9

I was searching the web around one hour now, but still could not find a definite answer: Is Intel Thunderbolt already working with Linux?

I am especially interested in networking, so that I can transfer files from a Mac OSX Machine to an Ubuntu (Intel DZ77RE-75K or Gigabyte Z77X-UP5) Machine. Any news/information on Ubuntu and Linux Kernel support for Thunderbolt?

OpenGears
  • 176
  • 1
  • 1
  • 11
  • On what Linux Distribution? – Alvar Jul 10 '12 at 12:11
  • @Alvar The OP mentions Ubuntu as well as the Linux kernel.. I do believe that this indicates his interest in support for the Ubuntu distro, as well as support for the Linux kernel.. ;) – SirCharlo Jul 10 '12 at 12:17
  • What's wrong with Gigabit Ethernet? The initial applications for Thunderbolt mostly involve graphics cards... – ish Jul 10 '12 at 12:43
  • The thunderbolt to HDMI out works with no extra setup for my MacBook Pro, though I do not know about the other functions (data, periferals etc.), and would be interested to know. – yarbelk Jan 03 '13 at 05:33

2 Answers2

3

As of May 2012, support in the Linux kernel was still buggy and being worked on. For example, hot-plugging did not work, while cold-plugging did, etc.

Considering that the new Linux kernel will only appear in Ubuntu 12.10 (October 2012), I think that's the earliest you can hope to expect partial Thunderbolt support in Ubuntu.

ish
  • 142,198
  • "Cold plug" works well for Ethernet adapter on current Ubuntu 12.10. "Hot plug" still doesn't... yet! – Murphy Sep 14 '12 at 22:03
  • @Murphy I was reading last night that hot-plugging is working now. Can you confirm? – WinEunuuchs2Unix Oct 05 '17 at 00:22
  • @WinEunuuchs2Unix sorry I haven't used Ubuntu for years now... I was bored of waiting for problems like these to be resolved. OSX just works fine for me. – Murphy Oct 11 '17 at 20:45
3

Actually thunderbolt support is added in the kernel 3.12 and it works on my NUC running ubuntu 3.10 and kernel 3.12.

Tommy_Li
  • 56
  • 2
    Can you elaborate a little more? So is thunderbolt as of today fully supported in (Ubuntu) Linux? – OpenGears Aug 01 '15 at 14:04
  • @Nanofunk "fully supported" is a moving target I think. In the last couple of months revisions were made in Linux to "support more" of Thunderbolt 3. – WinEunuuchs2Unix Oct 05 '17 at 00:23