Specifications

Table Of Contents
VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide
236 VMware, Inc.
file!system,!you!can!change!it!in!the!virtual!machine!settings!editor!(VM!>!Settings!>!
USB).!Enter!the! correct!path!in!the!Path!to!usbdevfs!field.
USB Device Control
Only!one!computer,!host!or!guest,!can!have!control!of!a!USB!device!at!any!one!time.!
Device Control on a Windows Host
When!you!connect!a!device!to!a!virtual!machine,!it!is!“unplugged”!from!the!host!or!
from!the!virtual!machine!that!previously!had!control!of!the!device.!When!you!
disconnect!a!device!from!a!virtual!machine,!it!is!“plugged!in”!to!the!host.
CAUTION You!need!to!take!a!special!step!to!disconnect!USB!network!and!storage!
devices!from!the!host.!There!is!a!system!tray!icon!called!Eject!Hardware!
on!Windows!2000!and!Safely!Remove!Hardware!on!Windows!Server!
2003.!Use!this!icon!to!disconnect!the!device!from!the!host!before!
connecting!it!to!a!virtual!machine.
When!you!connect!a!USB!network!or!storage!device!in!a!virtual!machine,!you!might!see!
a!message!on!your!host!that!says!the!device!can!be!removed!safely.!This!is!normal!
behavior,!and!you!can!simply!dismiss!the!dialog!box.!However,!do!not!remove!
the!
device!from!your!physical!computer.!VMware!Server!automatically!transfers!control!of!
the!device!to!the!virtual!machine.
Under!some!circumstances,!if!a!USB!storage!device!is!in!use!on!the!host!(for!example,!
one!or!more!files!stored!on!the!device!are!open!on!the!host),!an!error!appears!in!
the!
virtual!machine!when!you!try!to!connect!to!the!device.!You!must!let!the!host!complete!
its!operation!or!close!any!application!connected!to!the!device!on!the!host.!Reconnect!the!
device!in!the!virtual!machine.
Device Control on a Linux Host
On!Linux!hosts,!guest!operating!systems!can!use!devices!that!are!not!already!in!use!by!
the!host!!that!is,!devices!that!are!not!claimed!by!a!host!operating!system!driver.
If!your!device!is!in!use!by!the!host!and!you!try!to!connect!it!to!the!guest!using!
the!VM!
>!Removable!Devices!menu,!a!dialog!box!appears,!informing!you!that!there!is!a!
problem!connecting!to!the!device.
To!disconnect!the!device!from!the!host,!you!must!unload!the!device!driver.!You!can!
unload!the!driver!manually!as!root!(su -)!using!the!rmmod!command.!If!the!driver!
was!
automatically!loaded!by!hotplug,!you!can!disable!it!in!the!hotplug!configuration!files!
in!the!/etc/hotplug!directory.!See!your!Linux!distribution’s!documentation!for!details!
on!editing!these!configuration!files.