we’re involved in a project for which we wan to use a consolidation approach using Hyper-V. We want to consolidate a server farm using a number of VS running on Hyper-V. The problem we face is that the application running on the guest servers need to use a USB key, and Hyper-V do not provide native USB support.
I’d like to know whether or not anywhereUSB may help us on assigning independent USB keys (plugged to the hub) to independent WS2003 VS servers across the LAN. As fas as I’ve read, it’s unclear that anywhereUSB may provide such a functionality on current version.
It sounds like you’re asking if the 5 USB ports of an AnywhereUSB/5 can be shared amongst multiple virtual machines. The answer to that question is “no, not at this time”.
The AnywhereUSB/5 functions like any other USB hub in the aspect that all of its USB ports are dedicated to the particular computer that it’s attached to. The only thing that’s different about the AnywhereUSB/5 is that it’s network-attached, not USB-attached.
Because many customers such as yourself have asked about this “port sharing” functionality, we’re planning on making a newer AnywhereUSB that offers that feature. Concerning the release date, the best I can say is some time in 2009.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
the scenario i’m asking about would be having five USB keys attached to the hub, and then assign each key to one (and only one) of five virtual machines, for example. That would allow each VM to access its own USB key, that would be attached anywhere in our network. Each VM would run an instance of an app that needs to hold its key in the mapped USB key.
I’m not aware of any plans for an AnywhereUSB/1 device. Keeping in mind that I’m in the support group, not the sales group, I personally don’t think a /1 unit would be that much less expensive because the “heart” of the hardware would be the same. I don’t think additional ports would add much to the total cost.
As of now, you’ll need a dedicated AnywhereUSB/5 for each of your virtual machines, until the newer AnywhereUSB/5 hardware that I mentioned is released.
Thanks, this thread answered my question. Do you have a rough idea of when the newer AnywhereUSB hardware will be released, so I can use one device for multiple servers?
Some time in 2009 is the latest that I’ve heard. I recommend contacting our US sales group at 512-306-0600 (ask for sales) to try to get a more definitive time frame.
