Info About Apple’s New Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

Apple has offered some  intel on its new Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter, which is in stock and ready to go at Austin MacWorks. The Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter lets you easily connect to a high-performance Gigabit Ethernet network. Small and compact, it connects to the Thunderbolt port on your Mac computer and provides an RJ-45 port that supports 10/100/1000BASE-T networks.

Which computers support the Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter?

All Thunderbolt-equipped Mac computers support this adapter. This adapter requires OS X Lion v10.7.4 or later. Thunderbolt-equipped Macs released prior to June, 2012, require the installation of Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2.1 to use this adapter.

Where can I connect the adapter?

Connect it directly to the Thunderbolt port on your Mac. You can also connect it to external devices like Apple Thunderbolt Displays or other devices that have multiple Thunderbolt ports.

Are there other requirements for using the adapter?

If you are connecting multiple devices (“daisy chaining”), at least one computer on the Thunderbolt chain needs to act as a host.

Can other devices on the Thunderbolt chain affect the performance of this adapter?

Yes. Mass Storage and other high-bandwidth devices can affect the performance of this adapter. If you have issues mixing this adapter with such devices, connect it directly to another Thunderbolt port on your computer, or connect it to a low-bandwidth device on the Thunderbolt chain.

Can this adapter be connected to devices that do not support Thunderbolt?

No. Although this adapter uses the same connector as a Mini DisplayPort adapter, it is not functional on a computer that does not support Thunderbolt.

My Mac mini (Mid 2011) does not sleep when a Thunderbolt to Ethernet Adapter is connected. Is their a way to work around this?

Yes. Mac minis come with built-in Ethernet connectors. Use the built-in connector instead of the Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter. See this article for more information.