Submit your email address to get a link for quick download on your desktop and get started!
It’s no secret for active Microsoft hypervisor users that setting up Hyper-V USB passthrough is a good alternative way of accessing local resources from the guest operating systems. Some even say that when it comes to redirecting USB over Ethernet, Hyper-V server is much easier to use than a VMware ESX one, largely due to its enhanced session mode.
In this article, we’re going to figure out what Hyper-V enhanced session mode is, learn about its main specifics and how you can use it to the fullest.
Technically speaking, it’s a special mode created to link the VMConnect.exe application with the host machine's VMBus component. Simply put, when you turn on the Enhanced Session Mode, all local devices like USB dongle keys, SCSI controllers, etc., become instantly accessible from your guest OS through the console connection. The same thing is also true for USB redirection over Ethernet. You’ll be able to access not only the devices attached to the host but the ones connected to other PCs in your network too.
This feature of enhanced session mode can be instrumental in many various scenarios where a VM needs to interact with local resources but may not be able to achieve network connectivity.
Here are some examples:
On top of that, Hyper-V USB passthrough is widely used by software and hardware developers, especially the ones focused on products for Windows users. The enhanced session mode makes testing and debugging USB applications from within a VM much faster and easier.
Much unlike a VMware workstation, a Windows Hyper-V won’t require you to download any additional libraries or components to enable the enhanced session mode. All you need to do is make some minor changes to your Hyper-V configuration. Here is a quick guide:
If you need to set up a USB passthrough on a Linux machine, enable the enhanced session mode or use a specifically designed USB redirector, e.g., USB Network Gate. Unlike the native method, UNG has no limitations when it comes to the device type, brand, shape, or form. You won’t have to suffer through endless lags using redirected PnP devices and will be able to pass through a USB hub with a less fiddly set-up process compared to features embedded into MS Hyper-V.
✓ The OS of the virtual machine supports enhanced session mode.
✓ The VM is running Remote Desktop Service.
✓ The Virtual Machine Connection tools requested an enhanced session mode connection.
Enhanced session mode is used to configure user settings. Enabling this setting allows the Virtual Machine Connection tool to use enhanced session mode if it is available in the guest VM. Hence, the user automatically gains access to local peripherals without any additional USB redirector tools.
To use the enhanced session mode, your set-up must meet these conditions:
When you disable the enhanced session mode setting, it forces the Virtual Machine Connection tool to use the methods previously seen in pre-R2 Hyper-V releases.