Docking 301
Fall class is in session. Since last year’s 201 class, there have been new developments worth talking about. If you need a remedial docking course, you can check out Docking 101 and Docking 201. Remember that I use “docking” as a generic term to mean a way to expand the capabilities of your notebook system. The docking ecosystem encompasses everything from USB attached devices to specialty bottom connector widgets.
When we announced the ThinkPad T400s several weeks ago, we also announced our new ThinkPad Series 3 docking solutions. As we refresh our ThinkPad lineup with new 2010 models, all of them that feature full bottom docking connectors will use this new design. Unfortunately, the newer ThinkPads won’t be able to use the older docking stations and vice versa. However, the change does allow us to make some significant improvements.
What’s new:
- Usability – The new Port Replicator, Mini Dock, and Mini Dock Plus all feature pressure plates that firmly anchor the system in place. When docked on one of these, the ThinkPad feels much more solid and does not rock back and forth.
- Technology – The Mini Dock and the Mini Dock Plus are mainly about adding advanced digital video capabilities. The Mini Dock Plus has dual Display Ports and dual DVI ports. Only two are active at a time, but we now have a solution to support up to six displays from the back of your ThinkPad with the new Lenovo USB to DVI Monitor Adapter. The Mini Dock Plus also features an eSATA port.
- Rip and Go – This has been a much requested feature. As you may recall, legacy ports such as parallel and serial require operating system permission before they will disconnect. New technologies like USB do not have this limitation. By eliminating serial/parallel ports, we no longer needed three step undocking (push button, wait, undock). You can simply rip your system from the dock and go.
What’s missing:
- Serial and Parallel ports – good riddance. As mentioned, their removal allows us to add Rip and Go capability
- PCI-e slot on the Dock – Now that there are USB options that perform this job well, this isn’t needed any longer. Plus, we never did a great job with PCI video anyway
- Ultrabay – Most people did not use this capability. It made the Dock huge in size. Optical drives are built into most systems. eSATA allows high speed external storage attachment
- 6 in 1 media card reader (dock) – No matter how many-in-one readers we have, we never seemed to have the right reader. Since many systems now come with optional SD card readers, this is duplicate functionality.
- S/PDIF – Was anyone actually using this on their notebooks? (I’m sure someone will write in and say yes.)
If you would like to see more, I put together a four minute video comparing the Series 3 Port Replicator, Mini Dock, and Mini Dock Plus. I’ve also included information about the USB to DVI Monitor Adapter as well.
USB Port Replicator with Digital Video
![3857078278_835ba5c348[1]](http://lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/files/2009/08/3857078278_835ba5c3481.jpg)
This is a brand new category of USB port replicators. Prior to now, there was only one other USB solution available that would offer digital video output. Every other device in this category has analog video output. They also tend to offer sub-par video performance.
This device is different. It features an integrated DVI port supporting 1920×1200 resolution. Our options team worked very hard to make sure that the video output quality was top notch. I borrowed one of these to see for myself how well it would work.
![3857078306_6da771b506[1]](http://lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/files/2009/08/3857078306_6da771b5061.jpg)
I first tried to use it on my Windows 7 machine, since upgraded to RTM code. It’s the only time I’ve ever blue screened Windows 7. Now in fairness, Windows 7 isn’t officially supported yet on this device, but we will have full Win 7 support by the time Microsoft announces in October. (I found out later that this is because the USB Port Replicator has a dedicated video chip and the driver was conflicting with the Windows 7 display architecture.)
Instead, I fired up an XP box and tried to stress the capabilities. I was most interested in video quality while watching full motion HD video and downloading a file. This device passes quite nicely. I did not notice any video or audio hiccups, nor did I really notice a slowdown in my Ethernet performance. The button on the front toggles between mirrored display mode and extended desktop mode and works quickly.
