Function Overview The USB-Server Industry enables redirecting local USB ports to the network. Data traffic between the USB device and its specific driver is tunneled transparently, so that remote USB devices behave as if they were connected locally to your Windows PC. The associated USB Redirector for Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/2008/7 automatically searches the network for USB-Servers. Using a simple mouse click USB devices are assigned (Virtual Plug) to the computer or disconnected (Virtual Unplug) from it. For automated adding of USB devices using a batch job or script, a command line tool is included.
Applications The number is peripherals having USB ports is enormous - dongles, USB sticks, measuring devices, scales, barcode readers etc. are increasingly equipped with USB interfaces. Especially in industrial environments however the short permissible cable lengths, the absence of galvanic isolation and the lack of flexibility have made use of USB often problematic. A solution to many of these drawbacks is to redirect the USB ports into the network. Computers and USB servers can be anywhere in the world, and every Ethernet connection is by definition galvanically isolated. The alternating use of the USB device by multiple computers is accomplished by a simple mouse click and without cumbersome carrying around and re-plugging the device (application example: Dongle).
In virtual systems (Vmware, HyperV, Virtual Box etc.) linking the guest systems to the network terminal of the host system is generally a robust affair. In contrast, support of USB devices is usually much less convenient, so that it also makes sense here to access USB peripherals over the network.
Protocols:
USB port protocols:
USB 1.0 / 1.1 / 2.0
Control / Bulk / Interrupt / Isochronous (in development)
Protocols for direct network connection:
TCP/IP: Socket
Auxiliary protocols: ARP, DHCP, HTTP, PING Inventory keeping, group management
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