How do I map a remote USB port on another Mac locally via IP?

Question

Level 1

2 points

How do I map a remote USB port on another Mac locally via IP?

Hello,

I wanted to see if there's a way to map a remote USB port on another Mac desktop that I have IP access to, preferably safely where access is authenticated, but not required if that's not possible with the method you're recommending.

The goal is to be able to see that remote USB port and whatever device attached to it as if it were a local one.. which I think is relatively business as usual on Unix, but I've not heard of it in Mac OS. Since the Mac OS is largely based on Unix, I think it's likely there is a solution.

Thank you in advance. :-)

Posted on Jul 25, 2011 11:53 AM

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Answer 1

Asatoran

Level 4

2,532 points

Jul 25, 2011 6:38 PM in response to CivilLizard

The goal is to be able to see that remote USB port and whatever device attached to it as if it were a local one...

I don't think such a solution "fully" exists on any platform. LogMeIn and GoToMyPC I think have limited support for remote USB flash drives and hard drives. But I don't think you can "passthrough" just any USB device. (Same for Windows Remote Desktop.)

If you know of a Unix solution, then you should see if that vendor has a Mac solution. While OSX is based on Unix, it is different enough to make porting hardware support not so simple. The first thing that "breaks" with any OS update is hardware drivers like printer and scanner support. USB passthrough would have such issues and so the vendor would have to balance how much labor and resources to provide support for "another UNIX version." (Probably more resources than a normal UNIX customer since we are talking about Mac fans that expect everything to "just work." 😝 )

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Answer 2

CivilLizard Author

Level 1

2 points

Jul 26, 2011 12:44 PM in response to Asatoran

Enjoyed the answer as much as I learned from it. :-)

Thank you!

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