DL180 G6 VT-d I/O virtualisation

[Matthias Reif]

Hello,

How do I enable VT-d (I/O virtualisation) technology on a HP DL180 G6 server?

According to the Intel website, the 5520 chipset supports VT-d.

Thanks
Matthias

[Creek]

I don't know the term "VT-d", but the Intel Virtualization Technology (VT) is configurable via the ROM-based Setup utility. This is covered in the DL180 G6 Software Configuration Guide at http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/CoreRedirect.jsp?redirectReason=DocIndexPDF&prodSeriesId=3884339&targetPage=http%3A%2F%2Fbizsupport1.austin.hp.com%2Fbc%2Fdocs%2Fsupport%2FSupportManual%2Fc01746994%2Fc01746994.pdf

[Matthias Reif]

Mark,

Thanks for your reply.

VT-d is Intel's "Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O". It is a capability of the chipset and allows direct and exclusive access to a PCI device from within a Guest OS. See http://download.intel.com/technology/computing/vptech/Intel%28r%29_VT_for_Direct_IO.pdf

I have already enabled the mentioned VT settings in the BIOS and processor virtualisation (VT-x) is operational, but the virtualisation software (XEN) is reporting that VT-d still is disabled.


Maybe someone can confirm that the Intel(R) Virtualization Tech BIOS setting enables VT-d as well, so I can check whether this might be a software fault. I doubt it though because the setting is in the CPU section of the BIOS whereas VT-d should be a property of the chipset.

Thanks
Matthias

[adiseshu hari]

Hi

Is there any resolution to this issue of enabling VT-d support in HP servers with the Xeon 5500 processors?

We have DL 160 G6 servers with Xeon 5520 processors. VMware ESXi reports that the host does not support PCI passthrough, indicating no VT-d support.

Has anyone gotten VT-d to work on HP servers?

Thanks.

-hari

[u84823]

Open a case with HP (if you can be bothered to jump through endless loops of repeating yourself and explaining the issue through endless language barriers) - as said should be supported with these processors. Suspect limitation in the BIOS.

[Matthias Reif]

I recently had to do some work on a ProLiant ML370 G6, which has the same chipset (Intel 5520) as the 180 G6.

The ML370 has a specific VT-d option (enable/disable) in the BIOS whereas the DL180 does not.

This kind of indicates a limitation in the BIOS of the 100 series.

Thanks
Matthias

[adiseshu hari]

Hi
I filed a case with HP and found out that VT-d is not supported on the HP DL 160 platform, at least till the current G6 platforms.

However, there is an option to enable VT-d in the DL 370 G6, so I wonder if VT-d is reserved for the DL 300 series and is not available in the DL 100 series.

Thanks.

-hari