USB Question

[mittim12]

Does the release version of VDM still require the user to have Administrator permissions on both the VDI and the connecting client for USB redirection?

[Jon_Holloway]

Yes, the GA release of VDM Client requires administrative rights both on the client OS and the OS in the Desktop VM.

Jon

[mittim12]

Is there any way around this, maybe giving administrative permissions to a certain set of registry keys or files? I really want to be able to use USB redirection but i can't have my users as Administrators of the VM. Are there any plans on changing this in the future?

[admin]

Currently there is no way around it local admi rights on both the client and VM are required. It is VMware policy that we not elaborate on future product features.

WP

[IbrahimOzcan]

Hi

Can i use usb web cam over thin client in vdi infrs.. using vdm? Can The latest release version of vdm usb redirection that on thin client(wyse).

[lcounsel]

Hi Ibrahim,

Webcams are not supported in VDM 2.0 and USB redirection requires the full VDM client which can be installed on XPe devices.

Lewis.

[Rodos]

Also note that webcams are not supported under the Wyse TCX as yet. I have not tested one either.

[IbrahimOzcan]

First of all thanks for your answer.i think it'll be better if i explain what i want to do.

i'll use full VDI in my network.(servers and clients) and i'll use an extra server for all clients.than i'll install xp or vista to that server.so all user will connect their xp using thing client(wyse with tcx) over RDP. finally i want to use cisco communication tech. and all user have a usb cam that connect to the thin client physically.when the users hang up the phone web cam will start to run so users can see each other while talking.

So you say that " i can't do this project because vdm 2.0 can not support usb redirection for web cam" is that rigt ?

thanks again.

[redsox04]

IbrahimOzcan - that is correct, VMware VDM USB redirection nor Wyse TCX-USB redirection currently support webcams. I have also provided a link to what they both currently support for quick reference; hope this helps! If you have the ability to use the Wyse thin-client & VMware VDM them you get the benefit of leveraging the USB redirection from a non-Windows client (many benefits of this)and no need for elevated permissions which seems to be required when using a PC with XP/Vista client; 'This feature requires administrative privileges on both client and desktop VM. If the user does not have the necessary privileges in both places then the USB device redirection functionality will be unavailable.' Hope this if of some use!

-redsox04

VMware VDM USB support: http://www.vmware.com/support/vdm20/doc/releasenotes_vdm20.html

The USB redirection feature of VDM Client provides generic support for redirecting locally attached USB devices to the desktop virtual machine. The feature has been successfully tested with a range of devices, including printers, scanners, mass storage devices, phones and PDAs. Support for some USB client devices: USB devices can be locally connected to clients and accessed through the virtual desktop.

Wyse TCX-USB support; http://www.wyse.com/products/software/tcx/Wyse_TCX_USB_Virtualizer.pdf

Supported devices from current spec sheet: USB Scanner, USB to Serial Converter, USB Hub, USB Floppy, USB CD-ROM, USB DVD-ROM, USB Printer, USB Business card scanner, USB Flash drive, USB Mass storage device, USB RIM Blackberry, USB Palm PDA, USB Bluethooth.

*Real-time devices (e.g webcam, USB speakers, headsets, and human interface devices such as the Cherry and Bloomberg keyboards) are NOT supported in this release

[patrickrouse]

Is there some sort of Universal Printer Driver, or just support for any printer supported via Terminal Services?

[lcounsel]

VDM is not a Terminal Services based environment, the Guest OS that a user connects to is hosted on a Virtual Machine and accessed via RDC.

To use printers over VDM USB redirection the drivers for specific printers will need to be installed on the Guest and the Client; if full functionality of the device is required. If there is a native driver for the printer built into the Guest Windows OS, the functionality provided by that would be available.

On VDM, printers can be used via standard RDC forwarding where the drivers would only need to be installed on the Client, however, this may cause user confusion if other devices a being redirected using VDM redirection.

If the printer has special properties that are access using vendor software; the software would need to be installed on the Guest. This would include composite printer/scanner/copier functionality driven from software. The full functionality of such devices may not be available over native RDC redirection.

Hope that helps

Lewis

[patrickrouse]

I disagree. The RDP Listener on any XP Pro or Vista VM is part of the Terminal Services Service. XP Pro and Vista with Remote Desktop enabled are just single session (console only) Terminal Servers. The reason I specified Terminal Server compatible printer drivers is because Host Based Printers like HP LIDIL printers are not supported via RDP, unless you use a Universal Printer Driver.

