I have been asked to virtualize a system that is running Smartdraw AV 2007 and includes an accompanying Security Dongle device (usb).



The system will be virtualized as a .vmdk file (VMware virtual machine), and placed into a VMware ESX server which is part of a cluster of systems configured through VMware VCenter Enterprise Plus server.



My concern is that I will not be able to emulate the physical Security Dongle that is required in order to properly operate the Smartdraw AV 2007 system.



Is there way to use the Smartdraw AV 2007 system in a virtual environment? If not, then is there some known method of configuring a virtual machine to run the Smartdraw AV 2007 software by attaching the Security Dongle to the physical VMware ESX host ?



Thank you in advance for your assistance with this issue,



-Aaron Smith

DCHS

CSU San Bernardino

Aaron,

Firstly, we just need to clarify that the product you are trying to install is "Stardraw AV 2007" (not SmartDraw).

I can confirm that with VMWare, you are able to virtualize a USB device and that Stardraw is able to recognize this when running inside a VM.

To be clear, the USB key should be plugged into the physical host machine and your VM configuration running on that physical machine should be set so that it maps the physical USB port on that host machine to the VM.

No special configuration is needed of Stardraw.

David Snipp
Stardraw.com Ltd