6.5.1

Table Of Contents
Procedure
1 Click Virtual Machines in the VMware Host Client inventory.
2 Right-click a virtual machine in the list and select Edit settings from the pop-up menu.
3 On the Virtual Hardware tab, click Add other device, and click USB Controller from the drop-down
menu.
The new USB controller appears at the bottom of the Virtual Hardware device list.
4 Expand New USB Controller to change the USB controller type.
If compatibility errors appear, fix them before you add the controller.
5 Click Save.
What to do next
Add one or more USB devices to the virtual machine.
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 in the VMware
Host Client.
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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.
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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.
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Required privileges: Virtual Machine.Configuration.HostUSBDevice
Procedure
1 Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
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