DCUI not initiating for ESXI host using a GPU -- Boot message "Using 'compact' UEFI RTS mapping policy" is thrown

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When trying to boot an ESXi host that is equipped with a graphics card (GPU), the Direct Console User Interface does not properly initiate for use, and gets stuck with the following message rendered on screen:

Shutting down firmware services...
Using 'compact' UEFI RTS mapping policy
Relocating modules and starting up the kernel...

Environment

ESXi 8.x

 

Cause

Direct passthrough for the graphics card may be disabled in the ESX system settings.

There may also be video-graphical options missing from the boot config of the host. At some point, VGA may had been disabled on the host. This can happen while a user is troubleshooting and instituting a new graphics card for a host.

Resolution

To enable direct passthrough for the graphics card:

1. Open the host web client.
2. Click on the Host tab.
3. Click the Manage button.
4. Click Hardware PCI Devices.
5. Select the graphics card by clicking the checkbox next to it in the list.
6. Click "Toggle passthrough".

 

The host needs to have a boot option for allowing vga. To ensure the boot option is present and persistent past host reboots:

1. SSH into the ESX host as the root user.
2. Run esxcli system settings kernel set -s vga -v TRUE.