Olga Weis
Despite all the dividends virtualization technologies can offer to your business, i.a. budget savings on hardware and software purchase, and much more flexible IT-asset control, they sure have some weak spots.
For example, your ESXi VM may not detect some of the local USB devices and they won’t show up in the Device Manager. Or you may access a physical device from the virtual machine but still have issues getting it to function correctly. Another problem arises when you try adding a USB to the virtual machine but it doesn’t have any free USB ports left.
From this article, you’ll find out how to connect USB to VMware virtual machines easily and securely and finally answer the long-standing question: How do I get VMware to recognize my USB?
Technically speaking, it’s all about setting a USB controller into passthrough mode so that you can access USB inside the virtual machine (VMware workstation). Does VMware support USB passthrough? Well, yes, but in a very narrow-gauge way so the easiest way to do that is by the use of a dedicated USB redirection app.
USB Redirector (aka USB Network Gate) is a special-purpose utility that acts as a wireless connector linking your USB devices to VMware machines. It works both for the local USB ports and devices, and for the ones attached to any network-connected computer. The solution works seamlessly with VMware vSphere, VMware ESXi, many other virtual environments, and all popular operating systems.
You can use the VMware USB passthrough feature to connect up to 20 physical devices with a USB interface and USB port to each VM or ESXi host. When you add a virtual USB controller, ensure you have installed a VMware USB driver on your guest OS.
Here are the three components you need to connect a USB drive to a VMware virtual machine:
Note: to use USB 3.0, VM hardware must be version 8 or higher.
To safely remove a virtual USB controller from your VM, start by removing all USB devices connected to it.
✅ With USB Network Gate’s advanced port virtualization technology you can redirect USB peripherals to the virtual environment without any limitations in the type of the hardware, or operating systems you’re redirecting them from.
✅ It’s much less expensive than the infamous VMware Horizon Client.
✅ Unlike the native methods only good for redirecting PCI devices and USB memory sticks, USB Network Gate can set into the passthrough mode any USB-based peripherals, i.a. a keyboard with a bootable HID interface, a webcam, POS device, an industrial automation system, a USB hub, or a USB 3.0 XHCi controller.
✅ UNG is so easy to use adding a USB to an ESXi VM won’t require manually changing any settings or dealing with the USB arbitrator service.
If purchasing a proper software tool is not an option, you can try setting up USB redirection to VMware with standard features.
But before you start, please be aware of these restrictions:
❌ This method won’t work for any peripheral that’s not plugged into the host’s USB port (though it can be used for redirecting some PCI devices).
❌ The USB arbitrator service must be enabled (manually).
❌ Chances are high it won’t work for a USB 3.0 XHCi controller, or any USB peripheral other than a storage device or USB memory stick.
❌ The maximum number of devices that can be connected at the same time is two.
❌ You can’t use it to redirect a USB hub, only a storage device connected there.
So, finally, here’s your answer to a question ‘How do I access USB on VMware with native methods?’:
