topic Re: Re:Xeon-W Processor Thunderbolt Ports - Device Pass-Through to Virtual Machine Guest OS in Intel® Xeon® Processor and Server Products

Xeon-W Processor Thunderbolt Ports - Device Pass-Through to Virtual Machine Guest OS

Walt1 — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 16:36:43 GMT

Looking for guidance on the possibility of running Microsoft Hyper-V with Windows Server or Oracle VirtualBox under Windows 11 on a Xeon-W (Tiger Lake H) based system where Thunderbolt IO, such as graphics, USB, and networking tunnel, at a TB4 docking station are directly available to a Windows guest OS as 'pass-through' devices. There doesn't seem to be literature available on Microsoft, Oracle or Intel web sites on this specific Thunderbolt related topic.

Re:Xeon-W Processor Thunderbolt Ports - Device Pass-Through to Virtual Machine Guest OS

NormanS_Intel — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 04:38:56 GMT

Hello Walt1,

Thank you for posting in the community!

To ensure you receive the most specialized assistance, we have a dedicated forum that addresses these specific concerns. Therefore, I will be moving this discussion to our Server Forum. This will allow our knowledgeable community and experts to provide you with timely and accurate solutions.

Best regards,

Norman S.

Intel Customer Support Engineer

Re:Xeon-W Processor Thunderbolt Ports - Device Pass-Through to Virtual Machine Guest OS

Sachinks — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 12:19:42 GMT

Hello Walt1,

Thank you for posting in Intel community Forum.

We see that you wish to get guidance on the possibility of running Microsoft Hyper-V with Windows Server or Oracle VirtualBox under Windows 11 on a Xeon-W (Tiger Lake H) based system where Thunderbolt IO at a TB4 docking station are directly available to a Windows guest OS as 'pass-through' devices.

Kindly provide us the system model details that you are using ( motherboard model) and the exact CPU model details so that we can check this further for you.

Regards,

Sachin KS

Re:Xeon-W Processor Thunderbolt Ports - Device Pass-Through to Virtual Machine Guest OS

Ragulan_Intel — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 23:23:52 GMT

Hello Walt1,

Thank you for posting in Intel community Forum.

We have found some relevant information in regards with your request on Microsoft Tech Community forum which might help.

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/educator-developer-blog/step-by-step-enabling-hyper-v-for-use-on-windows-11/ba-p/3745905

If there is anything else needed, kindly let us know and we will try our best to assist.

Thank You & Best Regards,

Ragulan_Intel

Re: Re:Xeon-W Processor Thunderbolt Ports - Device Pass-Through to Virtual Machine Guest OS

Walt1 — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 23:37:22 GMT

Norman S.,

Acknowledged. Thank you for letting me know.

Regards,

Walt

Re: Re:Xeon-W Processor Thunderbolt Ports - Device Pass-Through to Virtual Machine Guest OS

Walt1 — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 00:14:25 GMT

Sachin KS,

Thank you for the response. The processor is a Xeon-W-11865MRE. The actual system is a custom embedded product. However, I would suggest that any desktop system that brings out all four TB4 ports of the Xeon-W-11865MRE will be applicable to this inquiry.

Getting Microsoft Hyper-V with Windows Server or Oracle VirtualBox under Windows up and running is expected to be straightforward. The uncertainty is whether TB4 IO can be passed-through to a guest OS. And if this is possible, whether there any guidelines/instructions generally available for doing so? ( I understand that this is a question for Microsoft and/or Oracle, but I haven't found much on this subject at their web sites. The hope is that someone in the Intel ecosystem has tried this and can provide guidance.)

Perhaps the GPU of the Xeon-W-11865MRE provides the simplest case - no docking station (or docking station function embedded in TB capable monitor). If, for example, a Windows 11 Guest OS is instantiated under Hyper-V, and higher graphics performance than can be obtained using RDP is desired, and the system admin is willing to give up the GPU from the Hyper-V Manager, then can it (the Tiger Lake-H GT1 [UHD Graphics]) be assigned as a pass-through device to a guest OS, such that the guest OS desktop is available - as as a graphics output of the system via a Thunderbolt port of the processor - and then directly to the Monitor that supports Thunderbolt.

Because Hyper-V is type 1 (bare metal) and VirtualBox is type 2, perhaps there will be a different situation for VirtualBox than for Hyper-V. At this point I am agnostic about the hypervisor, so am most interested whichever hypervisor is more likely to be viable for this.

Best Regards,

Walt

Re: Re:Xeon-W Processor Thunderbolt Ports - Device Pass-Through to Virtual Machine Guest OS

Walt1 — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 00:26:17 GMT

Ragulan_Intel,

Thank you for your response.

Yes, I have seen this Microsoft information. From other web sites/postings/forums I have come to understand that Hyper-V running under Windows 11 does not allow for "pass-through" devices - at least not to the degree that is needed for my situation.

I did see some information on the Internet that indicated that Windows Server (2016 and later) does allow for "pass-through" devices for Hyper-V. But, this information was limited and seemed to me conflicting as to what is really possible.

Also, I am thinking that needing to use the TB4 ports of the Xeon-W makes this more complicated/less likely.

Here are a couple of Microsoft Links that seemed relevant, but not too encouraging:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-server-for-it-pro/using-gpu-passthrough-in-hyper-v-on-windows-server-2022/m-p/4085252

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/deploy/deploying-graphics-devices-using-dda

My hope is that someone in the Intel ecosystem has tried this, or something like this, on a Xeon-W based system using the TB4 ports, and can provide guidance.

Best Regards,

Walt

Re:Xeon-W Processor Thunderbolt Ports - Device Pass-Through to Virtual Machine Guest OS

Ragulan_Intel — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:01:33 GMT

Hi Walt1,

Warm greetings and good day to you.

As pertaining to the queries you have made, it would be best if you can get in touch with OS providers (Eg: Windows or Oracle) and they would be the best people to advise on this.

Thank you & Best Regards,

Ragulan_Intel

Re: Re:Xeon-W Processor Thunderbolt Ports - Device Pass-Through to Virtual Machine Guest OS

Walt1 — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 13:37:31 GMT

Ragulan_Intel,

Thank you for the follow-up on this subject.

Your recommendation is acknowledged.

Best Regards,

Walt

Re:Xeon-W Processor Thunderbolt Ports - Device Pass-Through to Virtual Machine Guest OS

Ragulan_Intel — Sun, 04 Aug 2024 22:45:28 GMT

Hi Walt1,

Greetings!

Thanks for the feedback. With this we will proceed to archive this case from our end.

You may receive an invitation to take a survey in a few days. We value your feedback and look forward to hearing about your support experience.

Regards,

Ragulan_Intel