Specifications

Table Of Contents
VMware, Inc. 233
Chapter 8 Configuring Devices
! “Using!USB!with!a!Windows!Host”!on!page 235
! “Replacing!USB!2.0!Drivers!on!a!Windows!2000!Host”!on!page 235
! “Using!USB!with!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 235
! “USB!Device!Control”!on!page 236
! “Disconnecting!USB!Devices!from!a!Virtual!Machine!on!page 237
! “This!is!particularly!important!with!data!storage!devices!(a!Zip!drive,!for!
example).!If!you!move!a!data!storage!device!too!soon!after!saving!a!file!and!the!
operating!system!has!not!actually!written!the!data!to!the!disk,!you!can!lose!data.”!
on!page 237
VMware!Server!provides!a!twoport!
USB!1.1!controller.!You!can!use!up!to!two!USB!
devices!in!your!virtual!machine!if!both!your!host!operating!system!and!your!guest!
operating!system!support!USB.!If!your!host!computer!supports!USB!2.0!devices,!you!
can!use!those!devices!in!the!virtual!machine.
NOTE Linux!kernels!older!than!2.2.17!do!not!support!USB.
Although!your!host!operating!system!must!support!USB,!you!do!not!need!to!install!
devicespecific!drivers!for!your!USB!devices!in!the!host!operating!system!to!use!those!
devices!only!in!the!virtual!machine.!
On!a!Windows!2000!host!computer!with!
USB!2.0!support,!be!sure!you!are!using!the!
Microsoft!USB!2.0!driver!for!the!USB!controller.!Thirdparty!USB!2.0!drivers,!such!as!
those!provided!by!some!motherboard!manufacturers,!are!not!supported.!For!notes!on!
replacing!the!thirdparty!drivers,!see!“Replacing!USB!2.0!Drivers!on!a!Windows!2000!
Host”
!on!page 235.
Notes on USB Support
We!have!tested!a!variety!of!USB!devices!with!this!release.!In!general,!if!the!guest!
operating!system!has!appropriate!drivers,!you!should!be!able!to!use!PDAs,!printers,!
storage!(disk)!devices,!scanners,!MP3!players,!PC!radios,!digital!cameras,!and!memory!
card!readers.
Modems!and!certain!streaming!data!devices,!such!as!
speakers!and!Web!cams,!do!not!
work!properly.!
Adding a USB Controller
The!USB!controller!is!disabled!by!default!in!all!virtual!machines!created!with!VMware!
Server.To!add!a!USB!controller!to!the!virtual!machine’s!configuration,!complete!the!