Choosing Between USB and Dedicated Docking
If your system supports bottom docking connectors (e.g. ThinkPad T, R, W), you may wonder which of these options is right for you. Theoretically, dedicated bottom docking connectors would be preferable, but in reality, if you are deciding between the USB Port Rep with Digital Video and our Port Replicator, choose the USB device. It does everything you’d really expect it to do. You get second digital display support, take up less space on your desk, and have true rip and go capability. Yes, there is some concern that everything is going through one USB port with only 400 mb/s data transfer rates, but you’re unlikely to notice a slow down in the real world. There are lots of benefits, especially if you have an older ThinkPad, IdeaPad, or Lenovo machine without digital video output capabilities.
Wireless Docking
This still is the logical end-game for cable management and display expansion. We have this working in the lab. I’ve seen a prototype and it works as designed. So far though, most people have not yet seen enough value proposition to want to pay for the capability. It’s not technology holding us back any longer. It’s market acceptance.
August 27th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Yay, a new post! thanks Matt.
I’d like to confirm the importance of having the Thinkpad firmly attached to the table. This is a point i did not know before using my T60p with a dock. And it turned out that i like this at least as well as the avoidance of cable salad (germanism, sorry). The keyboard is even better when docked.
I was wondering, why you do no longer make bigger docking solutions. What i would have liked is the integration of a slot for a hard drive, which can be reached via eSATA. Meaning, i can rip and go as well, but have a backup utility on site without a further box on the table. Wouldnt one or even two 2.5″ drives fit into the basis of the dock?
Two mirrored disks, hot pluggable by just putting the Thinkpad onto the dock… All you need to secure your data!
I’m sure i will not like the audio jacks on the side of the dock plus, when it arrives. This will destroy the very clean look a dock creates on my desk (OK, OK, the desk itself is far from being clean, but anyway i liked a lot having just one big braid of cables running for 30cm from the back if the dock over my desk until vanishing in a cable duct). What a pity.
Is there a maximum number of displays a thinkpad can run via these USB-adapters?
thanks again for the new post
Hecke
August 27th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
I’ve been looking for a new ultraportable Linux notebook that I can also use as an ergonomically-appropriate desktop when “in home base”.
My current X60 didn’t quite work – the X60 series dedicated docks didn’t provide digital output, and that’s an absolute must.
I was ready to pull the trigger on a X200s with the X200 series dock that does offer digital video, when the LED-backlight X200s models disappeared, leaving only the lower-resolution CCFL models. No thanks.
The X301 doesn’t seem to have dedicated docks at all, so no go with that either.
Any idea whether this USB replicator would work with the X60 under Ubuntu? Knowing which video chipset it uses is the key here, any way you can find out?
I’m assuming that in addition to video, dock-replicated Ethernet is also implemented with a separate chipset. So it would be good to know what type that one is too.
I’m almost tempted to buy one just on spec, but I’d be very grateful if you could find out which chipsets are used for video and ethernet on this.
If you feel adventurous, booting your thinkpad with a recent Linux live CD, opening a shell and posting the results of “lspci” and “lsusb” with the port replicator connected would be very enlightening
August 27th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
I love the new display output capability. A question:
There are 2 DVI ports on the back. Can these be used together with the laptop display, or excluding it?
I.e. can the laptop be docked with the screen open and the display on that as well as having 2 additional external displays?
Thanks
August 27th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Will the DisplayPort on the dock be able to transmit audio?
“In actuality this is not the case” about the dock support on 4 or 5 displays – so why can’t the dock use more than 2 of its ports?
August 27th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Great work from the Lenovo team once again, when i first saw the dock i thought oh my god, Lenovo allows 4 digital output at the same time and i thought to myself time to dump the desktops. That is until i read the fine print on the website, which basically states only two of the digital output works at a time. But still it is a great effort, since now i can get the usb2dvi that actually supports widescreen resolution of wuxga unlike the other adapters on the market.
Lenovo uber allas.
August 27th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
[...] [Inside the Box] SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Lenovo’s Matt Kohut discusses docking options, new USB to DVI [...]
August 27th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
The display limit is generally a graphics card limit within the system itself. I think (but am not 100% sure) that all of the graphics chips we use will only support dual display pathways out.
