Difference between USB device pass-through and VMDirectPath I/O Direct IO pass-through
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Difference between USB device pass-through and VMDirectPath I/O Direct IO pass-through

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Article ID: 309191

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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

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.

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.

Additional Information