USB Network Gate enables users to connect USB devices, which are connected to other computers, using IP channels.
The market is teeming with various software and hardware solutions for remote connection of USB devices. Some of them require users to have certain knowledge and skills and in some cases installation may take a lot of your time. USB Network Gate amazed me with its simplicity. So I downloaded the app, installed it, pressed Share button and my device was available for connection on a remote PC equipped with a client.
USB Network Gate can be irreplaceable, for example while using USB tokens on RDP server. The app allows to set up an exclusive access to devices for a specific remote desktop user by isolating them from other users. The app can also be used in a virtual environment, if for some reasons it is not possible to connect the device directly. It is available for Windows, Linux (RPM and Deb packages), Apple OS X and what’s particularly interesting, for Android. Now lets move on to see how it works.
Server
The app simultaneously performs functions of a server and a client. When started, it displays by default all USB devices connected to a computer. But you can display and set up shared access to all ports.
You can also set up connection separately for each device or port, or allow connection only to a specific address. Authorization and encryption are also available to secure the connection.
Client
When using USB Network Gate as a client, the app scans local network for servers and displays all devices available for connection. If server is in another subnetwork, for instance, when connected via VPN, it can be added with “Add server” button. After I opened access to printer, it appeared in the list of available for connection on my MacBook. Apart from printer I also connected USB hard drive with HFS+ partitions, it also connected, but partitions were mounting for approximately three minutes, because of their huge size, I guess.
Conclusion
Trial version allows to grant access only to a single device, while registered version – depending on the license level, starting one for $89.95 to unlimited for $699.95. If you need to quickly share a device via network, then USB Network Gate is what you need, especially if you are not a computer geek.