Transfer Drive Dock

The unique design of the Transfer Drive Dock combines the speed of two Thunderbolt 3 ports for up to 5400 MB/s bandwidth.

The Transfer Drive Dock can be used in Dual Link mode (up to 5400 MB/s read/write speed) or Single Link mode (up to 2700 MB/s read/write speed). 

The Transfer Drive Dock has two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the rear of the unit. Between the two ports is the Dual Link Thunderbolt Switch (see image below).

Below is a guide to connecting the Dock in either Dual Link or Single Link mode:

1.  Set Dock to Correct Mode

• Connect the Dock to the included Power Supply
• Do not attach Thunderbolt cables or insert the Transfer Drive yet.
• The Dock can be set to Single Link or Dual Link Thunderbolt mode.
  
• Single Link mode requires 1 x Thunderbolt connection to the host, and provides a maximum speed of 2800 MB/s. When in Single Link mode only the LED for PORT 1 will be lit.
• Dual Link mode requires 2 x Thunderbolt connections to the host, and provides a maximum speed of 2800 MB/s. Press and hold the Dual Link Thunderbolt Switch (see image above)  between the ports to enable Dual Link mode, at which point the LED for PORT 2 will be lit in blue.
• Before connecting Thunderbolt cables, to switch back from Dual Link mode to Single Link mode, press and hold the Dual Link Thunderbolt Switch again.
• Dual Link and Single Link mode can only be switched while there are no active Thunderbolt links (e.g. before connecting to your computer).
  

2.  Connect Thunderbolt Cable(s) to Mac

• When the correct mode is set, proceed with connecting the Thunderbolt cable(s) from the Dock to the Mac.
• If using Single Link mode, then connect from PORT 1 to any port on the Mac.
• If using Dual Link mode, then PORT 1 and PORT 2 must be connected to different Thunderbolt buses on the Mac for maximum performance.
• See the Mac Thunderbolt BUS Arrangement section for more information.

Here are some examples of incorrect Thunderbolt connections and mode settings:

The Transfer Drive Dock is in Dual Link mode, but only has a single Thunderbolt cable connected:

• If only PORT 1 is connected, then Device Manager will warn: "Device requires both ports to be connected when in Dual Link mode."
• If only PORT 2 is connected, the Transfer Drive Dock will not be detected by Device Manager.
  

The Transfer Drive Dock is in Single Link mode, but only PORT 2 is connected:

• If the Transfer Drive Dock is in Single Link mode with only PORT 2 connected, the Transfer Drive Dock will not be detected by Device Manager.
  

Incorrect Thunderbolt cables are used, or the Transfer Drive Dock is connected to Thunderbolt 2 ports:

• In both cases, Device Manager will warn: "Device is not connected for maximum speed - check cables."

The Transfer Drive Dock is in Dual Link mode, but both Thunderbolt cables are connected to the same Thunderbolt bus:

• Device Manager will warn: "Device is not connected for maximum speed - check ports"
  

Transfer Drive Dock Thunderbolt PORT LED's

Each of Thunderbolt PORT 1 and PORT 2 on the rear of the Transfer Drive Dock has an LED beside it to indicate its status.

The LEDs will be:

• Green when there is a Thunderbolt link.
• Blue when there is no Thunderbolt link.
• Amber when there is a problem with the connection.

Transfer Drive LED

The LED on the front of the Transfer Drive indicates its status.

The LED will be:

• Blue (blinking) when the Transfer Drive is loading.
• Blue (solid) when the Transfer Drive is unloaded.
• Green indicates disk activity (read or write).
• Red if the Transfer Drive fails to load.

The following cable types have been tested and are known to work with the Transfer Drive Dock:

• 0.8m Thunderbolt 3 cables (passive type).
• 1-2m Thunderbolt 3  cables (active type).
  

For optimal performance, the Transfer Drive Dock should be connected in Dual Link mode to 2 x Thunderbolt buses.

Connecting in Dual Link mode to Thunderbolt ports on the same bus will result in Single Link performance.

In either Dual Link or Single Link mode, the Thunderbolt buses used for the Transfer Drive Dock should not be shared with other Thunderbolt devices in order to achieve maximum performance.

