Enabling SR-IOV on physical Servers

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

There might be multiple scenarios that require us to validate on why SR-IOV status shows as "Not-Supported" in ESXi configuration. One such reason would be that the said feature isn't enabled in Server BIOS. This article provides the steps on how to validate and enable the feature.

• In the screenshot below, the SR-IOV status shows as Not Supported for Physical adapters.

       

• You may also see SR-IOV is reported as not enabled in the boot log of the ESXi host
  
  boot.log
2025-07-27T08:52:46.265Z cpu0:2098022)WARNING: qfle3: qfle3_attach_dev:12712: [0000:0c:00.0] SRIOV: No PCIe support for SRIOV
2025-07-27T08:52:46.941Z cpu4:2098022)WARNING: qfle3: qfle3_attach_dev:12712: [0000:0c:00.1] SRIOV: No PCIe support for SRIOV

 

Cause

In some server BIOS, the SR-IOV feature shall be set to 'Disabled' be default.

Resolution

Note: Before you proceed further in validating SR-IOV status in server BIOS, please check Broadcom Compatibility Guide to reference if the physical adapter has SR-IOV feature supported. Also, the following steps requires downtime or placing host in maintenance mode, proceed accordingly.

Steps to Enable SR-IOV:

1. SR-IOV Global

• • Place the ESXi host in Maintenance Mode.
  • Log in to the iDRAC for the server and launch the Virtual Console.
  • Restart the server.
  • After the Dell EMC blue screen appears, press F2 to enter setup.
  • Select System BIOS.
  • Navigate to Integrated Devices.
  • Set the SR-IOV Global Enable parameter to Enabled. 

     2. SR-IOV - Device Level:

• • Go to System Setup Main Menu.
  • Select Device Settings.
  • Choose the NIC adapter.
  • Select Main Configuration Page.
  • Choose Device Level Configuration.

 

   3. SR-IOV - Virtual Mode Parameter:

 

• Save the Changes and exit the system setup.
• Reboot the server and Exit Maintenance Mode for the host.
• Notice that for the host, ‘SRIOV Status’ for a vmnic is seen as ‘Disabled’.
• Select the vmnic adapter and click on Edit Settings.
  • Change the status from Disabled to Enabled.
  • Select the number of Virtual Functions and click OK.
• Reboot the ESXi host to apply the changes.

Additional Information

Note: All the above said changes should be reviewed and validated from Server manuals. If there is a difference, Server Manual stands true and valid.

For servers configured using server profiles, ensure that SR-IOV is enabled both in the BIOS and within the server profile settings. Before reaching out to Broadcom support, verify this configuration with your hardware vendor.