Operating System Passthrough TBS6982 in esxi problem (1 Viewer)

[shms]

Hi, i have a problem with esxi and tvcard passthroughing. When i put in the tvcard esxi doesnt see the card, not in console or in vsphere anywhere. My hardware can handle vt-d and vt-x and i have used the same port to passthrough a intel nic. Any ides?

esxi 5.5
TBS6982

 

[AberDino]

Last year I purchased a Dell PowerEdge T320 and my intention was to passthrough two TBS PCIe cards to a Windows 7 virtual machine. In my case there was a PCIe link speed compatibility issue which meant the TBS devices were not detected in the BIOS so did not appear vSphere client for passthrough, see here. Some manufacturers fixed this with a BIOS update, but I didn't want to wait for that (wasn't even sure if Dell would ever fix it...) so opted to passthrough the USB controller instead and use USB TBS devices.

 

[shms]

Last year I purchased a Dell PowerEdge T320 and my intention was to passthrough two TBS PCIe cards to a Windows 7 virtual machine. In my case there was a PCIe link speed compatibility issue which meant the TBS devices were not detected in the BIOS so did not appear vSphere client for passthrough, see here. Some manufacturers fixed this with a BIOS update, but I didn't want to wait for that (wasn't even sure if Dell would ever fix it...) so opted to passthrough the USB controller instead and use USB TBS devices.

Intresting, so the TBS cards are ver. 1.0? I have a pci 2.0 slot free, maybe that could handle the card?

Thanks for your reply!

 

[mm1352000]

Intresting, so the TBS cards are ver. 1.0?

Almost certainly. The 6982 uses the SAA7160 PCIe bridge. My understanding is that all revisions of that chip are PCIe 1.0a... but if the mobo is implemented correctly this shouldn't matter.

 

[shms]

Intresting, so the TBS cards are ver. 1.0?

Almost certainly. The 6982 uses the SAA7160 PCIe bridge. My understanding is that all revisions of that chip are PCIe 1.0a... but if the mobo is implemented correctly this shouldn't matter.

Allright, but one of the cards ive managed to do a passthrough of is pcie 1.1, so, 1.1 works but not 1.0a, plausible?

 

[mm1352000]

plausible?

No, not if the explanation in the linked thread is right. There is no difference in data rate between 1.0 and 1.1.

Exactly what motherboard are you using, and what cards do you have plugged into it?

Some motherboards juggle the available PCIe lanes (and other functions) based on configuration and whatever is plugged in.
For example, I have used some shuttle boxes that only have 1 PCI and 1 PCIe x16 slot. If you plug a non-GPU card into the x16 slot then the DVI output on the mobo no longer works (seems Shuttle assumed that the x16 slot would only be used for GPUs).
Another example: I currently use an Asus P5W DH deluxe motherboard. 2 PCIe x16 slots, 2 PCIe x1 slots, and 3 PCI slots. The first x16 slot only operates as x16 if nothing is plugged into the second x16 slot. If something is plugged into the second x16 slot then both the first and second operate at x8.
More modern motherboards have similar and sometimes more complex arrangements. Intel mobos seem to be worse than AMD because Intel skimp on the available PCIe bandwidth for mainstream (ie. non-x*9) chipsets.

 

[shms]

plausible?

No, not if the explanation in the linked thread is right. There is no difference in data rate between 1.0 and 1.1.

Exactly what motherboard are you using, and what cards do you have plugged into it?

Some motherboards juggle the available PCIe lanes (and other functions) based on configuration and whatever is plugged in.
For example, I have used some shuttle boxes that only have 1 PCI and 1 PCIe x16 slot. If you plug a non-GPU card into the x16 slot then the DVI output on the mobo no longer works (seems Shuttle assumed that the x16 slot would only be used for GPUs).
Another example: I currently use an Asus P5W DH deluxe motherboard. 2 PCIe x16 slots, 2 PCIe x1 slots, and 3 PCI slots. The first x16 slot only operates as x16 if nothing is plugged into the second x16 slot. If something is plugged into the second x16 slot then both the first and second operate at x8.
More modern motherboards have similar and sometimes more complex arrangements. Intel mobos seem to be worse than AMD because Intel skimp on the available PCIe bandwidth for mainstream (ie. non-x*9) chipsets.

Intresting, i have a Supermicro X9SRL-F motherboard with the following cards plugged in and working with passthrough: intel pcie nic, ibm m1015 sata controller and a digital devices dvb-c card. The pcie card that i want to passthrough but isnt able to is a TBS 6982 dvb-s2.

 

[mm1352000]

Nice board.

This is interesting because AFAIK the DD Cine cards are using a Micronas PCIe bridge (APB 7202A) which as far as I can see is also PCIe 1.0a.

Maybe take a look at page 20 of the manual for your mobo:
http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/motherboard/C606_602/MNL-1317.pdf

It gives a diagram showing how the PCIe lanes are allocated to the slots. I wonder if another slot might work, or a slot linked to the CPU instead of the chipset.
I'd also wonder if a BIOS upgrade might help.

Best chance of support will come from TBS or Supermicro. Have you contacted them yet?

 

[shms]

Nice board.

This is interesting because AFAIK the DD Cine cards are using a Micronas PCIe bridge (APB 7202A) which as far as I can see is also PCIe 1.0a.

Maybe take a look at page 20 of the manual for your mobo:
http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/motherboard/C606_602/MNL-1317.pdf

It gives a diagram showing how the PCIe lanes are allocated to the slots. I wonder if another slot might work, or a slot linked to the CPU instead of the chipset.
I'd also wonder if a BIOS upgrade might help.

Best chance of support will come from TBS or Supermicro. Have you contacted them yet?

Thanks, iv'e emailed Supermicro but i have not yet received a reply. The first thing i did when i got the motherboard was to update it to the latest bios firmware, and that was 5 days ago. According to the manual you linked the tbs card is connected to Slot 2-3-7: 1X "PCI-E X8 G3" 2X "PCI-E X4 G3" slot. And the DD Cine card is connected to Slot 5: 1X "PCI-E X8 G3", does that say you anything?

 

[Ralph May]

I have the exact same motherboard and I am experience the same problem in ESXi 5.5 My tunner card is different but the problem is the same. ESXi doe snot see the card at all. even though other cards work and can be passed through. Did you happen to find out what the deal was with this??

Thanks