput from these two hard drives?

the usb ports are v 2 and too slow.

You can solve the drive issue as well as the slow USB2 port issue with a TB1/2 or TB3 dock.

Finding a TB1/2 dock might be difficult if you want it new, but there are most likely some on eBay.

A TB3 dock would be the fastest option for you, and you can find them new pretty easily, but this requires at least a TB1/2 cable and Apple's bidirectional adapter cable. Only Apple makes the bidirectional adapter cable, and it is $50, new.

There are some other solutions, but unless you already own the equipment, I wouldn't recommend them compared to the above.

You can find TB1/2 to eSATA adapters, as well as TB1/2 to USB3 adapters. LaCie makes a TB1/2 adapter with two eSATA ports, and an extra TB port for daisy chaining.

Kanex makes a few adapters for TB1/2, some are TB1/2 to USB3, some are TB1/2 to eSATA, and they also make one that has both USB3 and eSATA.

Sonnet makes some adapters as well. They also have TB1/2 to PCIe adapters which gives you even more options.

That said, a simple TB1/2 or a slightly more complex TB3 dock solution is really all you need. Many of them contain both USB3 and eSATA, so if you were going to spend the money for a device, you might as well just get a dock rather than an adapter with just USB3 or just eSATA, or even both.

I have the TB1 CalDigit CTS-60, and it works great, plus you can find it for really cheap on eBay (for less than Apple bidirectional adapter):

CalDigit CTS-US-60 Thunderbolt Station - Newegg.com

Buy CalDigit CTS-US-60 Thunderbolt Station with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

The CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 2 is faster than the CTS-60, and can be found new, but more expensive:

CalDigit CTS-US-60 Thunderbolt Station - Newegg.com

Buy CalDigit CTS-US-60 Thunderbolt Station with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

I have the CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 3 lite, it works great on older Macs with only TB1 or TB2 using Apple's bidirectional adapter. I got it used on eBay maybe 5 years ago for a decent price a lot with Apple's bidirectional adapter for a good price, so you can find deals for these:

Review: CalDigit's TS3 and TS3 Lite Thunderbolt 3 Docks Offer Solid MacBook Pro Expansion Options

While Apple's latest MacBook Pro with support for Thunderbolt 3 has been out for over six months, the first full-featured Thunderbolt 3 docks are...

www.macrumors.com

BTW, when I was shopping around for a TB3 dock to use on my older Macs, I wanted to get the non-lite version of the CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 3, but they were really expensive at the time. There are a lot more and cheaper options for TB3 docks, now.


If you are looking for a cheap solution and don't mind buying used, the CTS-60 would probably be your best bet.

 

[ChrisA]

Hi,
I have a a mid 2011 iMac (27") and I would like to connect to it two external drives (one for backup and one to extend my space).
There is only one thunderbolt port available. Is there a splitter or other solution to get a reasonable throughput from these two hard drives? the usb ports are v 2 and too slow.

Two easy solutions

1) the external drive should have two ports. You can daisy-chain multiple drives, one to the next. This is why the computer only has one port, that is all you need.
2) buy the drive enclosure that holds two physical disk drives. Basically a "double wide" box. This will cut cable clutter and might even save money, maybe. OWC sells these.

 

[zqbobs]

If the host computer has TB1, is it not true that any data flowing through it from/to external drives is limited in speed by that port? Suppose you have two externals capable of TB2 or TB3 connected to one of the docks mentioned. Will copy/transfer speed between those two drives be TB2 or TB3? Just a caution that the slowest link in a chain determines data flow speed through the chain (I think).

 

[Juicy Box]

If the host computer has TB1, is it not true that any data flowing through it from/to external drives is limited in speed by that port? Suppose you have two externals capable of TB2 or TB3 connected to one of the docks mentioned. Will copy/transfer speed between those two drives be TB2 or TB3? Just a caution that the slowest link in a chain determines data flow speed through the chain (I think).

This is correct.

If your Mac has TB1, and you connect TB2 or TB3 devices to it, you will only get TB1 max speeds.

But this isn’t a bad thing, and there is good reason to do it.

TB1 devices are harder to find and might not be as many options compared to TB2 or TB3 devices. It is also a way to get USB3 on older Macs with USB2.

Speaking of USB, compare using TB2 and TB3 devices on older TB1 Macs to using USB3 devices on older Macs with USB2. If you had an older Mac with USB2 and wanted to buy a new USB mouse, would you only look for USB2 mice? Probably not.

Works the same for TB devices.

 

[zqbobs]

Sure, I understand the desire to keep as current as possible with externals. I guess my question is a little more nuanced: Suppose the host has only TB1, and you connect a TB3 capable hub to that. Then, you have a couple of TB3 capable external disks (say NVME SSDs just to make it interesting) connected to the hub. If you copy files from one SSD to the other, will you be throttled by the TB1 port, or will the hub copy at >TB1 speed?
Another way to put it, is there TB3 routing internal to the hub, or does the data from the source external go first to the host (via TB1) and then to the destination external (again via TB1), or is it copied independently of the host? Maybe depends on the hub model or the way Finder handles copies between external drives.
Can anyone offer clarity on this?

 

[gilby101]

Another way to put it, is there TB3 routing internal to the hub, or does the data from the source external go first to the host (via TB1) and then to the destination external (again via TB1)

There is no routing of data within a hub. Data goes external disk > Mac > Other external disk.

 

[ChrisA]

...Suppose the host has only TB1, and you connect a TB3 capable hub to that. Then, you have a couple of TB3 capable external disks (say NVME SSDs just to make it interesting) connected to the hub. If you copy files from one SSD to the other, will you be throttled by the TB1 port, or will the hub copy at >TB1 speed?

It will copy at 1/2 of the TB1 speed at best, because the data has to go from one drive to the Mac's RAM and then back out the TB1 port to the second drive. So the data makes two passes over the TB1 cable.

Even if both drives were internal, the data always goes through a RAM buffer,