Virtual USB drive possible? Hyper-V 2012 R2
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As the topic said is it possible to have a virtual USB drive?
Back story: We have a very old door badge system which still run on Windows XP. I looked around and know that I cannot easily replace the hardware once it died. So after some googling I found that Microsoft has a program which can convert a physical disk into VHDX for Hyper-V (Windows server 2012 R2). The problem is with the USB dongle. The USB dongle is a security clearance for the application. Without it the program will run in READ-ONLY mode.
Window server 2012 R2 has a function for USB passthrough but that may only work if I connect physical USB into the port. I want to be able to convert the USB into virtual state as well as I am running on limited USB ports here.
Here is the question: I need to be able to attach a USB onto the Virtual Machine without using existing USB port. Is it possible to do so? The program in question is at least 7 years old and I have little to no manual on the program it self. The company that installed said they only service current or previous generation version only. The one I have is 4 generations ago.
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Yes you can. And I have done it, with this.
http://www.amazon.com/Digi-Anywhereusb-Port-Usb-Over/dp/B002FJNH2C
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@Dashrender $226.50!! Double the price and I can get the current version with support. Any thing cheaper or if possible..FREE?
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@Dashrender said:
Yes you can. And I have done it, with this.
http://www.amazon.com/Digi-Anywhereusb-Port-Usb-Over/dp/B002FJNH2C
That's a f@(*&#^%g cool box man!
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Could you just make a ramdisk or copy the flash drive to a VHD?
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@johnhooks The program design to detect 'removable object'
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@LAH3385 said:
@Dashrender $226.50!! Double the price and I can get the current version with support. Any thing cheaper or if possible..FREE?
Then buy the damned software. You have wasted more than $113.25 just trying to get around replacing it.
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I found this one but have never used it: http://usbip.sourceforge.net/
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Here's a physical device. These guys are the standard with in automation gear. We use a lot of their Vlinx serial servers. http://www.bb-elec.com/Products/USB-Connectivity/USB-Over-Ethernet/USB-Over-Ethernet-Hub.aspx
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If it only costs $120 to buy the new version of the software and it does not use a USB key (which would surprise me) then you should just do that.
For my phone system, a part of the system uses a USB key to verify ownership - just like your old software. Since I virtualized this machine, I need a way to not care where the USB stick is located so I can move the VM and it will still work.
Previously I had the USB plugged directly into the server and passed it through the hypervisor. Now I don't have to worry about.
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@JaredBusch said:
@LAH3385 said:
@Dashrender $226.50!! Double the price and I can get the current version with support. Any thing cheaper or if possible..FREE?
Then buy the damned software. You have wasted more than $113.25 just trying to get around replacing it.
My bad. The software is $600. I meant it cost almost half of the software. I am pretty sure I wrote that correctly... any Nazi Grammar here?
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@LAH3385 said:
@JaredBusch said:
@LAH3385 said:
@Dashrender $226.50!! Double the price and I can get the current version with support. Any thing cheaper or if possible..FREE?
Then buy the damned software. You have wasted more than $113.25 just trying to get around replacing it.
My bad. The software is $600. I meant it cost almost half of the software. I am pretty sure I wrote that correctly... any Nazi Grammar here?
Does the new version of the software require the USB dongle?
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@dafyre said:
@LAH3385 said:
@JaredBusch said:
@LAH3385 said:
@Dashrender $226.50!! Double the price and I can get the current version with support. Any thing cheaper or if possible..FREE?
Then buy the damned software. You have wasted more than $113.25 just trying to get around replacing it.
My bad. The software is $600. I meant it cost almost half of the software. I am pretty sure I wrote that correctly... any Nazi Grammar here?
Does the new version of the software require the USB dongle?
It does not. But I don't have $600 in my Q1 budget.
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@LAH3385 said:
@dafyre said:
@LAH3385 said:
@JaredBusch said:
@LAH3385 said:
@Dashrender $226.50!! Double the price and I can get the current version with support. Any thing cheaper or if possible..FREE?
Then buy the damned software. You have wasted more than $113.25 just trying to get around replacing it.
My bad. The software is $600. I meant it cost almost half of the software. I am pretty sure I wrote that correctly... any Nazi Grammar here?
Does the new version of the software require the USB dongle?
It does not. But I don't have $600 in my Q1 budget.
@LAH3385 said:
@dafyre said:
@LAH3385 said:
@JaredBusch said:
@LAH3385 said:
@Dashrender $226.50!! Double the price and I can get the current version with support. Any thing cheaper or if possible..FREE?
Then buy the damned software. You have wasted more than $113.25 just trying to get around replacing it.
My bad. The software is $600. I meant it cost almost half of the software. I am pretty sure I wrote that correctly... any Nazi Grammar here?
Does the new version of the software require the USB dongle?
It does not. But I don't have $600 in my Q1 budget.
Set it aside in your Q2 budget.
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@LAH3385 said:
It does not. But I don't have $600 in my Q1 budget.
$600 has to be a budgeted item to spend? That's crazy.
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@Jason We try to minimize spending in Q1 and Q2. Q4 is spending spree month for me
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@LAH3385 said:
@Jason We try to minimize spending in Q1 and Q2. Q4 is spending spree month for me
Weird. We try to balance it over the year so we don't have too much spending in one quarter. That would also look bad on Quarterly reports to shareholders. But, we don't budget things that are only $600 if it's a one time expense.
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@dafyre We have the machine for 7 years now. I don't know how old is the machine exactly. Using P ATA HDD. DDR2 RAM.... all the OLD gen stuff. If HDD failed my worst fear is not having Windows or drivers for it.
@Jason If it is not in the budget, I have to make an appeal for it. The problem with me is... I have to appeal to the CEO directly. He is my manager.
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@LAH3385 said:
@dafyre We have the machine for 7 years now. I don't know how old is the machine exactly. Using P ATA HDD. DDR2 RAM.... all the OLD gen stuff. If HDD failed my worst fear is not having Windows or drivers for it.
That is a very much valid concern. Definitely time to get it replaced. That, to me would be something worth pushing the CEO on. "If it breaks, I'm not sure we can fix it for less than $600"
Do you already have Hyper-V, or VMware, etc? If you could virtualize it, that would mean $600 and your biggest concerns go away, right?
