Surface Dock 2 allows you to manage port access with authentication
Alongside the Surface Book 3, Surface Go 2, and other Surface devices, Microsoft announced the Surface Dock 2. The Surface Dock 2 is a refresh of the original Surface Dock and adds USB-C ports, faster transfer speeds, and other new functionality. Microsoft highlights a category of new features in a Microsoft Mechanics video, enterprise controls. You can use Surface Enterprise Management mode to control the functionality of devices connected to the dock.
You can set the Surface Dock to support different functions depending on the device that connects to it. For example, you can opt to have unauthenticated devices use Ethernet but not have access to USB data or audio. In the same example, you could separately choose to have authenticated devices work with USB data, Ethernet, and audio. Admins can manage these settings either locally or through Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager.
The same Microsoft Mechanics video also shared some details about the Surface Dock 2, including the fact that it can drive two 4K displays at 60Hz or two 5K displays at 30Hz. It also shows how updating the Surface Dock 2 is easier. The Surface Dock 2 natively supports Windows Update and can automatically update. Updating the Surface Dock 2 doesn’t require restarting devices anymore. Instead, it just briefly resets the dock.
