Is there a dock that works on Linux?

Looking for a dock that works on Linux. Im mostly using it to power 2 external monitors. I know there are issues with 3.0 docks due to proprietary drivers or display link chips.

Are there any non usb 3.0 docks that will work? Also something I am wondering is if the 2.0 usb dock (which is known to work) is plugged into the 3.0 port will it still work.

I purchased a toshiba z20t and would like to power 2 external screens without plugging and unplugging the screens everyday. I will mostly be doing word processing and have some chrome tabs up and a terminal.

any info would be appreciated. thanks!!!

 

To get a real dock, you must buy a midrange or higher business class laptop. No true docking for consumer or gaming laptops available.

 

The Toshiba Protege z20t is a high end business laptop, but the dynadock does not have support for linux.

At this point I am willing to try anything. I feel with laptops getting thinner we need something as linux users

 

I use a dell latitude e7450 with debian linux just fine with its dock connected to dual external displays (and many other peripherals). The key with having a smooth docking experience under linux is avoiding machines with nvidia or ati graphics.

Now that displayport MST hubs have good support under linux with recent kernels there is almost no point to getting a business laptop with dedicated or switchable graphics.

Hopefully soon we will have a nice skylake or broadwell business quality machine that has a quad core processor with no dedicated graphics and a hardware docking station. Thats the next big thing I am hoping for.

 

The dock for that laptop is not a USB dock. That's great you have good linux support.

My laptop does not have a dock port so it needs to be a USB dock and from what I can tell the USB 3.0 docks do not have support under linux for the displays. If you know of a USB dock, any dock I would appreciate it if you posted the name


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Ok I understand what you need a little bit more now.

I am guessing that the Z20t keyboard is a real hardware dock. What I would personally do in this situation is purchase a second keyboard and then use the VGA and HDMI to drive the external displays. You could even consider getting a stand for the keyboard dock and then use the Tablet as the secondary display instead of VGA. Connecting and disconnecting the tablet from the keyboard shouldn't be hard to do and with any luck it can be disconnected hot (while the machine is powered on) under Linux without issues.

Seems silly that Toshiba didn't make an actually docking station for the Z20t. After all, it is a high end business tablet, and similar competitors like the Surface 3 Pro have one available.

 

Yes, realized the Z20t is a business class machine with a real dock, but that dock is not Linux friendly.