How many external USB ports can be connected to my computer (via a USB hub)?
My Mac Pro has 2 USB ports, but i'm using a USB hub with 12 ports connected to both USB connections. I'm then planning to connect every USB port on the hub to another USB hub with 12 ports.
That gives me-
12*12 = 144 USB port on each original port, for a total of 288 USB ports.
Will the USB ports work or is there a limit? What if i use self-powered USB hubs?
You can only use up to 127 devices on a USB bus. However, the bandwidth will be saturated well before this hardware limit, devices will be horribly slow, even on USB 3.0.
If you must go about this approach, connect all your high bandwidth devices (external HDD's etc) to the first level hub and low bandwidth devices (USB accessories etc) further down the chain.
You will also HAVE to use powered hubs. You will risk damaging the USB connector otherwise.
