The next-generation technologies gave possibility to deliver and manage local USB devices in a virtual machine with USB for Virtual Environment solution (I highly recommend the one, produced by FabulaTech) which rapidly configures and deploys any USB device. Designed for Windows and Linux OS and ensuring broad device compatibility, USB for Virtual Environment is VMware, VMware ESX, Citrix XenDesktop, Microsoft Hyper-V ready.

Here is how it works. The program comprises two parts:  Server and Client. Server side installs on the PC which USB devices are plugged in. Server side makes USB devices available over network. Client side installs on guest operating system (virtual machine). Client application allows connecting remote shared USB device.

USB for Virtual Environment has been developed to expand a virtual infrastructure and to get better control over network.

The solution is highly recommended for general users, enterprises, corporations, IT integrators, Small Office Home Office (SOHO), Educational organizations: all those, who want to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of their IT operations.

Virtual Modem allows internet usage instead of direct phone calls to connect regular communications software. As a modem over tcp/ip, it allows any modem communications applications to interact via LAN or the Internet in a way, that application “dials” remote IP address instead of making a dial-direct call using hardware modem. Moreover, it looks as if the application worked with hardware modem. But in fact, a hardware modem is not used.

Virtual Modem skillset suggests the following:

-         Replaces hardware modems with pure software. The program allows any modem communications applications to interact via LAN or the Internet. Application “dials” remote IP address instead of making a dial-direct call.

-         No charges for phone calls. No need to pay for each phone call (especially for international phone calls).

-         Location-independent. Virtual modem can be used anywhere in the world where Internet access is available.

-         Neither phone line nor modem needed.

-         One can limit network access to a virtual modem using any firewall software.

It represents a complete virtualization solution and is successfully used in such spheres as financial systems, credit card transaction, legal information database access, real estate information systems, device control and data acquisition, building automation, security systems.

Virtual modems look like hardware modems for all communications applications and can be easily managed without making changes in existing communications software.

It has a noticeable and immediate impact on business productivity enhancing flexibility and reducing costs.

Many applications use sound for various forms of feedback such as softphones, Skype, NetMeeting, AIM, ICQ and many others. Sound over RDP extends standard RDP functionality and delivers full high-resolution low-latency remote audio playback. With the help of it, one can access data of a sound input device plugged into the local machine while working in remote Windows session.

The program is simple to handle. A working sound device is needed, Workstation installed on the computer to which the device is physically connected and the Server side on the remote server from which access to a device is needed. End users benefit from a rich remote sound experience, highly secure and flexible access to their information and increased business continuity.

Key Sound over RDP capabilities include:

-Support for input sound devices such as microphones

-Multichannel mixer

-Low-latency

-Works with Windows Remote Desktop Connection client

-Virtual Machine compatible

OEM License allows integration of Sound over RDP functionality into one’s own application.

Sound over RDP solution is ideal for people working with voice messengers in remote sessions, call centers, thin clients’ users, everyone who wants to use two-way sound over RDP protocol.

Sound over RDP has been developed by FabulaTech, a UK-based software development company which has built its solid grounds on the software market since 2000. The company specializes in device driver development, application development and systems internals programming for Microsoft Windows, Linux and Embedded operating systems.

GPS Tracking. Another case study: “VE Teltronics develops products and services for the marine industry. Our focus is on GPS tracking systems in combination with fleet management. We offer our customer innovative and cost effective solutions. We will now launch our first product, “YachtSafe”. This is a complete alarm system, with tracking possibilities, and different fleet management services. The system is specially designed for charter boats. It offers different supervision features for the boat owner and the charter company. One unique feature is the Ground detection. If the boat, on a charter, hits an under water rock, it will immediately send an alarm to the boat owner. The boat owner will also receive a log, which can be used to visualize what have happen in a digital sea map in his computer. GPS data is received from the boat to the computer via the GSM network. The YachtSafe PC application will handle the incoming data and use a standard Sea map application in order to visualize the boat in a digital map. The communication between our application and the sea map application is done through a Virtual Serial Port. By using a virtual comport we have a generic way of communication, and supports most of the sea map applications on the market. The sea map applications is designed to listen to a comport for incoming GPS data, from a GPS device connected to the computer”.
Virtual Serial Port is an ActiveX control which makes it possible to create virtual serial ports and control them fully. At the same time virtual ports look like as if they were real hardware serial ports for communications applications. The program provides a developer with full control over virtual serial port. VSPC + virtual serial port can as much as a serial device + a physical serial port. Moreover, Virtual Serial Port drives virtual serial port the same way as a serial device drives a physical serial port. If there is a task to provide interaction between communications application and your own program (e.g. hardware device emulator), there is no common solution to accomplish it. Virtual Serial Port Control allows to create additional virtual serial ports directly from your own program. And any communications application can work with them as if they were physical ports. On the other hand, developers API provided by the program allows your program to access the data written to virtual serial port by communications application and it also allows to respond with your own data. The data will be read by the communications application from the virtual serial port as if it were read from a physical port.

USB adapter development is based on a long-standing experience in USB devices drivers development and you can easily make sure how much it’s convenient and simple in use. Just choose the device and start monitoring.  No critical information will pass by the program . INTERNAL_IOCTLs, URB packets and IRP packets of PnP and PowerManagement subsystems will be captured and displayed immediately. The monitoring takes place in both directions (from device driver to the Host Controller Driver and vice versa).

