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USB Redirector
USB device redirection to any environment

USB Redirector is a professional software solution that allows any number
of USB devices or interfaces to be shared across an IP-based network such as a LAN, WAN, VLAN, VPN to the Internet.

USB Redirector is available for the Windows, Mac, Android and Linux operating systems. The clients can be from multiple platforms and can interact with the USB redirector server regardless of differences in their operating systems. It’s a true cross-platform solution for sharing USB devices.
Corporate, SDK & Source code
Whether you're looking at redistributing our USB port redirection engine as a part of your product or considering USB Network Gate for an enterprise-wide deployment, we offer flexible and affordable corporate solutions designed to meet your needs.

Here are some situations where you can use USB Redirection software

USB redirection to a remote desktop

One of the problems faced with remote desktop sessions is the inability to create local USB over RDP connectivity. Locally-attached devices are not available from within the remote desktop session. Getting around this limitation is easy with USB redirection to RDP software.

USB devices in a virtual machine session

Using USB Redirector enables VM users to access USB devices that are connected to any physical machine on your network, including the local host computer. Here’s how to use USB Redirector with a virtual machine.

Access MFD from any room of your office

A typical example of using USB Redirector in an office setting is to share a multifunction device such as a printer/scanner with multiple coworkers. You certainly don’t want to be moving the equipment around to allow various users to access the device. You might also want to use USB Redirector with a license key or dongle without being required to plug it into everyone’s computer.

USB redirection for thin/zero clients

Thin clients can also take advantage of USB Redirector. Share USB devices that are connected to the thin client on the local machine and use them from a remote desktop.

Access USB devices from blade servers

Access to USB devices from a remote blade server is also possible with USB Redirector. Simply connect the device to any computer in the network which will act as the server. Install USB Redirector on this machine as well as the blade server client. Share the device from the server and the blade server can obtain its full functionality.

USB Redirector for macOS, Linux and Windows

This USB Redirector software can be run on the Windows, Linux or macOS operating systems. It offers a true cross-platform solution, supporting any combination of servers and clients. Share devices attached to any type of server with all supported clients without compatibility issues.

Supported devices

USB Redirector easily connects one or more remote USB devices to your machine over any network (Ethernet, IP/TCP, Internet, LAN or WAN).

Equipment

 
  • 3D Printers
  • Cameras
  • Card readers
  • Digital TV Tuners
  • Webcams
  • Personal video recorder
  • Fingerprint readers
  • ID card scanners
  • Interactive Whiteboards
  • Modems
  • USB ANT Stick
  • Portable Thermometers
  • Multifunctionals
  • Plotters, Cutters
  • Printers
  • Scanners
  • USB Scales
  • Barcode scanners
  • Spectrophotometers
  • Universal Programmers
  • USB Monitors
  • USB Wireless Presenter
  • Smart Card Readers
  • Digital Mixers

Communication

 
  • BlackBerry
  • Gamepads
  • Graphic Tablets
  • Handhelds
  • Home Monitoring & Control System
  • iPads & iPhones
  • iPods
  • Keyboards
  • MIDI Controllers
  • Mouse Devices
  • USB Dongles
  • USB DVD Drives
  • Android Devices
  • USB Hard Drives
  • Wireless Weather Stations
  • USB VOIP (Skype) Phone
  • Universal remote control

Data Input/Output

 
  • Bluetooth adapters
  • Credit Card Readers
  • Depth Sensors
  • Elgato Turbo.264HD Hardware Accelerator
  • Infrared adapters
  • J2534 interface cables
  • JTAG/SWD debugging interface
  • KNX/EIB USB Interface
  • Software Defined Receiver
  • USB Adapters
  • USB Graphic Adapter
  • USB Network interfaces
  • USB Satellite Receivers
  • USB sound cards/headsets
  • USB TAPs
  • USB to COM cables
  • USB Wi-Fi adapters
* Note that we cannot guarantee that all the models of the device types mentioned above are supported. If you have found that the model you are using fails to work with USB Redirector, contact us. We will highly appreciate your assistance in this matter.

Improved Windows USB device isolation


A drawback of the Windows operating system is its default handling of USB devices. There is no effective, built-in facility that allows you to control which users have access to specific USB devices. This can be problematic when several users are sharing a Windows computer or when a machine hosts many RDP sessions. USB Network Gate offers a solution to the problem of limiting access to USB peripherals.
Illustration Isolation

Per-session isolation

This feature allows you to assign a USB device to an individual RDP user while making it unavailable to others. You can be sure that you have exclusive use of the device with this option as it will not be recognized by other remote desktop sessions.

Per-user isolation

This option lets you isolate a USB device that is already connected to your computer to make it inaccessible to other Windows users. You might use this option to retain control of a device by an individual user when they are switching between multiple accounts.

Note: We have tested USB device isolation with many types of equipment like printers, scanners, cameras, and sound cards to name a few. You can use the isolation feature on machines running Windows 8 or newer versions of the OS and any type of Windows Server.

Learn more about USB isolation

How to redirect USB devices in 4 steps?


Step-By-Step instructions with a Video Tutorial!
Step 1
1
Download USB Redirector and install the software on both machines.
Step 2
2
Share a USB device from the physical machine (server). This can be the local host or any network-connected computer.
Step 3
3
Create a connection on a client machine to the remotely shared device.
Step 4
4
USB devices that are shared with USB Redirector show up immediately in the remote machine’s Device Manager.

Frequently Asked Questions

Using this USB redirector software as USB Network Gate allows you to define client remote computers that interact with USB devices connected to a server. The USB redirector client machines gain full functionality to the network-attached peripheral devices and can use them as if they were physically connected. When using USB redirection, the devices are recognized as local devices by applications so there is no negative impact on system performance.

USB redirector does not share the actual devices. It works by sharing the USB ports which then enables devices to be hot-swapped using the shared interface. You can unplug a device and connect a new one which will be immediately made available to the remote client.
1. USB Redirector needs to be installed on the local machine which has the USB device connected. This computer will be the server. The RDP USB redirector software also is required to be installed on the remote machine which you connect to with your RDP session.

2. Use the software’s interface to share the USB device on the local machine. From within the RDP session, simply use the software to connect to the shared device. That’s all you need to do to access any network-attached USB device from within an RDP session with USB Redirector.
The active window of a virtual machine cannot access USB peripherals connected to its physical host computer. Accessing USB devices from a VM is limited by the number of USB ports available on the virtual machine. Using USB Redirector solves this problem for VM users.

  1. Download USB Redirector and install the software on the real and virtual machines.

  2. Share a USB device from the physical machine (server). This can be the local host or any network-connected computer.

  3. Create a connection from the virtual machine client to the remotely shared device.

  4. USB devices that are shared with USB Redirector show up immediately in the virtual machine’s Device Manager. You can use the remote USB device in your session with the same functionality as if it were directly attached to your computer.
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