"VmkCtl: Restoring passthru map attributes for device xxxx:xx:xx.x failed" message observed in syslog of ESXi

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0

Issue/Introduction

• "VmkCtl: Restoring passthru map attributes for device xxxx:xx:xx.x failed" message is observed in ESXi /var/run/log/syslog after adding pci device (e.g. Nvidia GPU device).
• The message appears every time the ESXi host boots up.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0

Cause

The jumpstart plugin attempts to call a function called LoadConfig for all devices discovered during boot time. This function is only meant for passthru devices and can be ignored for non-passthru ones.

Resolution

The messages can be safely ignored for non-passthru devices.