In VM settings, click **Add New Device > PCI device > Add**. Make sure the VM is powered off and reboot the ESXi host. Once the status of the controller changes to *Available*, click **OK** to save the settings. Use the ID you detected earlier to find and select the needed USB controller in the list of PCI devices. In the **Hardware** section, select **PCI Devices**. Select the ESXi host on which your VM is residing. **tail -f /var/log/vmkernel.log | grep -i USB**Ĭontinue the process by completing the steps below: When connecting a USB device to an ESXi server, you can check the VMkernel log using this command: You should find the string with the name of your USB device that is connected to the USB controller so you can identify the controller ID. Use the following command if you have multiple USB controllers installed on your server: In order to connect a USB to a VM using PCI passthrough, you first need to identify the USB device and the corresponding USB controller. **Note**: You might need to install drivers for the connected USB device in a guest OS to use the VMware USB passthrough feature. USB 3.0 (**xHCI**) VM hardware version 8 or higher There are two USB standards and controller modes: You can add a maximum of 20 USB devices to a single VM or ESXi host. **Physical USB device**: Any USB device that has a USB interface and USB port that can be connected to a computer. You can connect a maximum of eight virtual USB controllers to a VM.

It connects a physical device from the ESXi server to a guest OS on the VM. **Virtual USB controller**: This is an emulated device that you configure to interact with the physical USB controller when you use the passthrough feature. **External**: This type is implemented as PCI or PCIe cards inserted into the appropriate slots on a motherboard of a server.

The onboard USB controller acts as a bridge between the USB bus and the PCIe (or PCI) bus. **Onboard**: Also known as integrated since they are built-in and physically connected by PCIe lanes to a chipset on the motherboard.

**USB controller**: The physical USB controller connects to physical USB ports in the ESXi server and works with the inserted USB devices. **Note**: Only one VM can access the USB device at a time, and connection to other VMs is blocked. The arbitrator service is enabled by default and supports up to 15 USB controllers (vSphere 7.0). It is primarily responsible for USB device traffic routing between a physical host and a VM. **Arbitrator**: This is a dedicated service on an ESXi server that scans physical USB devices attached to the physical server. USB passthrough functioning relies on three main components:

Vmware intel usb 3.0 host controller