As remote operation becomes more and more popular, you will inevitably come across the work situation when you’ll just need to use some sort of universal USB extender, or find another way of sharing a USB over Ethernet that works with all popular operating systems and USB peripherals. For example, if you have a whole team using some pricey licensed software that won't start without USB dongles. No one wants to spend a fortune on individual licenses for each employee or gamble with losing or damaging said dongles as they’ll be carried around the office and plugged into different machines all day long.
yum install [package]; That’s it!
From that point on, the shared USB device will be remotely accessible from all computers with installed FlexiHub and the Internet connection, no matter the operating systems or physical distances. Thanks to the unique Redirection USB Server, the app truly is a universal solution that works through all firewalls and doesn’t require public IP addresses. You can even use this method to share a USB hub so that any peripheral connected to it becomes instantly available for remote connections.
And the icing on this cake is that to share USB to Ethernet you don’t really need to permanently turn your Raspberry Pi into a USB server. You can share dongles, webcams, printers, and other peripherals plugged into USB ports of all computers with installed FlexiHub, including your Android tablet, and never have any trouble with cross-platform connectivity. From a Windows machine, you can even share a COM-based peripheral. How awesome is that? And, for added convenience, you’ll get an opportunity to enjoy wireless connectivity accessing shared devices via Wi-Fi. So long to all those CAT6 cables laying around the office.
In principle, this method is similar to the one we've just described, but through the agency of a different USB to Ethernet extension app. And given that this time we’ll be using an open-source solution that's still in development, the set-up process requires a decent level of technical competence to perform so if you don’t have any, don't be surprised if it won’t work on the first go.
Here are some more important points you need to consider before opting for this method:
sudo apt install usbip sudo modprobe usbip_hostecho 'usbip_host' >> /etc/modules lsusb command to view a list of all USB devices physically connected to your Raspberry Pi and remember (or write down) the 8-digit USB ID number of a device you’re going to share. usbip list -p -l command to find out your device’s bus ID (use the USB ID number from a previous step to identify the right device on the list). Write down that number. sudo usbip bind --busid=Nusbipd Alternatively, you can create a systemd service:
vi /lib/systemd/system/usbipd.service with the following definition (don’t forget to change the N for an actual USB ID number of your device):
[Unit]
Description=usbip host daemon
After=network.target
[Service]
Type=forking
ExecStart=/usr/sbin/usbipd -D
ExecStartPost=/bin/sh -c "/usr/sbin/usbip bind --$(/usr/sbin/usbip list -p -l | grep '#usbid=N#' | cut '-d#' -f1)"
ExecStop=/bin/sh -c "/usr/sbin/usbip unbind --$(/usr/sbin/usbip list -p -l | grep '#usbid=N#' | cut '-d#' -f1); killall usbipd"
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
And then you'll need to run these commands to start that service:
sudo systemctl --system daemon-reloadsudo systemctl enable usbipd.servicesudo systemctl start usbipd.serviceOk, now let's set up a client:
Note: The app does have a client for Windows, but it’s a flimsy beta version with no signed drivers or any support for Windows 10, thus not really worth mentioning.
1. To install the same app for sharing USB over IP in Ubuntu, execute these commands:
sudo -s
apt-get install linux-tools-generic -y
2. Enable the required module:
modprobe vhci-hcd
echo 'vhci-hcd' >> /etc/modules
Now, to connect the shared device to this machine, run the command: sudo usbip attach -r 0.0.0.0
(type the actual IP address of your Raspberry Pi instead of 0.0.0.0)
Or you can create a systemd service:
vi /lib/systemd/system/usbip.service
With the definition (replace N with an actual USB ID number of your device and 0.0.0.0 with your Raspberry’s IP address):
[Unit] Description=usbip client After=network.target [Service] Type=oneshot RemainAfterExit=yes ExecStart=/bin/sh -c "/usr/lib/linux-tools/$(uname -r)/usbip attach -r 0.0.0.0 -b $(/usr/lib/linux-tools/$(uname -r)/usbip list -r 0.0.0.0 | grep 'N' | cut -d: -f1)" ExecStop=/bin/sh -c "/usr/lib/linux-tools/$(uname -r)/usbip detach --port=$(/usr/lib/linux-tools/$(uname -r)/usbip port | grep '<Port in Use>' | sed -E 's/^Port ([0-9][0-9]).*/\1/')" [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target Save, and then run these commands to start the service:
sudo systemctl --system daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable usbip.service
sudo systemctl start usbip.service
After that, you should be able to access the shared device remotely. If not, try all the steps again from the very beginning.
Important! If you unplug a USB device from the Raspberry Pi while it’s shared by this method it may result in permanent data loss. Turn off your Raspberry first (after it’s off, you can also disconnect its AC adapter for extra precautions).
| Proxi-server | Proxi-server | Redirection Server • no need for external IP • multi-network communication • works through the Firewall | N/A |
| Supported platforms: | Supported platforms: | | |
| Server-side | Server-side | ✓ Windows ✓ Linux ✓ macOS ✓ Android | ✓ Linux |
| Client-side | Client-side | ✓ Windows ✓ Linux ✓ macOS | ✓ Windows (beta) ✓ Linux |
| Firmware for microcontrollers | Firmware for microcontrollers | Raspberry (upon request) | N/A |
| Security | Security | Login tokens for safe account sharing Lock for device access control | N/A |
| Encryption | Encryption | 2048-bit SSL | N/A |
| Enhanced stability | Enhanced stability | Keep connection active option | N/A |
For sure, it's totally up to you to decide which one of the two methods described in this article you’re going to take on board. But wouldn't it be better to invest in an easy-to-handle tool with proven efficiency than rely on something that can fail at any time and cause you who knows how much nerves, time, and money due to unplanned downtime.