I have not tried it yet, but I think that when you use the ports on the back of the mini dock that only two displays will work at any given time and in the scenario you describe, your laptop display would go dark.
You can use a maximum of six of the USB/DVI Dongles. These avoid the dual display limit because each of the dongles has its own graphics chip built inside.
August 28th, 2009 at 12:29 am
Matt, thanks for the reply.
But isn’t the T400s advertised to run its internal display as well as two external displays on the VGA and the display port out at the same time?
August 28th, 2009 at 12:31 am
Hmhm, yes, I intended to buy a dock for the S/PDIF output. Removing it is a weird idea (unless you plan to offer S/PDIF output directly on the laptops
)
August 28th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Tell you what — I’ll try the ThinkPad T400s with 2 external displays and see what happens.
August 28th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Our team confirmed for me — it’s a graphics limitation. If anyone has seen us advertising otherwise, please provide a link.
August 28th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Uhhh….like the dock, but if you remember the fiasco about DisplayPort and audio earlier in the year with the W700, the solution was to use the dock’s S/PDIF for digital audio. Now that will be gone so I very much hope you provide a digital audio solution for the next revision of W series computers (they’re workstations after all!). Or you’ll have some unhappy customers.
August 28th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Thanks for this post Matt!
I’m feeling really stupid right now, thus since I didn’t figure out that the USB Port Replicator had it’s own graphics chipset…
Audio. Since audio is very important to me, I do not care. I would be really lucky if you decided to totally skip the inbuilt audio – really, it’s useless if you’re into music. It’s just another interfering driver – quite harmful and no good at all.
By the way, I’ve had a few more Win 7 bluescreens than you…
maybe that’s because I’m still on build 7100. And then Office 2010 beta, Inventor 2010, Propellerhead Record beta, and foobar is having trouble. I’m having a hard waiting for the real thing, since I need my computer to work… (yes, I’m nuts) and once you’ve tried 7, XP is really not an option. Vista never was.
August 28th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Forgot the big thing!
I want a Maxi Dock instead of those Mini ones.
- 3.5″ SATA, two of those the very least
- Full-length PCI express, at least two
- May I fit a extra CPU?
- Lots of RAM
And all connections you can imagine, except for graphics and audio – that’s what PCI slots are for. I know I should buy a S20 (or D20) ThinkStation and try some remote control software solution, but would that be fast enough? I don’t think so. Probably I should not use my laptop at all when not on the run. Anyway, I don’t have the money to do anything of this, not even get myself a newer ThinkPad than my old T43. But then again, the keyboard… I probably should not change anything!
And I strayed off-topic again. Should get my own blog.
August 28th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I would like SP/DIF included, digital audio is important to me. thanks in advance
August 28th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
may be in the way Macs have minitoslink, the analog/optical combo in a 3.5mm plug.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Display Port + DVI both useless! HDMI would be really nice.
August 28th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Matt, i saw the three displays in the T400s promo video on
http://www.lenovovision.com/lv.....ur_06-2009
At roughly 2 minutes it says ‘Native support for analog and digital monitors’ and shows a T400s on a table driving a computer monitor on the table and a wall mounted big screen, still showing its genuine screen. All three displays are clones of just one, but anyway they have to be driven somehow (i’m sure, they weren’t when producing the video, but anyway, thats what it shows).
So, your technicians say, that i can just use two external monitors with the dvi-outs on the minidock plus, if i leave my inbuilt screen off? Sad. I was so excited about having my desk setup (two portrait 19″ monitors showing one big desktop, and the laptop right beneath) in one machine, allowing for copy paste and stuff. Hm.
Btw: The video also says that the T400s features the latest intel SSDs. As long as i heard, there are no model with an intel SSD, right?
cheers
Hecke
August 28th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
I take it your wireless dock, the one in the lab, also transmits power to the laptop wirelessly (and without any health risks)? Cause if it doesn’t, then WHAT’S THE POINT OF THAT??? As long as you have to run at least one cable to the laptop, e.g. the power cable, why not use it to transmit data as well?
August 29th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
“•Ultrabay – Most people did not use this capability”
Ugh… I do use this. I agree that it did make the dock larger… but .. I use this with a 2nd hdd for backing up my machine.
No biggie.. right? Just go out and “buy” yet another accessory .. that will probably require another electrical outlet. Does Lenovo carry an inexpensive e-SATA drive bay?
When you make a decision to remove something like the drive bay, I would very much welcome a link or document that suggests what I might use to address this change.
Jim
P.S. WHEN oh WHEN will Lenovo put better pictures on their actual site?
August 31st, 2009 at 7:59 am
I can’t understand, why MiniDock Plus doesn’t have integrated USB-DVI adaptor. It has 4 digital outputs and second/third display is mostly used for static graphics (like excel sheets, mail client, IM,…), so performance of DisplayLink chipset (=USB-DVI) is ok.
August 31st, 2009 at 8:18 am
concerning the three displays at a time, i found stuff like the following, which is not clearly written and seems to say: run your notebook display as well as two external monitors with it.
“The wideview 14” LED WXGA+ Display runs at 1440×900 resolution, but just in case that isn’t enough for you the ThinkPad T400s comes with dual external display support. Plug in two monitors via the VGA and DisplayPort out, or connect a monitor via the new Lenovo USB-to-DVI Plug n Play Monitor adapter!”
found at: http://www.thinkpadtoday.com/f.....-video.htm
So, now the epic question (sorry, but it really bothers me): does anyone at Lenovo care about Linux support of the USB-to-DVI adapter? What can be expected? When?
best
Hecke
And thumbs up for FH, i feel the same about wireless docking. No consumer acceptance? No wonder!
August 31st, 2009 at 9:27 am
[22] Hecke: Lenovo USB-to-DVI and USB Port Replicator use DisplayLink DL-195 chipset (DisplayLink chipset is also used in usb replicators from Toshiba, Sony, HP). Lenovo doesn’t make drivers.
Look here:
http://www.displaylink.com/
http://blog.displaylink.com/dl.....nched.html
August 31st, 2009 at 9:42 am
Matt, try a generic Windows 7 driver from the DisplayLink website. It works with Lenovo USB products.
For owners of older DisplayLink based USB devices (like the original Lenovo USB replicator): Download newer drivers from displaylink.com. It enables higher resolutions and enhances video performance.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:53 am
Linux?
September 1st, 2009 at 2:53 pm
These new docks are great. Althought I miss SPDIF but I can buy high quality USB audio interface with SPDIF opitcal and/or coaxcial jack.
Out of Topic. Your presentation in Thailand yesterday was great. After we wrote about it in our blog. Many people know more about how great ThinkPad is.
We hope that you will come to see us again. Thank you.
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Good news! i could convince my boss somehow to buy a T400s for me. Now i’m totally eager to receive it. Unfortunately there is our institutes administration and a 14 days delivery period in between:-(
But when it finally arrives, i can answer your question Nicola. I will test the docks capabilities with Linux, even if it does not help the T400s to drive three monitors at once. Due to our institutes traditions, i will install Suse. Usually they are quite good with Thinkpads, let’s see.
Do you have any particular questions?
cheers
Hecke (twiddling thumbs, until the pearl arrives, not able to finish his thesis:-D)
September 6th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
I’m currently using a T400 (CPU/Ram maxed out, double SSD) and the old advanced dock as my main production system. I was using a low power ATI Firepro in the dock to get dual DVI for two 1920×1680 and now replaced it with the new USB to DVI adaptor, it is pretty good and I can use the internal display together with the two external ones.
But it is still sad that the old dock system won’t see any new updates. It will be great that the advanced mini dock would get a update or slightly modernization and having dual digital output and probably a eSATA. (I guess it may not be limited by the old connector.)
