Startech 7-port Managed USB Hub Driver

Features

The driver provides per‑port power and data control for StarTech 7-port Managed USB Hub (Product ID: 5G7AINDRM-USB-A-HUB). This INDI driver exposes:

• 7 independent power/data ports (USB Port 1 … USB Port 7)
• A convenience control to switch all ports ON/OFF
• Basic device info reporting (model string + current port mask)
• Optional per‑port labels (aliases) configured in the Options tab

Installation

This driver is part of the INDI core build system and installs with the standard INDI build.

Dependencies

INDI core libraries only.

Usage Guide

Connecting to the device

1. Connect the hub to your system.
2. In your INDI client open the Connection tab and set the serial Port (recommended: a stable udev symlink such as /dev/startech) and Baud Rate (default 9600).
3. Open the Main Control tab and Click Connect.

Connection panel: select the serial port device and baud rate.

Main Control

The Main Control tab contains (in order):

1. Connect: connect and disconnect the device.
2. Info: hub model and the current port power bitmask.
3. USB Port 1 … USB Port 7: per‑port power and data connection control (ON/OFF).
4. USB All Ports: switches all ports ON or OFF with a single command.

Options

The Options tab provides standard INDI configuration controls plus Port Labels:

• Set a custom label for each port (max 16 characters).
• Press Set to apply labels immediately (the Main Control port names update right away).
• Press Save to persist labels to the INDI configuration file.
• Press Load to restore saved labels and apply them to the UI.

Tips and Best Practices

• Use a stable serial device path (udev symlink) to avoid surprises when USB topology changes.
• If you power‑cycle devices frequently, consider setting a reasonable Polling interval in the Options tab.
• When using Port Labels, press Save only once you are happy with them (otherwise they reset on disconnect).

Troubleshooting

Device does not connect

• Verify the serial device path in the Connection tab (use Scan Ports in the Connection tab to scan for available serial ports).
• Check permissions for the serial device (udev rule or membership in dialout).

Port switching works but labels do not update

• Ensure you pressed Set in the Port Labels section. Labels should update immediately.
• If labels were loaded from disk, press Load and confirm the Main Control port names refresh.

Still stuck?

Enable verbose logging in INDI server and collect logs:

indiserver -v indi_startech_hub