Wikipédia hub USB tem a resposta:
A bus-powered hub (passive hub) is a hub that draws all its power from the host computer's USB interface.
A USB's electric current is allocated in units of 100 mA up to a maximum total of 500 mA per port. Therefore, a compliant bus powered hub can have no more than four downstream ports and cannot offer more than four 100 mA units of current in total to downstream devices (since the hub needs one unit for itself).
self-powered hub is one that takes its power from an external power supply unit and can therefore provide full power (up to 500 mA) to every port.
Portanto, a menos que o multiport seja auto-alimentado, existe um limite prático no que você pode suportar.