Can't Connect USB 3.0 Storage Device to RHEL 8.8 Virtual Machine on ESXi 6.5
In this article, we will cover the issue of connecting a USB 3.0 storage device to a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8.8 virtual machine (VM) running on VMware ESXi 6.5. The problem occurs when attempting to attach a USB port from the laptop with a USB 3.0 key to the VM.
USB Support in ESXi
ESXi has support for USB devices, including USB 3.0, but it has some limitations. VMware has documented the USB support in ESXi, stating that USB 3.0 devices are supported only in pass-through mode. Pass-through mode allows a physical USB device to be directly connected to a VM as if it were physically attached to the VM's host.
Prerequisites
Before attempting to connect a USB 3.0 storage device to a RHEL 8.8 VM on ESXi 6.5, ensure that the following prerequisites are met:
- ESXi 6.5 host is updated to the latest patch release.
- RHEL 8.8 VM has VMware Tools installed.
- USB 3.0 storage device is properly formatted and detected by the ESXi host.
Connecting USB 3.0 Storage Device to RHEL 8.8 VM
To connect a USB 3.0 storage device to a RHEL 8.8 VM on ESXi 6.5, follow the steps below:
- Shut down the RHEL 8.8 VM.
- In the vSphere Client, right-click the RHEL 8.8 VM and select
Edit Settings. - Under the
Hardwaretab, clickAddand selectPCI Device. - Select
USB Controllerand clickNext. - Select
USB 3.0 (xHCI) Controllerand clickNext. - Click
Finishto add the USB 3.0 controller. - Connect the USB 3.0 storage device to an available USB port on the ESXi host.
- Power on the RHEL 8.8 VM.
- In the RHEL 8.8 VM, open a terminal and run the following command to list the connected USB devices:
# lsusb
The output should display the connected USB 3.0 storage device. If not, ensure that the USB device is properly connected to the ESXi host.
Accessing USB 3.0 Storage Device in RHEL 8.8
To access the USB 3.0 storage device in RHEL 8.8, the device must be formatted with a filesystem compatible with Linux, such as ext4 or NTFS. Once the device is properly formatted and connected, the device should be automatically mounted to the /mnt directory.
To verify that the device is mounted, run the following command:
# df -h
The output should display the connected USB 3.0 storage device and its mount point.
References
- Red Hat: Configuring and Managing Virtual Machines - USB devices in virtual machines and with VMware Tools
- VMware: USB devices in ESXi and vSphere Virtual Machines
This article was researched and written by YourName for GlobalTopic site.