6.0.1

Add USB Devices from an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine
You can add one or more USB passthrough devices from an ESXi host to a virtual machine if the physical
devices are connected to the host on which the virtual machine runs.
If a USB device is connected to another virtual machine, you cannot add it until that machine releases it.
NOTE If you have the Apple Frontpanel Controller device in your environment, you can safely add it to a
virtual machine. However, this device has no documented function and no known use. ESXi hosts do not
use it and do not provide Xserver functionality for USB passthrough.
Prerequisites
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Verify that the virtual machine is compatible with ESX/ESXi 4.0 and later.
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Verify that a USB controller is present. See “Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine,” on page 143.
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To use vMotion to migrate a virtual machine with multiple USB devices, enable all attached USB
devices for vMotion. You cannot migrate individual USB devices. For vMotion limitations, see
“Configuring USB Devices for vMotion,” on page 141.
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When you add a CD/DVD-ROM drive that is backed by a USB CD/DVD drive on the host, add the
drive as a SCSI device. Hot adding and removing SCSI devices is not supported.
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Verify that you know the virtual machine requirements for USB devices. See “USB Configuration from
an ESXi Host to a Virtual Machine,” on page 139.
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Required privileges: Virtual Machine.Configuration.HostUSBDevice
Procedure
1 Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.
2 On the Virtual Hardware tab, select Host USB Device from the New device drop-down menu, and
click Add.
The new USB device appears at the bottom of the Virtual Hardware device list.
3 Expand New USB Device, and select the device to add.
You can add multiple USB devices, but only one device at a time.
4 If you do not plan to migrate a virtual machine with USB devices attached, deselect the Support
vMotion option.
This action reduces migration complexity, which results in better performance and stability.
5 Click OK.
Remove USB Devices That Are Connected Through an ESXi Host
When you remove USB devices from a virtual machine, devices that use passthrough technology from a
host to the virtual machine revert to the host. The devices become available to other virtual machines that
run on that host.
Prerequisites
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Verify that the devices are not in use.
Chapter 6 Configuring Virtual Machine Hardware
VMware, Inc. 145