Difference between USB device pass-through and VMDirectPath I/O Direct IO pass-through
Article ID: 309191
Updated On:
Products
VMware vSphere ESXi
Issue/Introduction
This article contrasts USB device passthrough and VMDirectPath I/O, and provides additional information and suggested resources.
Environment
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
Resolution
VMDirectPath
With this option, the VMkernel is configured without the respective device under its management, while it is passed through to a virtual machine.
This virtual machine takes full control of the device. As it has full control of this hardware component attached to the server, it cannot be vMotioned to a different server. In addition, other servers do not have the ability to remotely access the device or hardware.
For more information on VMDirectPath, see Configuring VMDirectPath I/O pass-through devices on an ESX host (1010789) and Configuration Examples and Troubleshooting for VMDirectPath.
USB device passthrough
This option allows you to redirect I/O to or from a USB device for virtual machines.
The device is managed by the VMkernel, allowing the attachment of USB devices to virtual machines live, and maintaining vMotion capability.
For further information on USB device pass-through, see USB support for ESX/ESXi 4.1 (1022290).
Additional Information
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