For example I need to get a mini dock for home and the lacking of dock that could do two DVI (or display port) makes it a bad idea. Of cause I can go with USB duplicator + USB-DVI or a mini dock + USB-DVI or two USB-DVI adaptors, but neither of them is clean solution. The missing eSATA could be get through Expresscard or the PCI express slot in the dock but the first is not convenient and the second one makes undocking problematic.
Although I believe it is a good idea to start with a empty drawing board for a dock connector but it is probably better to not stop updating the old system when most of the current product lineups are still using the old connectors (except t400s, which doesn’t suffice even for some heavy 2D work).
September 6th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
I forget to mention the wireless dock thing. It will be definitely worth the increased cost because of the time/space saving. But I still need to lock down the machine somehow for office use and plug in power, which makes it no much better than physical dock. It’s still better for home or secure office use (better when wireless power is possible.)
September 22nd, 2009 at 4:00 am
I have a big issue and a question. About 3 years ago I bought a Lenovo ThinkPad T60. I paid it a lot and unfortunately it came with a really crappy graphic solution: Mobile Intel(R) 945 Express Chipset Family. Obviously in this way I cannot use at all any demanding software. Could you please let me know whether I can sort out this issue with a docking station and if yes which model? My idea is to use a decent graphic card attached to it. I know that is a workaround but, for the moment, I don’t have any will to change my laptop.
September 24th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Will this actually work with the X300? And can end users use the docking station monitors as their primary monitor, as opposed to the horrible previous docking station that was a resource hog, and is no longer even sold by Lenovo????
See KB 43R8770…
You need to institute a trade in plan for the Enhanced USB Port Replicators for these.
September 24th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Matt, even if the thread here seems to be kind of dead, it would like to give my feedback on the Docking Solution that came with my T400s on monday.
What i really miss, is the rigidness of the connection. If i dock my T60p, it feels like one unit with the dock. The T400s is still very wobbly. The feel during typing is worse then when undocked plain on the table. Maybe this is due to the variable corner allowing for bigger systems to use the same dock, maybe it’s due to the very narrow placement of guiding nipples and only a small area of contact between the two. It virtually feels like the back right foot does not stand on the dock. Another reason may be the small more soft mini-feet at the front that have to be pushed inwards every time i lay my palm down. Hm. Not very convinced, i will have to use it with an external keyboard to get happy.
btw. the T400s is really the first Thinkpad of Lenovo that is really better than the IBM-models. I like it a lot despite the insane screen ratio and the huge bezel, which reminds me constantly of a mourning border around m screen.
Ah, yes, and something with the fingerprint reader changed, it is no longer recognized by Linux:-(
cheers
Hecke
September 26th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
So how do we get Digital Audio to an amplifier now without S/PDIF ?
The S/PDIF and TOSSLINK USB devices can result in delay and thus lip sync problems with video.
No HDMI out and then comes the problem of protected audio path
Will DisplayPort to HDMI be able to carry audio ?
October 7th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Matt, I heard of the USB port replicator with digital video from your post and decided to give it a try. I have a ThinkPad X61tablet here at work and someone bought me a Dell 24″ monitor. I’ve been ok using my ThinkPad without any external display or keyboard, but it is a pain to have to connect everything up when come to work so I wanted to try and the price was right.
So far, this has been a flop. My PC is running Vista Business 32-bit and thus far I can’t get the ethernet working. The video seems fine so far, but I’ve only tried it as an additional display. Ideally I’m going to use the external display as my main display since I also bought an external ThinkPad USB keyboard.
I placed a service call to see if I could get help in making the ethernet work and nobody called me back. When I opened the call they said ethey woudl call me back within 1 hour. 3 hours later I called back in and they said my trouble ticket got stuck. I waited all day and nothing. This morning I had a voicemail message from someone who said they needed to verify where I bought this from. I called them back and told them that I bought it directly from Lenovo from the website. After wasting more time trying to get through that my trouble ticket was finally routed. They called while I was out, and I haven’t gotten back in touch yet. Probably the worst IBM/Lenovo support experience for me ever.
