Olga Weis
You will probably agree that it’s often challenging to access usb devices in a remote desktop session. As a workaround, you can try to connect the required peripheral directly to the remote machine or share a USB over the network.
For example, when you work with a thin client which has limited functionality and you need to connect to a more powerful server. In that case, you will 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.
In this article, we are going to tell you about an efficient and user-friendly software application for redirecting USBs to a 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.
USB Network Gate (UNG) allows you to connect usb devices to a remote desktop. 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 for RDP USB passthrough.
It’s worth noting that USB Network Gate requires activation. You need to activate the software for using it on the server computer (UNG Server). After that, you will be able to forward the USB device to the remote desktop. 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, 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.
USB to Remote Desktop software hosts versions for Windows, Linux, and Mac, so any server-client combination is possible. For example, your Windows PC can easily connect to a USB device from Mac or the other way around.
Accessing USB devices during Remote Desktop sessions can be quite a challenge for many users. To solve the problem faced by those who can’t utilize their USBs from Remote Desktops, top-of-the-line USB for Remote Desktop solutions must offer:
When it comes to using local USB devices on a remote desktop 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 USB devices provide better performance when used in a remote desktop session. This should be taken into account by an IT team that configures access to USB devices within an RDP environment.
Note that 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, RDP scanner redirection will not be possible or will only work with a limited set of their features.
Implementing Remote Desktop scanning in digital environments such as cloud or terminal servers can be extremely challenging. When Remote Desktop scanner redirection isn’t supported by default, it’s time to introduce a reliable USB to Remote Desktop software.
Software of this kind allows users to freely access USB scanners over RDP with the same degree of functionality as if the device was physically connected to the peripheral machine performing a Remote Desktop session.
For those using gamepads to play computer games, and wish to run the gamepad on a stronger workstation/machine, a remote environment permitting access via RDP is needed.
USB to Remote Desktop software gives users the ability to share their gaming controller to remote desktop, and then establish a connection to the preferred gaming host.
Once the connection is made, games will treat the remotely-accessed controller as if it’s plugged directly into the PC hosting the session.
Even today, connecting a 3D mouse to a remote desktop while having full functionality (use of buttons, macros, movements, etc) still poses a challenge. Hundreds of CAD and 3D-modelling professionals can’t utilize 3D mice on remote machines while using the Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol.
These issues occur because certain USB devices with more complex functionality (like a 3D mouse would possess) cannot redirect to remote desktops running Microsoft RDP protocol.
Today, forwarding a webcam to a remote desktop session is not that uncommon considering that the number of people being transitioned to the remote style of work is getting larger every day. Remote desktop connection is getting widely used to accommodate such a working style, however, it may be quite difficult to establish a connection between a local webcam and an RDP session.Share webcam over RDP.
The main issue with the webcams is that they are not getting recognized by the remote machine. It can be fixed by either tweaking a few settings or redirecting a device with USB to Remote Desktop software.
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 the remote desktop.
Accessing external hard drives via remote desktop connection from a local computer is quite simple. Similar to how copying files via network share works, disk drive redirection (including CD-ROM disk drives, hard disk drives, mapped network disk drives, etc), makes it easy to transfer files from a local host computer to a remote machine.
Run Microsoft Windows Explorer to see files on every redirected disk drive. Another option is to use My Computer to view redirected disk drive content. Drives display as: "drive_letter on terminal_server_client_name" when viewed by both Windows Explorer, and My Computer.
Generic USB Redirection is a feature that enables the Citrix USB redirection of varying devices from client computers to virtual desktops.
Generic USB Redirection manages request and response communication amongst XenDesktop VMs and client PCs at low levels. As long as the required device drivers are installed on the virtual desktop, one can avoid the hassle that occurs when installing them on client machines.
Using Generic USB Redirection allows users to access and control an array of USB devices through XenDesktop sessions. Users enjoy full control of their USB devices with the same level of functionality that one would experience if the device was plugged directly into the virtual machine.
Thin clients use Remote Desktop Protocol, Citrix ICA, or any other communication protocols as a way of connecting to the terminal servers. This allows for remote printing, audio support, serial device support, terminal emulation, and support for USB devices.
Usually, when a USB device is connected to a thin client via a physical port, it becomes immediately accessible during local sessions. However, a thin client USB passthrough can come with few challenges:
Incorporating dedicated software for thin client USB redirection is the most convenient way to deal with these challenges.
Poor support or inability to connect complex USB devices (like scanners or webcams with the built-in microphone) over RDP is a typical problem with Linux RDP USB redirection.
Usually, Linux RDP clients are capable of redirecting some generic USB devices among which are printers and USB hard drives. To make this list larger, you can use USB Network Gate to share USB devices over RDP on Linux.
Unfortunately, Google Chrome Remote Desktop does not provide a native method for sharing USB devices over Chrome Remote Desktop, which is a great functionality limitation. This issue has been around for years, but still, Google has not offered native support for Chrome Remote Desktop USB redirection.
Fortunately, USB Network Gate solves the problem and enables users to gain full control over USB devices from within Chrome Remote Desktop instances.
