linux 3.17 supports hotplug of thunderbolt of non-chained thunderbolt devices -- what is this? Linux 3.17 has a commit which supports hotplug of thunderbolt of non-chained thunderbolt devices. But what does "non-chained thunderbolt devices" mean? Is a thunderbolt to ethernet adapter a chained or non-chained device? How about a thunderbolt to display port adapter?

See Apple's promo page for info about Thunderbolt. It also describes how you can chain devices together instead of needing a hub or similar. My impression is that hot-plugging such daisy-chained devices are what are _not_ supported by the linux commit; only single devices, whatever type they are.