esx 5.5 hardware passthrough problems need advice


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hello everyone!

 

posting here to hopefully get some help for esx gurus!

 

i am trying to setup esx as a desktop using pci passthrough

so far i got my video card and sound card (and sas card to unraid) to pass through without issues. the problem i am running into is i cant get the keyboard and mouse to pass through successfully.

when i try and add a usb device  the only thing i see is a usb stick (that is connected through a usb hub)

if i try and pass through one of my usb controllers i get an error inside the windows 7x64 vm "code 10 unable to start"

 

if my only option is to buy a 1x pcie usb card are there any cheap options out there that are tested to work with esx 5.x

 

is there a way to "unfilter" the  usb devices attached to the machine so i can just add the keyboard and mouse to the vm.

 

in the future i plan to add another video card to connect to a tv for media use.

 

system specs:

asrock z87 extreme4

i7 4770

power color radeon 6450

Supermicro MV8

 

thanks,

 

-Chris

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

if my only option is to buy a 1x pcie usb card are there any cheap options out there that are tested to work with esx 5.x

 

This is your only option. I pass through my onboard USB3 controller along with a GPU (HD6450). Unfortunately, since I use the extra onboard controller, I don't have a standalone pci-e card to recommend.

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why do you need to pass though Keyboard and mouse in the first place?

aren't those devices exist by default ? I mean aren't they passed into VM from the Host system, or from the client you are connecting from?

 

I'm not remoting in. I am using esxi as a workstation. I ended up ordering a cheap usb3 card from amazon that I passed through without issue. When people use the PC they don't even realize everything that is going on behind the scenes.

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I can tell you that this card works perfectly for passthrough.

 

http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=107412

 

I am passing through the whole card to Win8. (which I also passed through a GPU) I connected up a USB hub to it and I have my USB soundcard, kb, and mouse all going to it without any issues.

 

Only two of the ports seem to work. Also if I disconnect anything from the card itself, I have to reboot the VM before it'll work again. That being said if I use a USB hub, I can unplug and replug anything from the hub without issue so long as I keep the hub plugged in.

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I can tell you that this card works perfectly for passthrough.

 

http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=107412

 

I am passing through the whole card to Win8. (which I also passed through a GPU) I connected up a USB hub to it and I have my USB soundcard, kb, and mouse all going to it without any issues.

 

Only two of the ports seem to work. Also if I disconnect anything from the card itself, I have to reboot the VM before it'll work again. That being said if I use a USB hub, I can unplug and replug anything from the hub without issue so long as I keep the hub plugged in.

It most likely is showing up as 3 objects on the pass through display of ESXi.  If you pass all three of those objects you will get all ports working.  That is why I like the USB 3.0 cards I'm using with ESXi 5.0.  It only shows as one object in the pass through screen of ESXi so I only have to use one PCI pass through device to the VM thus saving 2 more devices for that VM.
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  • 1 month later...

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