Daisy Chain and Power Delivery

Use the two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the LaCie 6big/LaCie 12big for:

• Direct connection to a computer that is compatible with Thunderbolt 3 technology.
• Daisy chaining with devices and displays that are compatible with Thunderbolt 3 technology.
• Charging the batteries of compatible devices.

Daisy chain Thunderbolt 3 devices

Thunderbolt 3 is an update of Thunderbolt 2 technology. While Thunderbolt 2 technology continues to provide impressive transfer rates up to 20Gb/s bi-directional, Thunderbolt 3 offers improved performance with a potential up to 40Gb/s bi-directional. Thunderbolt 3 technology also gives you greater flexibility when using video and data, assigning greater throughput to the stream that carries the heavier load. You must have a computer that supports Thunderbolt 3 to take advantage of the updates in performance and the intelligent sharing of bandwidth.

Similar to Thunderbolt 2 technology, a single Thunderbolt 3 daisy chain can have up to seven devices, including the computer. For example, you can daisy chain five LaCie 6big/LaCie 12big Thunderbolt 3 enclosures on the same line with a display.

How to daisy chain

Connect the cable to one of the interface ports on the back of LaCie 6big/LaCie 12big and to your computer. The additional port on LaCie 6big/LaCie 12big can be used to daisy chain compatible Thunderbolt 3 peripherals, such as hard drives and monitors. If you have another Thunderbolt 3 storage device, make certain to connect it to the daisy chain before adding compatible displays or USB 3.1 (USB-C) devices. See below for an example of the order of devices in a Thunderbolt 3 daisy chain.

1. Computer with a Thunderbolt 3 port
2. LaCie 12big Thunderbolt 3 (Thunderbolt 3 ports)
3. LaCie 6big Thunderbolt 3 (Thunderbolt 3 ports)
4. LaCie Bolt 3 (Thunderbolt 3 ports)
5. LaCie Porsche Desktop (USB 3.1 (USB-C) port)

USB 3.1 (USB-C) devices can terminate a Thunderbolt 3 daisy chain and should always be the last device.

Daisy chain: idle mode

You can daisy chain Thunderbolt 3 devices even when the LaCie 6big/LaCie 12big hard drives are spun down. Apply a short push on the LED power button (see Operation). The status LED blinks slowly, indicating that the LaCie 6big/LaCie 12big is in idle mode.

Power delivery

Each Thunderbolt 3 port on LaCie 6big/LaCie 12big outputs up to 15W. You can connect compatible devices that support charging via USB-C to the Thunderbolt 3 ports. LaCie 6big/LaCie 12big must receive power via its power cable to deliver power to compatible devices.