I have two computers, and I need to transfer a (very) large file between them.
Both computers are Thunderbolt 3 compatible, and I have a passive Thunderbolt cable ready to use.
Is there a way I can set up a direct peer-to-peer network between these two devices over this cable? I would rather avoid using adapters to Ethernet so that I can keep the theoretical max speed that Thunderbolt offers.
I've found this post on the kernel mailing list, but I have no idea how to use it, or if it's even available for me to use.
Both computers are running Ubuntu 16.04 with kernel 4.10 installed on them.
Best Answer
ThunderBolt 3 User Space tools
These are the ThunderBolt 3 User Space tools that work with Kernel Version 4.13 and higher. They were revised 6 days ago (December 4, 2017).
Summary from link
Overview
Thunderbolt™ technology is a transformational high-speed, dual protocol I/O that provides unmatched performance with up to 40Gbps bi-directional transfer speeds. It provides flexibility and simplicity by supporting both data (PCIe, USB3.1) and video (DisplayPort) on a single cable connection that can daisy-chain up to six devices.
Features
The user-space components implement device approval support:
tbtacl
tbtacl is intended to be triggered by udev (see the udev rules in tbtacl.rules). It auto-approves devices that are found in ACL.
tbtadm
tbtadm is a user-facing CLI tool. It provides operations for device approval, handling the ACL and more.
Supported OSes
Kernel/Daemon Compatibility
The user-space components operate in coordination with the upstream Thunderbolt kernel driver (found in v4.13) to provide the Thunderbolt functionalities. These components are NOT compatible with the old out-of-tree Thunderbolt kernel module.