Specifications

You can use smart cards with Windows operating systems and most Linux distributions. VMware provides
full smart card support for Windows virtual machines running on Linux hosts. Using smart cards in Linux
typically requires third-party software to effectively authenticate to a domain or enable secure
communications.
NOTE Although smart cards should work with common Linux browsers, email applications, and directory
services, these products have not been tested or certified by VMware.
Use a Smart Card in a Virtual Machine
You can configure a virtual machine to use the smart card reader on the host system.
Prerequisites
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On a Windows host, start the SCardSvr.exe service.
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On a Linux host, verify that the libpcsclite library is installed and that the pcscd daemon is running.
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Verify that the virtual machine has a USB controller. A USB controller is required, regardless of whether
the smart card reader is a USB device. A USB controller is added by default when you create a virtual
machine.
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Connect the smart card reader to the host system.
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Start the virtual machine
Procedure
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To connect the smart card reader to the virtual machine, select the virtual machine and select Player >
Removable Devices > Shared <smart_card_reader_model> > Connect.
If the smart card reader is a USB device, two items appear for it in the menu. Both items use the model
name of the reader, but one item name begins with Virtual.
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To disconnect the smart card reader from the virtual machine, select Player > Removable Devices >
Shared <smart_card_reader_model> > Disconnect.
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To remove the smart card from the virtual machine, select Player > Removable Devices > Shared
<smart_card_reader_model> > Remove Smart Card.
The smart card is removed from the virtual machine, but it remains connected on the host system. If the
smart card is physically removed from the smart card reader, this option is disabled.
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To insert the smart card to the virtual machine, select Player > Removable Devices > Shared
<smart_card_reader_model> > Insert Smart Card.
If the smart card is physically inserted in the smart card reader, the smart card is also inserted in the
virtual machine.
Disable Smart Card Sharing
By default, you can share a smart card between virtual machines or between the host system and one or
more virtual machines. You might want to disable smart card sharing if you are using a PCMCIA smart card
reader, deploying virtual machines for enterprise use and do not want to support drivers for various smart
card readers, or the host system has drivers but the virtual machines do not.
The setting that controls smart card sharing is located in the Player global configuration file.
Getting Started with VMware Player
58 VMware, Inc.