I’m thinking that the problem is that the ethernet port on the port replicator isn’t a simple pass through and my network is locked down by MAC address. The problem is that this device doesn’t have any sticker on it indicating what the MAC address is. We’ll see what happens, but if I can’t get the ethernet working then this is useless for me since I will still have to connect that cable and that will mean that I have to connect 3 cables to my laptop (power, ethernet, and USB).
October 20th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
All these DOCKS look terrific. One big problem . . . none of them will work with the X300 series — Lenovo’s current top of the line Ultraportables. Yes, yes, I know the rationale given my Lenovo: the female docking mechanism is hard to cram into a super compact machine. Frankly, I find that to be faulty thinking and a sign of insufficient engineering. After all, the smaller X200s have the female docking mechanism built in. Why would anyone be willing to spend upwards of $2,600 on a Thinkpad X301 if she can’t dock it at the office. Sure, one can use a ThinkPad USB Port Replicator, but that is a highly flawed solution, for all the reasons discussed in detail on this site. Please, please, Lenovo engineers, refresh the X300 series with a dockable offering.
October 21st, 2009 at 5:52 pm
trouble ticket opened for more than a week. Spent about an hour on the phone with an engineer and I have him stumped. Still can’t get the ethernet port on this new dock working. This is no IBM service.
October 24th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Yep, another S/PDIF user here. Why not run a combo jack like Apple does?
November 1st, 2009 at 10:44 am
I’m using the Lenovo USB to DVI Monitor Adapter to drive two 19″ THINKVISION L191P monitors from an X61s. Works great! But it seems that the USB-to-DVI is no longer available for sale on the Lenovo site. I can’t find the link anywhere–it was there at one point because I purchased it.
December 20th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
I have to say that I am deeply dissatisfied with the way docking is recently handled by Lenovo. I can understand that a new docking socked was introduced given that laptops are getting smaller. But why did this had to mean that one dock no longer supports the whole range of Lenovo laptops? This is especially annoying for X series users like me.
For the X200s there is no longer a dock that supports power, audio, video and USB parallel. With the X31 I really loved not having to get out the power adaptor or opening the display to switch on the laptop when I am at my desk. It seems like there is no identical solution available for the X200s.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:01 am
[...] 3 Docking – The T410s, T510, T410, and W510 all use the new Series 3 docking solutions introduced with the [...]
January 9th, 2010 at 4:13 am
Why the lack of serial, how am I meant to use my Atmel STK500 now?
many serial devices only support a natively signalled serial port, I have tried many USB serial ports but none work, only option now is to buy an express card serial port adapter, good luck finding one that support windows 7 64bit. The advanced mini dock was so much better than simillar offerings from DELL and HP.
I can understand the removal of parallel, but serial is still widely used among hobbiests and professionals, especially when many systems have to be supported for 30 years or more.
January 14th, 2010 at 7:14 am
Hi Matt,
regarding what you’ve written about the new usb-port-replicator with integrated DVI: I still have to plug in the Power-Supply into my ThinkPad, right?
Because if I have to, the USB-Solution adds 100% more of those types of actions to the process, which I dont want: Pluggin in/out Stuff each time I arrive/leave a desk. Or am I missing something?
January 14th, 2010 at 8:14 am
Alex,
Yes, you still need to plug your ThinkPad AC adapter in.
lachlan,
Serial is one of those legacy devices that you are only going to see on desktops and specialized laptops from now on. The industry collectively hates the port. It requires direct access to the hardware. It is slow. It causes Windows to crash. It is physically big.
Though there are a lot of serial devices out there, they do not represent enough market that it is worth the tradeoffs for most machines. Your comment of support for 30 years is quite telling. It is expensive to support 30 years in an industry with such low margins.
January 22nd, 2010 at 6:20 am
horrible decissions right there.
I can see you removing some not commonly used connectors on your base dock station, but please, leave advanced futures for the complete dock station:
- Ultrabay
- Digital Output
- Serial and/or parallell connector.