13.5. Managing virtual USB devices
When using a virtual machine (VM), you can access and control a USB device, such as a flash drive or a web camera, that is attached to the host system. In this scenario, the host system passes control of the device to the VM. This is also known as a USB-passthrough.
The following sections provide information about using the command line to:
- Attach a USB device to a VM
- Remove a USB device from a VM
13.5.1. Attaching USB devices to virtual machines
To attach a USB device to a virtual machine (VM), you can include the USB device information in the XML configuration file of the VM.
Conditions préalables
- Ensure the device you want to pass through to the VM is attached to the host.
Procédure
Locate the bus and device values of the USB that you want to attach to the VM.
For example, the following command displays a list of USB devices attached to the host. The device we will use in this example is attached on bus 001 as device 005.
# lsusb [...] Bus 001 Device 003: ID 2567:0a2b Intel Corp. Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0407:6252 Kingston River 2.0 [...]Use the
virt-xmlutility along with the--add-deviceargument.For example, the following command attaches a USB flash drive to the
LibraryVM.# virt-xml Library --add-device --hostdev 001.005 Domain 'Library' defined successfully.
To attach a USB device to a running VM, add the --update argument to the previous command.
Vérification
- Run the VM and test if the device is present and works as expected.
Use the
virsh dumpxmlcommand to see if the device’s XML definition has been added to the <devices> section in the VM’s XML configuration file.# virsh dumpxml Library [...] <hostdev mode='subsystem' type='usb' managed='yes'> <source> <vendor id='0x0407'/> <product id='0x6252'/> <address bus='1' device='5'/> </source> <alias name='hostdev0'/> <address type='usb' bus='0' port='3'/> </hostdev> [...]
Ressources supplémentaires
-
The
man virt-xmlcommand - Attaching devices to virtual machines
13.5.2. Removing USB devices from virtual machines
To remove a USB device from a virtual machine (VM), you can remove the USB device information from the XML configuration of the VM.
Procédure
Locate the bus and device values of the USB that you want to remove from the VM.
For example, the following command displays a list of USB devices attached to the host. The device we will use in this example is attached on bus 001 as device 005.
# lsusb [...] Bus 001 Device 003: ID 2567:0a2b Intel Corp. Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0407:6252 Kingston River 2.0 [...]Use the
virt-xmlutility along with the--remove-deviceargument.For example, the following command removes a USB flash drive, attached to the host as device 005 on bus 001, from the
LibraryVM.# virt-xml Library --remove-device --hostdev 001.005 Domain 'Library' defined successfully.
To remove a USB device from a running VM, add the --update argument to the previous command.
Vérification
- Run the VM and check if the device has been removed from the list of devices.
Ressources supplémentaires
-
The
man virt-xmlcommand - Attaching devices to virtual machines
