4 best USB over Ethernet tools (In-depth comparison 2022)

Tested version

v10.0 (Windows)
v10.0 (Linux)
v10.0 (Mac)

v0.2 (Windows)
v0.1.7-3 (Linux)

v3.3.8 (server)
v4.2.3 (client)

v5.2 (Windows)
v5.2 (Linux)

MAIN FEATURES

Sharing an unlimited number of USB devices

Working with USB devices of all kinds

Compatibility with USB v3.0

Traffic compression

not from GUI

Cross-platform compatibility: creating connections between (32 or 64 bit) Windows, Linux, and macOS servers and clients

partially

Ability to set password authorization when connecting to remote USB devices

custom script is required

Network traffic encryption for secure device sharing

for each device

SSL, not from GUI

SSL, for program

Password protection of the server side

Ability to auto-connect to newly plugged USB devices

Availability of the Activity log (for monitoring all actions and operations)

less detailed

Support for RDP channel

Support for Citrix ICA channel

Ability to configure the exact TCP port for connections

for each device

for program, not from GUI

for program

Ability to disconnect a client from the server

Ability to disconnect a client from another client

Auto-reconnecting a client upon reboot

Availability of the command line options

No need for a device driver on the server side to share devices

Automatic reconfiguration of the shared USB ports upon PC booting

only on Windows

Localization to multiple languages

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

Windows version

only client

Linux version

only server

Android version

only server

only server

Version for ARM/Embedded Linux

OEM

Possibility to integrate the technology into your own product (OEM license only)

Single installer for 32- and 64-bit OS versions

Single GUI for server and client sides

Forwarding USB devices to a virtual environment (VMWare, Virtual PC, Hyper-V, etc.)

Sharing rule manager

Inactivity timeout option

Sharing a USB port with no device attached

Support for callback connection (for server computers located behind NAT)

per device

less convenient

per server

Drivers are digitally signed with Microsoft WHQL

Clean and friendly program interface

Ability to assign a custom name to any USB device

only on a client

Choosing devices that will be shared on the server

Redirecting high-speed video and audio devices

low data transfer speed

Ability to auto-find shared remote devices

Device isolation in an RDP session

Autoconnection to RDP devices

No need to install client software when connecting via Microsoft RemoteFX

from Linux USB server

Displaying the name of the client currently connected to a shared USB device in program interface on other clients

Ability to connect to a device from a Windows client once the device’s been shared on the server

Linux client has to be connected first

Showing the volume of data exchanged within a current connection

Displaying the data transfer speed

Support for two types of connection to remote devices – “Connect” and “Connect once”. The latter one lets you create one-time connection without trying to restore it if broken

Autoreconnection to the device in case the connection was broken

Troubleshooting options if a device is not working properly

Program is stable

frequent system crashes

Program is updated regularly

Availability of autoupdater

only for a client

Customer support

SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEMS

Windows (32-bit and 64-bit) 7 SP1/8/8.1/10/11 32-bit and 64-bit

only Windows 7 and Windows Vista

only Windows 10

+ Windows Vista

Windows Server (32-bit and 64-bit) 2008 R2/2012/2012 R2/2016/2019; Architectures: x86, x64, ARM64

Windows Server2012R2 or later

macOS 10.14 and higher

RPM-based: CentOS 7-8

Debian-based: Ubuntu 14.04-21.04

Free trial version

14-day trial period with the ability to share 1 local USB device

Product is free

you can share 1 USB device

15-day trial period, only one USB device from server can be connected at the same time