Virtual machine fails to power on with error "Shared PCI passthrough adapter is not supported with this license of the product"

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• Attempts to power on a virtual machine in the environment fail. With error "Shared PCI passthrough adapter is not supported with this license of the product"
• The vSphere Client task console displays the following error: Shared PCI passthrough adapter is not supported with this license of the product.
• The ESXi host is utilizing a vSphere Standard license.
• The virtual machine logging (vmware.log) indicates a failure in the Module DevicePowerOn process

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Cause

This issue occurs because the virtual machine is configured with a Shared PCI device, such as an NVIDIA vGPU. The vSphere Standard license tier does not include entitlements for Shared PCI passthrough functionality. Access to shared hardware passthrough features requires a vSphere Enterprise Plus license.

Resolution

To resolve this behavior, the licensing tier must align with the virtual machine hardware configuration. Perform one of the following actions:

• Upgrade Licensing: Apply a vSphere Enterprise Plus license to the ESXi host to enable support for Shared PCI adapters.
• Modify Virtual Machine Hardware: If a license upgrade is not feasible, remove the unsupported hardware from the virtual machine:
  1. Right-click the virtual machine in the vSphere Client and select Edit Settings.
  2. Locate the PCI Device configured for shared access (e.g., NVIDIA vGPU).
  3. Click the X to remove the device and select OK to save changes.
• Alternative Configuration: If hardware passthrough is required while utilizing a vSphere Standard license, configure the physical device as a dedicated DirectPath I/O (Standard PCI Passthrough) device instead of a Shared PCI adapter, provided the hardware supports this configuration.

Additional Information

For a detailed comparison of features included in each vSphere license edition, see: VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware vSphere Foundation: Feature Comparison & Upgrade Paths