Configure a NetScaler VPX instance to use PCI passthrough network interface
Overview
After you have installed and configured a NetScaler VPX instance on VMware ESX Server, you can use the vSphere Web Client to configure the virtual appliance to use PCI passthrough network interfaces.
The PCI passthrough feature allows a guest virtual machine to directly access physical PCI and PCIe devices connected to a host.
Prerequisites
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The firmware version of the Intel XL710 NIC on the host is 5.04.
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A PCI passthrough device connected to and configured on the host
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Supported NICs:
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Intel X710 10G NIC
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Intel XL710 Dual Port 40G NIC
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Intel XL710 Single Port 40G NIC
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Configure passthrough devices on a host
Before configuring a passthrough PCI device on a virtual machine, you must configure it on the host machine. Follow these steps to configure passthrough devices on a host.
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Select the host from the Navigator panel of the vSphere Web Client.
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Click Manage > Settings > PCI Devices. All available passthrough devices are displayed.
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Right-click the device that you want to configure and click Edit.
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The Edit PCI Device Availability window appears.
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Select the devices to be used for passthrough and click OK.
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Restart the host machine.
Configure passthrough devices on a NetScaler VPX instance
Follow these steps to configure a passthrough PCI device on a NetScaler VPX instance.
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Power off the virtual machine.
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Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings.
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On the Virtual Hardware tab, select PCI Device from the New Device drop-down menu, and click Add.
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Expand New PCI device and select the passthrough device to connect to the virtual machine from the drop-down list and click OK.Note:VMXNET3 network interface and PCI Passthrough Network Interface cannot coexist.
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Power on the guest virtual machine.
You have completed the steps to configuring NetScaler VPX to use PCI passthrough network interfaces.