Overview

USB/IP is an open-source project and has been incorporated in the kernel. In a Linux environment, you can use USB/IP to remotely share USB devices. This document uses the following environment versions as examples to describe how to use USB/IP to share USB devices.
USB client: CVM with CentOS 7.6
USB server: local PC with Debian

Notes

The USB/IP installation method and kernel module name vary by Linux OS versions. Go to the official Linux releases and check whether your current Linux OS supports the USB/IP feature.

Directions

Configuring the USB server

1. On the local PC, run the following commands in sequence to install USB/IP and load related kernel modules:

   sudo apt-get install usbip
   sudo modprobe usbip-core
   sudo modprobe vhci-hcd
   sudo modprobe usbip_host

2. Insert a USB device and run the following command to view available USB devices:

   usbip list --local

   For example, if a Feitian USB key is inserted to the local PC, the following result is returned:

   busid 1-1.3(096e:031b)
   Feitian Technologies, Inc.: unknown product(096e:031b)

3. Record the busid value and run the following commands in sequence to enable listening, specify the USB/IP port, and share the USB device:

   sudo usbipd -D [--tcp-port PORT]
   sudo usbip bind -b [busid]

   For example, if the specified USB/IP port is port 3240 (default USB/IP port) and busid is 1-1.3, run the following commands:

   sudo usbipd -D
   sudo usbip bind -b 1-1.3

   (Optional) 4. Run the following command to create an SSH tunnel and use port listening:

   Note：

   Skip this step if the local PC has a public IP address.

   ssh -Nf -R specified USB/IP port:localhost:specified USB/IP port root@your_host

   your_host indicates the CVM IP address.
   For example, if the USB/IP port is port 3240 and the CVM IP address is 192.168.15.24, run the following command:

   ssh -Nf -R 3240:localhost:3240 root@192.168.15.24

Configuring the USB client

Note：

The following uses a local PC without a public IP as an example. If your local PC has a public IP, replace 127.0.0.1 in the following steps with the public IP of your local PC.

1. Log in to a Linux instance.
2. Run the following commands in sequence to download the USB/IP source:

   rpm --import https://www.elrepo.org/RPM-GPG-KEY-elrepo.org
   rpm -ivh http://www.elrepo.org/elrepo-release-7.0-3.el7.elrepo.noarch.rpm

3. Run the following commands in sequence to install USB/IP:

   yum -y install kmod-usbip usbip-utils
   modprobe usbip-core
   modprobe vhci-hcd
   modprobe usbip-host

4. Run the following command to query available USB devices of the CVM:

   usbip list --remote 127.0.0.1

   For example, if the Feitian USB key information is located, the following result is returned:

   Exportable USB devices
   ======================
   -127.0.0.1 1-1.3: Feitian Technologies, Inc.: unknown product(096e:031b):/sys/devices/platform/scb/fd500000.pcie/pci0000:00/0000:00:00.0/0000:01:00.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.3:(Defined at Interface level)(00/00/00)

5. Run the following command to bind the USB device to the CVM:

   usbip attach --remote=127.0.0.1 --busid=1-1.3

6. Run the following command to query the USB device list:

   lsusb

   If information similar to the following is returned, the USB device has been shared.

   Bus 002 Device 002:ID096e:031b Feitian Technologies, Inc.
   Bus 002 Device 001:ID1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
   Bus 001 Device 001:ID1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub