Parallel and serial ports are interfaces for connecting peripherals to the virtual machine. The virtual serial port can connect to a physical serial port or to a file on the host computer. You can also use it to establish a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer. You can add parallel and serial ports and change the parallel and serial port configuration. Hardware version 11 and later versions allow you to configure virtual machines in such a way that serial and parallel ports are absent from the virtual chipset altogether.
Using Serial Ports with vSphere Virtual Machines You can set up virtual serial port connections for vSphere virtual machines in several ways. The connection method that you select depends on the task that you need to accomplish.
Adding a Firewall Rule Set for Serial Port Network Connections If you add or configure a serial port that is backed by a remote network connection, ESXi firewall settings can prevent transmissions.
Configure Virtual Machine Communication Interface Firewall You can configure the virtual machine Communication Interface firewall (VMCI) to restrict virtual machines accessing the hypervisor-based services and VMCI-based services.
Change the Serial Port Configuration You can connect the virtual serial port to a physical serial port or to a file on the host computer. You can also use a host-side named pipe to set up a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer. In addition, you can use a port or vSPC URI to connect a serial port over the network. You can add up to 32 serial ports to a virtual machine.
Authentication Parameters for Virtual Serial Port Network Connections When you establish serial port connections over the network, you can use authentication parameters to secure the network. These parameters can support an encrypted connection with a remote system using SSL over Telnet or Telnets, or an encrypted connection with a concentrator using SSL over Telnet or Telnets.
Add a Serial Port to a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client You can connect the virtual serial port to a physical serial port or to a file on the host computer. You can also use a host-side named pipe to set up a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer. In addition, you can use a port or vSPC URI to connect a serial port over the network. A virtual machine can use up to 32 serial ports.
Change the Parallel Port Configuration You can change the output file for peripheral device output and schedule the parallel port to connect when the virtual machine powers on.
Add a Parallel Port to a Virtual Machine vSphere Web Client To connect peripheral devices to virtual machines, such as printers or scanners, you can use a parallel port. You send the output of such devices to a file on the host computer.