USB Monitor Pro analyzes captured traffic and allows to immediately find URB request (or INTERNAL_IOCTL) come out to the Host Controller Driver and also corresponding URB packet processed by the Host Controller Driver. You will see both packets at once to compare them and then to make a corresponding conclusions.

Program’s general features at a glance:

• Monitoring of data between USB device driver and the Host Controller Driver
• Monitoring of all types of USB Request Block (URB)
• Monitoring of all IOCTL_INTERNAL_USB_*
• Monitoring of IRPs of PnP and Power Management subsystems
• Updating list of packets in real time for non-stop analysis
• Monitoring of a hot-plugged device
• Saving of captured data for further examination
• Separate records for request initiation and completion
• Filtering mechanism for limiting the volume of captured data to concentrate on the most important information
• Monitoring of several USB devices simultaneously
• Software restart of USB device

The program is compatible with Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server, USB 1.x and 2.0

At that, virtual serial ports are created on both computers and they look like physical serial ports for communications applications. Data written to local virtual serial port are automatically forwarded to remote virtual serial port and vice versa. Let’s see how it works: A modem is plugged into COM1 serial port of a computer in London office. Network Serial Port Kit is installed on that computer and COM1 serial port is shared by means of it. Virtual serial port COM4 is created on a computer in a New-York office and is connected to London office’s COM1 serial port over the Internet. Now a user from New-York office is able to use the modem located in London as if it was connected to a local computer.

Such problem can be saved with the serial to ethernet solution. Network Serial Port Kit shares physical serial port with a connected device and then accesses this device from any other computer over local network or the Internet. Virtual serial port is created on the computer from which you want to access the serial device and it’s the exact copy of the remote physical serial port with the connected device. Data is forwarded over the network from the physical serial port to the virtual serial port and vice versa. An application on the local computer works with the serial device via the virtual serial port as if it was plugged into this very local computer.

Another problem to solve: I have several remote employees that live in various places around the country. We use our company’s internal IM client to communicate, and we also use company provided web cams – It’s much easier dealing with remote employees when you can actually see them while conversing over IM. Since my IM client is on my work machine, I cannot use the web cam I have at home to video chat with my remote employees.

I also have a Blackberry 8830 that I need to occasionally plug into my work PC (via USB) in order for it to access my email account on the company’s Exchange server. If I am at home this is simply impossible via VPN and Remote Desktop.

Solution

In trying to figure out a way to solve these problems, I discovered USB for Remote Desktop software via a Google search. I was very skeptical about performance since I use a VPN connection to my work PC, but I saw that they offered a fully functional 15 day free trial of their software. I installed, configured, and was running it within 10 minutes. I then redirected my Blackberry to my work PC and was truly amazed that it worked flawlessly right out of the gate. I was ecstatic!

Now I am fully functional when I am working from home. I am able to redirect my home web cam and do video chat with my remote employees, I have full use of my password management software, and I even reloaded the software and resynced my Blackberry with my company email account one night when my Blackberry OS bit the dust.

Taken from wikipedia.org: Genzale was born July, 15 1952, and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, NY, in a second generation Italian family. As a boy he played baseball but could not join the Little League as it required the presence of the youth’s father. Under the name “Johnny Volume”, Genzale began performing music at Quintano High School with “Johnny and the Jaywalkers”. In 1968 he started going to the Fillmore East on weekends and later a West Village bar on Bleecker Street, Nobodys. He got a job as a salesclerk at Da Nazz leather shop on Bleecker. It was on Bleecker Street that he met future Dolls Arthur Kane and Billy Murcia. He joined their band, “Actress”, which eventually became the New York Dolls when David Johannsen and Sylvain Sylvain joined in 1971. At this time John Genzale renamed himself Johnny Thunders, after a comic book of the same name. They recorded two critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful albums, The New York Dolls and Too Much Too Soon. The band was managed, for a short time, by Malcolm McLaren.  In 1975 the original line-up for the Dolls broke up. Their early recordings are still in print today and continue to influence young bands with their trash/glam/punk attitude. He formed The Heartbreakers with Dolls drummer Jerry Nolan, and Television bassist Richard Hell. Ex-Demons guitarist Walter Lure was soon added. After Hell unsuccessfully tried to usurp Johnny’s place as lead singer, he left to form Richard Hell and the Vidoids. Hell was replaced by Billy Rath. With Thunders leading the band, the Heartbreakers toured America and Britain, releasing one official album, L.A.M.F., in 1977. The group relocated to the UK, where their popularity was significantly greater than it was in the U.S., particularly among punk bands.

In late 1979 Thunders began performing in a band called Gang War. Other members included John Morgan, Ron Cooke, Philippe Marcade and former MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer. They recorded several demos.

Thunders recorded a number of solo albums beginning with So Alone in 1978. During the early 1980s, Thunders re-formed The Heartbreakers for various tours; the group recorded their final album in 1984. In 1985, he released Que Sera Sera, a collection of new songs that showed he could still perform convincingly. Three years later he recorded Copy Cats, an album of rock with vocalist Patti Palladin. Thunders kept performing and recording until 1991. His final recording was a cover of “Born to Lose”.

This virtualization solution is ideal even for a novice programmer, ’cause its complete documentation and friendly API constitute simplicity of the program’s use. The solution will simplify your coding as there is no more need to check what really happens again and again. You can write a simple, clear event handler for each event you want to service instead.  It works with any serial ports.

Any feedback on the program’s usage is welcome!