Can't get USB redirection to work

[JohanCh]

Hi.

I are evaluation VMWare View 4.6 and have registrer and downloaded the binarys.But I seems to missing something quite basic.

I have installed a Connection server running on a virtual Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard server and it seems fine since I can connect to a virtual Windows 7 x64 machine from a HP t5740e running View Client 4.6 over PCoIP. I'm not running VC, and all the machines are running on a ESXi 4.1 host on a Cisco UCS C200 it that makes any difference.

I have selected "Auto-connect USB devices" option on the connection bar, but if I connect a standard USB stick in the client, it dosen't apper in the remote session. I have checked that the USB redirection is enabled in on the Connection server policy, and that the USB device driver on both the client and the remote computer is enabled and seems to work as expected.

What else should I do to get this to work? I have also tied to look at the logfiles that gets produced on the client, but I can't see any error or so, but I don't realy know what I should look for. There is no firewall blocking the traffic. The Windows firewall is turned of on both the client and the remote session.

Best regards,

Johan Christensson

[JohanCh]

A little update.

It just accured to me that there was no USB controller on the virtual Windows 7 machine, so I added that, and I even reinstalled the View Agent on the machine, but still no USB devices get redirected.

Any tips? Chould it be a license issue?

/Johan Christensson

[alelondon · Accepted solution]

I'd definitely get the network checked once again. Make sure port 4172 TCP and UDP is open in both directions.

Other than that I have no more ideas

[Linjo]

HP sometimes preinstall their own software for USB-redirection etc, have a look at the pre-installed programs and remove all that could be related to remote-connections, citrix, SAM, anti-virus etc.

// Linjo

[sm4rtins]

I suggest you trying to connect through another computer like a desktop running windows with vmware view client and test it(just to be sure that the problem isn't on the thinclient).If works than will be better to review your domain polices...

maybe, haven't you disabled something on the bios of the virtual machine, like usb?

cheers.

[JohanCh]

Hi, and thanks for all the suggestions.

This is what I have done so far:

• I have tested to connect to the same virtual machine using standard RDP (using mstsc.exe) and with the drive redirection option "Drives that I connect later" enabled a USB drive that I plug into the HP client apperese without any delay in the remote machine.
  
• I have uninstalled and Citrix Online plugin and Remote Graphic Reciver. The later one initiated a re-installation of the USB hub in the client.
  
• I have checked the BIOS in the virtual machine and can't find any USB settings at all. I have however disabled Serial, Parallel and the floppy controler, but I can't see what that shoudl have to do with USB.
  
• I have checked that the Windows firewall is turned of for the active profile on both the HP client and the virtual machine. I have also checked the connection in between since I'm connection over a VPN tunnel at the moment, but there is "allow all" rule in both directions on the VPN/Firewalls. (Cisco ASA devices running EasyVPN). I have also checked the firewall log to see if there are any traffic that get's blocked och dropped for som reason. But so fare non.
  
• I also installed the VMWare View 4.6 client in my laptop and connected to the virtual machine with the -ConnectUSBOnStartup and -ConnectUSBOnInsert options set to true.
  

Hmm, can't think of anything else at the moment.... Aren't there any kind of logfiles that I should take a look at? The eventlog dosen't say that much that I can relate to this. There ain't any possibility that this is due to that I'm running on an evaluation licens and not using a vCenter server? I know, I'm really starting to grasp anything that I can think of.

I have to say that this kind of takes the edge of VMWare View, because this was on of the reasons that I wanted to try it out, to be abel to support the ever groving demand to be abel to connect USB devices other then memorysticks. Hyper-V/RemoteFX isen't realy an option since it's hard to fit a GPU into our new 1U Cisco servers, and although the graphic/audio inprovment when running over PCoIP is impressive, it's quite the downside the USB dosen't seem to work at all.

Best regards,

Johan Christensson

[JohanCh]

Hi....again...

Since the HP client is running x86 based Windows 7 Embedded it tought it was worth to try if running a Windows 7 Pro x86 instead of the x64. But this diden't make any difference.

I found the following article, http://www.thinkvirt.com/?q=node/191 and I notices that in the screenshot where he shows how the connected device shows up in the "connection bar" as "1: Western Digital USB Mass Storage Device", in my connection i just have "Desktop initializing". No USB devices as I guess it should show.

Best regards,

Johan Christensson

[JohanCh]

Well, I'm once again a happy camper!

The last thing I noticed, the "Desktop initializing" leed me to the solution in this post: http://communities.vmware.com/message/1705818

The problem was that the Connection server, that is located in our server subnet was denied to communicate with the client on port 32111. It never ocured to me that the servern needed this port open to the client, and not just between the client and the agent as I thought.

So, problem solved.

Best regards,

Johan Christensson