Intel Thunderbolt 3 Driver vs MacOS Thunderbolt 3 Driver and Thunderbolt Networking/DHCP

Question

The Intel Thunderbolt 3 driver supporting Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports for an Intel machine when used for Thunderbolt Networking does not obtain a DHCP address and so then obtains a link local address. On a MacOS, the thunderbolt 3 port/device and driver do obtain a DHCP address.

Is there a thunderbolt 3 hardware difference to account for this behavior (I wouldn't think so)? Is there a difference in the behavior of the Intel TB3 driver vs the MacOS TB3 driver to account for the difference?

Looking to understand why the Intel TB3 driver does not obtain a DHCP address.
Thanks

RF

Answer 1

Hi there,

I suppose there is specific driver to obtain the DHCP address.

Windows PCs equipped with Thunderbolt ports will have the driver and software installed by default, so typically this won’t be an issue; however, if you’re resetting the PC or creating a corporate image, you’ll need to install that software.

As of November 2018, driver updates for Intel products on these operating systems will begin transitioning to Windows DCH Drivers.

The Intel DSA tool doesn't currently work for Windows Server or Ethernet products. For these customers, and customers who prefer to manually identify and load a specific driver, these customers can use Download Center.

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Answer 2

Thanks for your response.

You wrote: 'I suppose there is specific driver to obtain the DHCP address"

Just to make sure my question is clear, none of the Intel/MS drivers obtain a DHCP address for a Thunderbolt device/IP

Apple Thunderbolt devices always do.

Why?

Answer 3

attempting to answer my question

the TB AIC device does not get a DHCP address as it is not physically connected to a DHCP server.
if you run a DHCP server on the device where the TB AIC lives, you DO get a DHCP address

Thanks
R