You will probably agree that it’s often a challenging task to access a locally attached USB device when working over RDP in a remote desktop environment. As a workaround, you can try to connect the required peripheral directly to the remote machine but, as you know, this is not possible in most cases.
For example, you are working with a thin client which has limited functionality and need to connect to a server that is more powerful. You access the server machine over RDP and run an application installed there. If this program requires some data provided by your local USB peripheral, it can be quite problematic to redirect it to the app.
Fortunately, there’s a solution that lets you forget about the problem of remote access to USB over RDP once and for all. In this article, we are going to tell you about an efficient and user-friendly software application that allows providing USB for remote desktop with nothing more than a couple of clicks.
If you want to connect to a local USB device from a remote desktop, there’s probably no better solution than USB Redirector by Electronic Team, Inc. This dedicated app is designed to redirect USB peripherals over RDP in such a way that they appear on a remote machine like they were physically attached to that computer.
To take advantage of the app’s powerful functionality, you should install the utility on both computers: the one that has the device attached (UNG Server) and the one that will connect to it remotely (UNG Client).
USB Network Gate is a convenient tool that combines both Server and Client parts in one app.
It’s worth noting that USB Network Gate requires registration. You need to register the software for using it on the server computer (UNG Server). It will give you the ability to share USB ports and devices connected to them. As for the Client part, it doesn’t need to be registered. You can install the app and use the Client module on an unlimited number of remote machines and connect to shared devices for free.
So, once you create a connection to a shared peripheral with the help of RDP USB redirector software, the device shows up in the Device Manager of the RDP Server and all applications installed on that machine recognize the peripheral as though it were attached locally.
Note: Starting from version 7.x, USB Network Gate supports the ICA protocol, which means you can forward devices from a thin client to the terminal server over ICA.
When it comes to sharing USB devices over RDP within small companies and big enterprises, system administrators should always keep track of networks used by employees and devices they try to redirect to a virtual environment.
Some devices provide better performance when used in a USB over RDP session. This should be taken into account by an IT team that selects peripherals to be used with USB redirector software.
Devices that require substantial resources are not good candidates for USB redirection.
For example, scanners fall into this category for their reliance on sequential processes. In some cases, USB redirection software will not allow scanners to be shared over the network or will only work with a limited set of their features.
Inordinate bandwidth consumption is another problem that you may face when trying certain types of devices for USB redirection. This is certainly true of video and audio devices. Redirecting their data can result in slowing down the work of the whole network. These types of devices are not recommended for use with USB redirection software.
Frequently Asked Questions
