


VMware has tested a variety of USB devices. Linux kernels earlier than 2.2.17 do not support USB. If you enable USB 3.0, the xHCI controller can support all USB devices, including USB 1.1, 2.0, and 3.0 devices.Īlthough the host operating system must support USB, you do not need to install device-specific drivers for USB devices in the host operating system to use those devices only in the virtual machine. A USB 1.1 device connects to the UHCI controller and operates in USB 1.1 mode. If you select USB 2.0 compatibility, when a USB 2.0 device connects to a USB port on the host system, the device connects to the EHCI controller and operates in USB 2.0 mode. USB 2.0 and 3.0 devices are high-speed devices that include the latest models of USB flash drives, USB hard drives, iPods, and iPhone. The virtual machine hardware must be compatible with Workstation 8 or later virtual machines.įor USB 2.0 or 3.0 support, you must select USB 2.0 or 3.0 compatibility by configuring virtual machine settings for the USB controller. USB 3.0 xHCI (Extensible Host Controller Interface) support is available for Linux guests running kernel version 2.6.35 or later and for Windows 8 guests.USB 2.0 EHCI (Enhanced Host Controller Interface) controllers are supported if the virtual machine hardware is compatible with Workstation 6 and later virtual machines.USB 1.1 UHCI (Universal Host Controller Interface) is supported for all virtual machine hardware versions.Workstation Pro provides a USB controller to support the following types of USB devices. To use a smart card reader, a virtual machine must have a USB controller regardless of whether the smart card reader is actually a USB device. A virtual machine must have a USB controller to use USB devices and smart card readers.
