ESXi - mobo USB passthrough not working - SuperMicro X11DPG-QT

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petreza

New Member
Dec 28, 2017
29
2
3
Hi,

I have tried both ESXi 6.7 and 6.7U1.
No USB controllers show up under Host>Manage>Hardware>PCI Devices>Passthrough Capable.

What shows are:
2x NICs
2x NVMes
2x GPUs - (onboard and Radeon RX480)
1x Intel(R) Audio Device

Maybe I need to install some Intel software in the ESXi hypervisor? If so, could you point me in the right direction.
Thanks!
 

Rand__

Well-Known Member
Mar 6, 2014
6,626
1,767
113
Do you use any USB device on the host?
That might make them unpassable similar to SATA controller when it is in use for a disk.

You could get a separate PCIe card with usb to pass through to work around that...
 

svtkobra7

Active Member
Jan 2, 2017
362
87
28
Code:
esxcfg-module -e xhci
echo "vmkload_mod xhci" >> /etc/rc.local.d/local.sh
?
 

nk215

Active Member
Oct 6, 2015
412
143
43
49
I don't think you need to do anything special pass thru the USB controller on the host.

Did you try just edit setting on the VM and add new device? USB control should be on that list.
 

petreza

New Member
Dec 28, 2017
29
2
3
Thank you all for trying to help!

Also just noticed that these:
"Intel Corporation Lewisberg SATA AHCI Controller"
"Intel Corporation Wellsburg RAID Controller"
are marked as "Not Capable" for PCI passthrough - they were under esxi 6.7 (non-U1)
Why?


In BIOS I have:
"Legacy USB Support" - Disabled
"XHCI Hand-Off" - tried both Enabled/Disabled - none worked


Do you use any USB device on the host?
That might make them unpassable similar to SATA controller when it is in use for a disk.

You could get a separate PCIe card with usb to pass through to work around that...
I unplugged all USB devices - made no difference.
(I use IPMI to administer the host. Maybe the IPMI keyboard/mouse are emulated (simulated?) as connected to the host by USB? What else could it be? How can I disconnect those? Log out of IPMI?)

I have a 4-port, 4-controller USB 3.1 Gen 2 PCIe3 card on order but it would take some time to arrive. I wanted to passthrough the built-in USB (and the Radeon RX480) so that I can use the guest Desktop OS until then.


Code:
esxcfg-module -e xhci
echo "vmkload_mod xhci" >> /etc/rc.local.d/local.sh
?
Code:
esxcfg-module -g xhci
tells me that it is loaded (nothing under "options")

Code:
echo "vmkload_mod xhci" >> /etc/rc.local.d/local.sh
adds the line to local.sh but there is an "Exit 0" right above it
I moved it below it.
Made no difference:
"Intel Corporation C620 Series Chipset Family USB 3.0 xHCI Controller"
stays "Not Capable" under PCI passthrough.

Near the end of the bootup process it says:
Code:
Starting up rc scripts
Running cleanupStatefulHost.py
Code:
Starting up rc scripts
Running kickstart.py
Code:
Starting up rc scripts
Running local.sh
Code:
usb failed to load
Running local.sh
Code:
Loading module xhci ...
Running local.sh
I looked at the logs - the attached screenshot is from the end of the Vmkernel log:
Vmkernel.jpg
stuff fails to load.



I don't think you need to do anything special pass thru the USB controller on the host.

Did you try just edit setting on the VM and add new device? USB control should be on that list.
This works for passing "regular" USB devices, but not HID (Human Interface Device) such as keyboard/mouse - which is what I need.


Thank you all again!
Any other ideas?
 

Arkhaic

New Member
Apr 30, 2019
1
0
1
I'm having the exact same issue with a Lenovo ThinkStation P920.
C620 Series Chipset Family USB 3.0 xHCI Controller - "Not Capable"

Were you able to find a solution? I've tried various BIOS adjustments, but still no luck.
 

petreza

New Member
Dec 28, 2017
29
2
3
I'm having the exact same issue with a Lenovo ThinkStation P920.
C620 Series Chipset Family USB 3.0 xHCI Controller - "Not Capable"

Were you able to find a solution? I've tried various BIOS adjustments, but still no luck.
Nothing so far. I am waiting on a High Point RocketU 1344A but that might take a while.

Meanwhile I installed Windows 10 directly and am using the computer as a desktop with a AMD Radeon RX480 connected to a 4K TV.
Is there a way to disable the "onboard" IPMI VGA?
When I disable it in Windows and choose for display "show only on 2", any time I switch TV inputs, it reactivates the onboard VGA and drops the resolution to 2K (and resets other settings such as frame rate etc.)

Thanks!
 

petreza

New Member
Dec 28, 2017
29
2
3
I got the High Point RocketU 1344A and am using that for USB passthrough on the X11DPG-QT for a Sworkstation / HEWS (High End Workstation - I made this one up). I upgraded to ESXi 7 and was able to passthrough the "Intel Corporation Lewisberg SATA AHCI Controller" but the onboard USB never showed up as available for passthrough.
Hope you have a better luck.