force USB redirection of one device

[cookie_monster]

I'd like to force the Horizon client to redirect a particular USB device (a magnetic card reader). I would like to avoid checking the "automatically connect..." checkmark as I don't want every device to be redirected. Although I've trained users to put a checkmark beside the card-reader on the USB drop-down list when they log on it would be great it I could accomplish this with a GPO.

Thanks

[bluefirestorm]

You could give it a try by adding the usb.autoconnect.device entries in the vmx configuration file.

It is described here in this KB https://kb.vmware.com/kb/1648

Although the KB does not mention ESXi/Horizon, many vmx configuration entries are shared among the different VMware product lines that it might work for you.

[cookie_monster]

Thanks for the reply. I modified the vmx file adding a line like this:

usb.autoConnect.device0 = "vid:0x801 pid:0x2 autoclean:0

however it didn't bring the device into the VM, and no reference to it appeared in the vmware.log file on the vm either. The article didn't specifically mention using Horizon Client. It was based on Workstation. Is that the reason it didn't work?

[bluefirestorm]

usb.autoConnect.device0 = "vid:0x801 pid:0x2 autoclean:0

I assume that the closing quote mark was just a copy/paste problem into the forum.

Have you tried full four hexadecimal digits for the vendor/product ID pair? Or you could use the same pattern as seen in the vmware.log when the device is connected manually. Also make sure that the VM is shutdown before editing the vmx configuration file.

usb.autoConnect.device0 = "vid:0x0801 pid:0x0002 autoclean:0"

[cookie_monster · Accepted solution]

Hi,

I ended up using GPO (VMware Horizon Client Configuration\Scripting definitions) to force the client to connect all USB devices to the desktop. Then in the same GPO I used "exclude all devices" but then created some exceptions like include device family, "storage" and include vid/pid device for my USB Magtek card-swipe device. Problem solved. Thanks for your advice.