All revisions of RTL8156 experience the same issue.
I have tired the following adapters:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097N5WJY9 (RTL8156B)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YJ8CLMS (RTL8156B)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMQRTWHC (RTL8156BG)
I have tried the latest 11.13 driver from the Realtek website yesterday with the same results. Disabling flow control and idle did not help. Had to revert to 11.4.211.2022 again.
High bandwidth downloads (300Mbps+) of a multi-gigabit (4GB+) file via an IKEv2 VPN tunnel result in Chrome sporadically reporting "Failed - Network Error". Both the VPN client and server are capable of 1Gbps. This does not occur when IKEv2 is not used.
As IKEv2 used UDP for transport it likely requires fragment reassembly which I suspect the driver is mangling. The older driver seems to work, so something was broken in the past year or so.
The driver that macOS has for it causes high CPU usage:
https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/gukh9c/fyi_usbc_hubs_with_ethernet_might_cause_high_cpu/
Edit: They do claim the driver from the Realtek website fixes the issue, but I have not tried it.
Ended up buying this adapter and hooked it into the back of the dock:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YJ8CLMS/
The chipset this adapter uses is much more efficient on macOS.
Still not a bad deal even with the extra cost of the ethernet adapter but you do lose a USB-A port.
I use these cables for my Dell 4K@60hz monitors:
That depends on what you need:
100+ Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 Docks & Hubs compared (updated 2023/01/30)
I personally have this dock:
Satechi often has 20% off sales making the dock $240. They have a 15% off coupon that works nearly all the time IPADOS, which makes the dock $255.
The dock charges the host at 96W PD.
The dock's ethernet adapter is based on Realtek RTL8153. It causes high CPU usage as macOS does not have a good driver for it. You're better off buying a USB-A 2.5G ethernet adapter based on Realtek RTL8156 like this one to hook into the back of the dock:
Alxum 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
The audio jack has a lot of hiss. I would avoid using it with low impedance headphones. Either buy an impedance adapter or use a USB soundcard. I use a cheap USB-A soundcard:
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Play! 3 External USB Sound Adapter for Windows and Mac
The dock has three downstream TB4 ports. You can use two of them to run two 4K@60Hz monitors via USB-C to DP or USB-C to HDMI cables. This cable is VESA certified and supports HDCP 2.2 for playing DRM'd Netflix 4K:
Maxonar USB C to DisplayPort 1.4 VESA Certified
If you have $400 the CalDigit TS4 is highly reviewed:
I have tired the following adapters:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097N5WJY9 (RTL8156B)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YJ8CLMS (RTL8156B)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMQRTWHC (RTL8156BG)
Computers:
ASUS Maximus X Code Motherboard - Desktop
Dell Precision 5560 - Laptop
Both running Windows 11.
Intel adapter in desktop doesn't have issue. Realtek adapters do not have issue when used with specific driver version.