You can configure custom device policies to control whether specific types of USB devices can be used on virtual machines created from a Horizon FLEX image.

Important: If the USB device controller is present in the source virtual machine, you can configure a policy to enable or disable this feature when users download an instance of the virtual machine. If this feature is disabled in the source virtual machine, you cannot override the virtual machine settings by enabling this feature in a policy.

Procedure

  1. Start the Horizon FLEX Admin Console.
    1. In a Web browser, enter https://WebManagerServer:port/rvm.
      • WebManagerServer is the DNS name or IP address of the host where the Mirage Web Manager is installed.
      • port is the port number with which the Horizon FLEX Admin Console can be accessed. When the Mirage Web Manager is installed, if you deploy the Horizon FLEX Admin Console and the Horizon FLEX Policy Server on different ports, port is the port number specified for the VMware Horizon FLEX Web Management option. Otherwise, port is the port number specified for the VMware Mirage Web Management option.
    2. Enter the user name and password of a domain account that has access to Mirage.
    3. Click Login.
  2. Click Policies in the left navigation pane.
  3. Click the New (+) button to create a policy, or select an existing policy and click Change Policy to modify it.
  4. Click the Device Control tab to add a new device policy.
  5. Set the Global Use of USB devices drop-down menu to Custom to allow or block specific classes of USB devices on the virtual machine.
    The text boxes for the class of USB devices appear, giving you the opportunity to allow or block specific classes.
  6. Select the USB classes to allow or block on the virtual machine.
    Table 1. USB Device Types
    USB Class Base Class Examples
    Audio 01h USB sound card
    Communication and CDC Device 02h USB network adapter, RS-232 serial devices
    Physical 05h Joystick
    Image 06h USB camera, USB scanner, webcam
    Printer 07h USB printer
    Mass Storage 08h USB disk
    Smart Card 0Bh USB smart card reader
    Content Security 0Dh Fingerprint reader
    Video 0Eh Webcam
    Wireless Controller E0h Bluetooth adapter, Microsoft RNDIS
    Miscellaneous EFh Select the Miscellaneous option to allow or block USB devices not covered in the previous classes. See Table 2 for USB classes that require the Miscellaneous setting.
    Table 2. Miscellaneous USB Device Classes
    USB Class Base Class Examples
    Human Interface Device (HID) 03h USB keyboard, USB joystick, USB mouse
    Hub 09h USB hub
    Personal Healthcare 0Fh Pulse monitor (watch)
    Diagnostic Device DCh USB compliance testing device
    Application-specific FEh IrDA Bridge, Test and Measurement Class (USBTMC), USB Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU)
  7. Optionally, you can configure the device policy to allow specific USB devices.
    1. Under the Allow the virtual machine to use the following USB devices text box, click Add.
    2. Enter the name of the USB device in the Name text box.
    3. Enter the vendor ID as a hex value in the Vendor ID text box.
    4. Enter the product ID as a hex value in the Product ID text box.
    5. Click Add and click Update.
    To obtain the USB device information on a Windows machine, click System Tools and then select Device Manager. To obtain USB device information on a Mac, click the Apple icon, select About the Mac, select System Report, then select USB and click the device item.
  8. Click OK to save the policy.
    The new or updated policy appears in the policy list.

What to do next

Entitle the Horizon FLEX virtual machine. See Entitle a Horizon FLEX Image.