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?
Differences Between Types of USB Switches Explained
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I have had motherboards in the past that provided usb 1 on the headers (which connected to the front of the case), and provided usb 2 to the ones mounted/attached to the back of the board itself (aka the back ports).
This is purely a design choice made by the board designer(s).
With respect to your flash-memory stick, the manufacturer of that device is gambling on the idea that the ports on the back are going to be the highest supported standard at the time of the board's manufacture. Since they did not design your motherboard, they have no way of knowing for sure.
They need to make a statement for the people most likely to need the statement made. More technically minded individuals will probably know that the generalization made int he manual is too narrow. For the less technical, if they follow what is written, they are more likely to not have problems with the device.
Oversimplification is a common teaching tool, and one of the reasons that technical fields must re-teach certain subject at the college level to correct these errors or over-specifications in high school level classes.
USB specs defined two types of Devices at first. A devices, i.e. Hosts like your pc, and B Devices, i.e. Peripherals like a printer. At first, only standard size existed. Then mobile devices needing a smaller connecter, Mini-B was created. It is still for Peripherals only. Then OTG was added, creating the need for Mini-A (Miniature Host) and Mini-AB (Mixed, OTG device).
So Standard A Male to Mini B Male cables are for use from a Standard Host, to a Mini Peripheral. I.E. Your PC to a Cell phone.
Now, A Mini-A Male to Standard A FEMALE is allowed, as an adaptor, for OTG purposes. Mainly hooking up a standard device to a OTG host. Fairly common now. I have had tablets and phones that came with them in the box. A Mini-A Male to Standard A Male is non-standard as all heck.
The color of the connector on the cable is also defined within USB Specs.
Notably, USB Mini is depreciated and has been replaced by USB Micro for years now.
http://www.usb.org/developers/onthego/london/OTG_mechanical.pdf for an entire breakdown (simple to read) on the cable connector setup, as presented by the USB Implementers Forum.
Best 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.