The problem: the device is in one place and the user is in another
On the plant floor, the USB device is often far from the person who needs it. A reader, an inspection webcam or a license dongle is plugged into a computer on the line, while the software that depends on it runs somewhere else, in engineering or support.
The workarounds are familiar: stretching cables past their limits, carrying the device back and forth, or keeping an extra computer just to “hold” the USB port. It costs time, creates clutter and causes downtime whenever someone takes the device away.
What changes when USB becomes a network resource
Once the device is available over the company network, the way of working changes:
- The device stays where it works best, next to the machine or in a protected spot.
- Whoever needs it uses it from their own computer, as if it were plugged in.
- Fewer cables, less improvisation, and fewer computers dedicated only to serving a USB port.
- Support teams can help without traveling to the equipment.
- Access is controlled, and IT decides who can use each device.
How Axzon solves it
AxUSBshare is Axzon’s software that makes USB devices on one computer available to other computers on the network. Your applications keep working as they always did, unchanged.
It runs on Windows and Linux, and the Client, used by whoever consumes the device, is free. The product includes a 30-day trial so you can test it in your own environment before deciding.
Want your USB devices available where they are needed? Request a quote from the Axzon team.