For shared storage, just use any network method that you would use between 2 physical systems. If that is CIFS or NFS, then use those. If you want sftp, Windows has filezilla or WinSCP. These all work, though CIFS has the same problems that CIFS always has.
As for USB passthru ... let me check it out.
My KVM host is running 16.04. I'll connect to a Windows host using SPICE. On Windows, the GPU drivers are QXL. Inside the VM window, there is a menu .... File View Send Key Help ....
I plug in a USB Flash drive, but for Windows VMs, the File --> USB Device Selection is gray.
For a 20.04 Linux VM, File --> USB Device Selection is available. I selected that, a window popped up with 2 USB devices.
* USB Flash Memory
* CHESEN PS2 to USB Converter (i.e. a USB to PS2 keyboard + mouse)
Inside Linux, I see:
Code:
$ lsblk
NAME SIZE TYPE FSTYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 962M disk
└─sda1 961M part vfat
as expected. Back in the USB Device Selection - I deselect the Flash memory and check the Windows File menu. No joy.
Let's check the USB Controller in virt-manager. Under Windows, it is emulating a USB3 controller. It is for the 20.04 VM system too. Hummmm.
Looking at the Linux guest, I see 2 USB Redirectors setup in the VM HW list, but none are in the Windows VM HW list. I need to add one to Windows, yes? Add Hardware, USB Redirectory, Spice Channel. This change requires a reboot to become effective. No problem - isn't only Windows. 
Shutdown (not reboot). Then restart. Check the File ---> USB Device Selection. It is not gray! Select the Flash Memory and get a warning .... "there are no free channels." Perhaps I need 2 USB Redirectors minimal? Let's try that. Ok, shutdown, added another USB Redirector, started the VM, File--> USB Device selected, no warning/errors. Could this be it?
Open MS-Exploder and there's not extra drive label. Check out MS-Disk Manager ... the device isn't seen at all there either. Maybe I should try a different flash drive?
Grabbed a Kingston microSD -to- USB3.1 converter; dropped in a 64G FAT32 (had to reformat from f2fs) Samsung card, plugged it into the KVM host. Did a quick mount to ensure it was working:
Code:
sudo mount -o uid=tf /dev/sdb1 /mnt/1
de-mount it in Linux. Tell Windows VM to redirect it and told disk manager to rescan for disks. Disk manager isn't seeing it. It has a MSDOS Partition table and 1 partition FAT32. Bummer.
Let's try USB2. Shutdown, change VM settings (USB Controller 3 --> 2), restart the VM ....
Ok, I spent another 20 minutes screwing around with this and didn't get any farther. Disk Manager, Device Manager, I did see that some "unknown device" was listed, but couldn't install a driver to make it work and at the end, Windows claimed the existing drivers were fine. I use virtio SCSI disk drivers from redhat in this VM - the QXL driver is from Redhat too, I think.
Just a second ago, saw a Windows popup about a new device, which I was able to click. It said that the device wasn't working properly and that I needed to remove and re-insert it. I did that. The removal had the expected sound, but the re-insertion did not.
Even connected the device to an old, old, old, Win7 machine here. It worked perfectly, as expected. Told it to format - the default was for exFAT, which I allowed. I don't use exFAT - ever, but this 1 time. That didn't help.
Time to google some libvirt, Windows USB controller passthru help.
https://virtuozzosupport.force.com/s/article/000017379 says we have to use old versions of USB controllers.
When I look in the VM XML file, I'm seeing ich9-ehci1 as the model of USB controller show. That link says the model nec-xhci should work. Let's try that. Ouch. The VM refused to start. Put it back, quick!
I give up. Sorry.
Use Linux. Much easier.
Adv Reply
Originally Posted by Quarkrad
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