Configuring VMDirectPath I/O pass-through devices on a VMware ESX or VMware ESXi host

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides information on configuring VMDirectPath I/O direct PCI device connections for virtual machines.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.x

Resolution

About VMDirectPath I/O passthrough devices

The supported maximums for passthrough devices per VMs are:

• ESX\ESXi 8.0u2: 128 Devices - Hardware version 21
• ESX\ESXi 8.0u1: 64 Devices - Hardware version 20
• ESX\ESXi 8.0: 32 Devices - Hardware version 20
• ESX\ESXi 7.x: 16 Devices -Hardware version 13-19

For more information, see Hardware Features Available with Virtual Machine Compatibility Settings.

Configuring passthrough devices

Before configuring a device for PCI Passthrough, ensure that platform and device meets the PCI Passthrough requirements, see VMware vSphere VMDirectPath I/O: Requirements for Platforms and Devices.

 

To configure passthrough devices on an ESX/ESXi host:

1. Select an ESX\ESXi host from the Inventory of VMware vSphere Client.
2. In the Configuration tab, click Hardware Advanced Settings. The passthrough Configuration page lists all available pass-through devices.
   
   Note: A green icon indicates that a device is enabled and active. An orange icon indicates that the state of the device has changed and the host must be rebooted before the device can be used.
    
3. Click Edit.
4. Select the devices and click OK.
5. When the devices are selected, they are marked with an orange icon. Reboot for the change to take effect. After rebooting, the devices are marked with a green icon and are enabled.
   
   Note: The configuration changes are saved in the /etc/vmware/esx.conf file.
   
   The PCI slot number where the device was connected is 00:0b:0. It is recorded as:
   
   /device/000:11.0/owner = "passthru"
   
   Note: 11 is the decimal equivalent of the hexadecimal 0b.

To configure a PCI device on a virtual machine:

1. Click the Virtual Hardware tab.
2. Click Add New Device.
3. Choose the PCI Device.
4. Click Next.

Note: When the device is assigned, the virtual machine must have a memory reservation for the full configured memory size.

Additional Information

Unable to disable USB controller for passthrough after it is enabled

VMware vSphere VMDirectPath I/O: Requirements for Platforms and Devices