Specifications

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VMware GSX Server Virtual Machine Guide
If a virtual machine is using the parallel port, the host and any users accessing the host
are not given access to the device. GSX Server puts a lock on the device, and this lock
restricts access so only the virtual machine can use the port.
You can choose VM > Removable Devices to disconnect the parallel port from the
virtual machine and reconnect it.
Parallel Ports and Linux 2.2.x Kernels
The 2.2.x kernels that support parallel ports use the parport, parport_pc and
vmppuser modules. Be sure that PC Style Hardware (CONFIG_PARPORT_PC) is
loaded as a module, as mentioned at the beginning of Using Parallel Ports on
page 290. The vmppuser module is supplied by GSX Server to give virtual machines
user-level access to the parallel port.
To see if these modules are installed and running on your system, run the lsmod
command as the root user. These three modules should be included in the listing of
running modules. You can also look at the /proc/modules file for the same list.
To load the proper modules, run this command:
insmod –k <modulename>
If none of the listed parallel port modules is running, use this command:
insmod –k parport_pc
This command inserts the three modules needed for a parallel port.
If you continue to see problems, it is possible that the lp module is running. If it is, the
virtual machine cannot use the parallel port correctly. To remove the lp module, run
this command as the root user:
rmmod lp
You should also ensure that the line referring to the lp module in the
/etc/modules.conf or /etc/conf.modules file is removed or commented
out by inserting a hash character (#) at the beginning of the line. The name of the
configuration file depends on your Linux distribution. When you reboot the host after
removing this line, the configuration file no longer starts the lp module.
To ensure that the proper modules for the parallel port are loaded at boot time, add
this line to the /etc/modules.conf or /etc/conf.modules file:
alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc
Device Permissions
Some Linux distributions by default do not grant the virtual machine access to the lp
and parport devices. In most of these cases, the owner of the device is root and