Patrick Rouse

Microsoft MVP - Terminal Server

SE, Western USA & Canada

Quest Software, Provision Networks Division

(619) 994-5507

http://www.provisionnetworks.com

[admin]

Patrick,

You are correct.. Currently there is no universal print driver. For a standard out of the box clients it will be Terminal Server compatiable. ThinPrint or other universal solution coul be added. For clients using the VDM USB device redirection, standard drivers on the local client and on the VM will need to be installed.

Warren

[patrickrouse]

Thanks for the clarification Warren. I wanted to make sure I understood your product offering, as I maintain a connection broker comparison spreadsheet. I thought that a Universal Printer Driver was included in VDM2, but didn't see it in the demo environment that I setup, so I wanted to make sure that I asked.

We happen to have a mature, best of breed Universal Printer Driver (since 1999) as part of our Connection Broker, but if one already owns VDM2, ThinPrint is a great product that could be added. There are two different kinds of printers that need to be taken into account, i.e. auto-created client printers and Network Printers (assigned via Logon Script or Connection Broker Policy). If looking at a 3rd party Universal Printer Driver, look for one that does both or you'll still need to support native drivers on your VDI VMs.

Patrick Rouse

Microsoft MVP - Terminal Server

SE, Western USA & Canada

Quest Software, Provision Networks Division

(619) 994-5507

http://www.provisionnetworks.com

[mattcoppinger]

Patrick,

No Universal Print Driver is included, and ThinPrint is a great suggestion to compliment VDM. Users could also use the HP UPD.

I think the key here (as Lewis pointed out) is that VDM 2.0 supports USB redirection for print devices (outside of RDP and Terminal Services). This allows access to advanced functionality such as scanning/multi-function printers. Installing the software/drivers on the VM and using VDM 2.0 gives users access to a wide range of USB devices including printers/scanners. This does away with the problem that Universal Print Drivers often fail to provide this kind of functionality.

If i'm not mistaken Provision's USB redirection does not include print devices (or composite USB devices?) and printing functionality relies on a universal print driver. How does the Provision broker deal with Multi-function devices?

Regards,

Matt

[patrickrouse]

Are you then saying that you are not using the native Printer Redirection feature of the RDP Listener? I just want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding you. Are you not using an RDP Virtual Channel for the Print Data, and if not, are your doing this over a port other than 3389?

1. Typically the HP Universal Printer driver does not work with all printers, i.e. anything host based that uses teh LIDIL Protocol should fail.

2. Our Universal Printer Driver completely supports any kind of "printer", regardless of manufacturer, driver, or connected interface, i.e. com, usb, lpt, or network. We can directly access any public attributes of the client's printer driver, and via a client setting we can access any private attributes of the printer driver. I won't say that we've never come across a printer that's caused a problem, but after 8 years of our UPD (Universal Printer Driver) we don't receive many trouble calls with printers that don't work. Our stance is that we'll suppor them all, and you can use all of the "printer's" features.

3. We do not use our UPD to support scannners, i.e. the multi-function aspect of some printers, but have added support for this technology via our USB Redirection module that we use for Synchronization of Palm, Blackberry and Windows Handhelds. Scanning over USB is still in a beta version for our product, because it's not a simple task, as people that have tried to use Citrix' TWAIN redirection have noticed.

The thing to watch out for is users connecting from a client device and expecting to be able to print to the printers defined on that device, as not everyone is going to rip and replace all of their PCs for thin-clients. Having some mechanism to be able to print without having to figure out what kind of Printer the client has and without generating a helpdesk ticket is something that you'll come across.

Anyways, thanks for the clarification on what your USB Redirection does and good luck with VDM.

Patrick Rouse

Microsoft MVP - Terminal Server

SE, Western USA & Canada

Quest Software, Provision Networks Division

(619) 994-5507

http://www.provisionnetworks.com

[mattcoppinger]

Patrick

Thanks for the information.

Just to clarify, VDM 2.0 gives the user/admin a choice to use either Terminal Services based Printer Redirection or USB based Printer redirection (over an RDP Virtual Channel). So, yes VDM does use an RDP Virtual Channel (port 3389 or port 443 in tunneled mode) but VDM is not using Terminal Services Printer Redirection when using USB based printers/scanners/multi-function devices.

I agree the HP UPD does not cover all printers.

Scanning/Printing over USB redirection works well in VDM 2.0.

Regards,

Matt