Is there a difference between these:
- USB switches
- USB Sharing Switches
- USB Peripheral Sharing Switches
Or do they all mean the same thing? And if they do mean the same thing, why do they have different names? Is it due to patents?
Answer
A "USB [[peripheral] sharing] switch" is a device (a hub) that allows to share a set of USB peripherals (typically keyboards, mice, and printers) between two different USB hosts. Typical use case is when you have these stationary equipment hooked up to home workstation, then you come and connect your laptop into the second port of that special USB hub, and all connected devices drop from workstation and nearly immediately connect to the laptop, with no need to reconnect any cables.
The hub can be equipped with more sophisticated controls, such that some ports remain connected to workstation, or are switched individually.
These switches do not connect one host to another, nor they connect any USB peripheral to each other.
The device actually consists of two individual hubs that can take ownership over a set of downstream ports depending on control either from pushbuttons, or based on priority of which upstream port is connected or not.
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