Electronic – a product ID in USB and do I need to buy it for the project

usbusb deviceusb-host

I am trying to develop a portable device that will allow me to transfer data from one USB storage device to another without a using PC/Laptop.
I was reading the developers guide by Jan Axelson where I came across a section that said that one must buy a USB vendor ID/product ID in order to make any USB device. I read the same on the USB Implementers Forum.
I am unsure of the importance of this product ID in my project.

  • Is it something like a MAC address for computers/laptops and will I
    need it?

  • Is it something required only for developing peripheral devices and
    not devices like what I wish to implement(which I guess is more like
    a host)?

Best Answer

I am not sure what exactly you want to make, but if it is a host device you indeed don't need an USB VID/PID.

The USB VID/PID of a slave device is used by the host to identify the driver(s) to be used for the slave device. A host device does not need to identify itself to the slave, hence it does not need a VID/PID.

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