Mac computers usually have multiple Thunderbolt / USB-C ports. Typically two ports on each computer share the same Thunderbolt bus. Here are some examples of the Thunderbolt port / bus arrangement on some of the popular models of Apple Mac computers:


Mac Pro 2019

For optimal performance on the Mac Pro 2019, set the Transfer Drive Dock into Dual Link mode and connect Thunderbolt cables from PORT 1 and PORT 2 on the Transfer Drive Dock to either BUS 1, BUS 2 or BUS 3 on the Mac Pro. 

When in Dual Link mode, ensure PORT 1 and PORT 2 are connected to two different buses.  For example:

• PORT 1 > BUS 1 and PORT 2 > BUS 2

• PORT 1 > BUS 1 and PORT 2 > BUS 3

• PORT 1 > BUS 2 and PORT 2 > BUS 3
  

Macbook Pro

For optimal performance on the Macbook Pro, set the Transfer Drive Dock into Dual Link mode and connect Thunderbolt cables from PORT 1 and PORT 2 on the Transfer Drive Dock to either BUS 1 or BUS 2 on the Macbook Pro. 

When in Dual Link mode, ensure PORT 1 and PORT 2 are connected to two different buses. For example:

• PORT 1 > BUS 1 and PORT 2 > BUS 2

or:

• PORT 1 > BUS 2 and PORT 2 > BUS 1
  

iMac Pro 2017

For optimal performance on the iMac Pro 2017, set the Transfer Drive Dock into Dual Link mode and connect Thunderbolt cables from PORT 1 and PORT 2 on the Transfer Drive Dock to either BUS 1 or BUS 2 on the iMac Pro. 

When in Dual Link mode, ensure PORT 1 and PORT 2 are connected to two different buses. For example:

• PORT 1 > BUS 1 and PORT 2 > BUS 2

or:

• PORT 1 > BUS 2 and PORT 2 > BUS 1
  

iMac Pro 2020
The iMac Pro 2020 has 2 x Thunderbolt / USB-C ports which both share a single Thunderbolt BUS. This means that only Single Link mode is possible with the iMac Pro 2020.

Mac Mini (Apple Silicon M1)
For optimal performance on the Mac Mini (Apple Silicon M1), set the Transfer Drive Dock into Dual Link mode and connect Thunderbolt cables from PORT 1 and PORT 2 on the Transfer Drive Dock to either BUS 1 or BUS 2 on the Mac Mini.  

When in Dual Link mode, ensure PORT 1 and PORT 2 are connected to two different buses. For example:

• PORT 1 > BUS 1 and PORT 2 > BUS 2

or:

• PORT 1 > BUS 2 and PORT 2 > BUS 1
  

Mac Mini (Intel)
For optimal performance on the Mac Mini (Intel), set the Transfer Drive Dock into Dual Link mode and connect Thunderbolt cables from PORT 1 and PORT 2 on the Transfer Drive Dock to either BUS 1 or BUS 2 on the Mac Mini.  

When in Dual Link mode, ensure PORT 1 and PORT 2 are connected to two different buses. For example:

• PORT 1 > BUS 1 and PORT 2 > BUS 2

or:

• PORT 1 > BUS 2 and PORT 2 > BUS 1
  

Device Manager version 6.1 allows you to format a Transfer Drive with a HFS+ or ExFAT file system.

Device Manager version 6.0 allows you to format a Transfer Drive with either a HFS+ or ExFAT file system.

Note: It is not recommended to use Disk Utility for formatting of Transfer Drive as Device Manager will have no awareness of volumes created in this way, and will show the Transfer Drive as unformatted.

Please see the table below for more information on support formats and file systems for Device Manager versions:

* Ability to format with Parity is not available in the initial Device Manager 6.0.0 release. This will be released as a licensed option in a subsequent Device Manager release, along with enhanced performance for Parity modes.

**  CodexFS is a legacy feature.   As it is a read-only format on macOS, it is not recommended for any standard workflow.

You can check how the Transfer Drive is formatted by going to Device Manager > Transfer Drive Rack TB and checking the Type. 

Go to Device Manager > Transfer Drive  - TB and choose the Format option.

A pop-up window titled Create new volume on Transfer Drive -  TB  will appear asking you to choose options for three properties. 

Choose the following options to create a RAID-0 HFS+ volume with read / write access on macOS:

Volume Name: Any name you would like to give the volume up to 11 characters.
File system: HFS+
Redundancy: Striped