6.0

Remove a USB Device from a Virtual Machine
When you remove a USB device from a virtual machine, it reverts to the host and becomes available to other
virtual machines that run on that host.
To minimize the risk of data loss, follow the instructions to safely unmount or eject hardware for your
operating system. Safely removing hardware allows accumulated data to be transmitted to a file. Windows
operating systems typically include a "Remove Hardware" icon located in the System Tray. Linux operating
systems use the umount command.
NOTE It might be necessary to use the sync command instead of or in addition to the umount command, for
example after you issue a dd command on Linux or other UNIX operating systems.
Procedure
1 Unmount or eject the USB device from the guest operating system.
2 Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings.
3 Click the Hardware tab and select the USB device.
4 Click Remove and click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.
USB Configuration from a Client Computer to a Virtual Machine in the
vSphere Client
You can add multiple USB devices to a virtual machine when the physical devices connect to a client
computer on which the vSphere Client is running. The vSphere Client must be logged in to an instance of
vCenter Server that manages the ESXi host or directly into the host where the virtual machines reside. USB
passthrough technology supports adding multiple USB devices, such as security dongles, mass storage
devices, and smartcard readers to virtual machines.
How USB Device Passthrough Technology Works
The USB controller is the USB hardware chip that provides USB function to the USB ports that it manages.
USB controller hardware and modules that support USB 3.0, 2.0, and USB 1.1 devices must exist in the
virtual machine. Two USB controllers are available for each virtual machine. The controllers support
multiple USB 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1 devices. The controller must be present before you can add USB devices to the
virtual machine.
You can add up to 20 USB devices to a virtual machine. This is the maximum number of devices supported
for simultaneous connection to one virtual machine.
You can add multiple devices to a virtual machine, but only one at a time. The virtual machine retains its
connection to the device while in S1 standby. USB device connections are preserved when you migrate
virtual machines to another host in the datacenter.
A USB device is available to only one powered-on virtual machine at a time. When a virtual machine
connects to a device, that device is no longer available to other virtual machines or to the client computer.
When you disconnect the device from the virtual machine or shut the virtual machine down, the device
returns to the client computer and becomes available to other virtual machines that the client computer
manages.
For example, when you connect a USB mass storage device to a virtual machine, it is removed from the
client computer and does not appear as a drive with a removable device. When you disconnect the device
from the virtual machine, it reconnects to the client computer's operating system and is listed as a removable
device.
Chapter 15 Configuring Virtual Machines in the vSphere Client
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