Specifications

Configuring Virtual Ports
You can add virtual parallel (LPT) ports and virtual serial (COM) ports to a virtual machine. A Player
virtual machine can use up to three parallel ports and up to four virtual serial ports.
n
Add a Virtual Parallel Port to a Virtual Machine on page 87
You can attach up to three bidirectional parallel (LPT) ports to a virtual machine. Virtual parallel ports
can output to parallel ports or to files on the host system.
n
Configure a Virtual Parallel Port on a Linux 2.6.x Kernel Host on page 88
Linux 2.6.x kernels that support parallel ports use the modprobe modulename and modprobe parport_pc
modules. Player requires that the parallel port PC-style hardware option (CONFIG_PARPORT_PC) is
built and loaded as a kernel module.
n
Configure Permissions for a Parallel Port Device on a Linux Host on page 89
Some Linux distributions do not grant a virtual machine access to the lp and parport devices by
default. If this is the case on your Linux host system, you must add the VMware user to the group that
has permission to access those devices.
n
Troubleshoot ECR Errors for Parallel Ports on page 89
A parallel port on the host system does not have an Extended Control Register (ECR).
n
Add a Virtual Serial Port to a Virtual Machine on page 90
You can add up to four serial (COM) ports to a virtual machine. Virtual serial ports can output to
physical serial ports, files, or named pipes.
n
Change the Input Speed of a Serial Connection on page 91
You can increase the speed of a serial connection over a pipe to a virtual machine.
Add a Virtual Parallel Port to a Virtual Machine
You can attach up to three bidirectional parallel (LPT) ports to a virtual machine. Virtual parallel ports can
output to parallel ports or to files on the host system.
Parallel ports are used for a variety of devices, including printers, scanners, dongles, and disk drives.
Although these devices can connect to the host system, only printers can reliably connect to virtual
machines by using parallel ports.
Player provides only partial emulation of PS/2 hardware. Interrupts that a device connected to a physical
port requests are not passed to the virtual machine. The guest operating system cannot use direct memory
access (DMA) to move data to or from the port. For this reason, not all devices that attach to a parallel port
work correctly. Do not use virtual parallel ports to connect parallel port storage devices or other types of
parallel port devices to a virtual machine.
Prerequisites
n
If you are using a Linux host system that has a 2.6.x kernel, verify that the parallel port PC-style
hardware option (CONFIG_PARPORT_PC) is built and loaded as a kernel module. See “Configure a
Virtual Parallel Port on a Linux 2.6.x Kernel Host,” on page 88.
n
If you are using a Linux host system that does not grant virtual machines access to the lp and parport
devices by default, add the VMware user to the group that has permission to access those devices. See
“Configure Permissions for a Parallel Port Device on a Linux Host,” on page 89.
n
Power off the virtual machine.
Procedure
1 Select the virtual machine and select Player > Manage > Virtual Machine Settings.
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices
VMware, Inc. 87