Intel Device Manager VMware Plug-in compatible with vSGA

[Brandon7]

We're using Intel Flex 140 GPUs in ESXi hosts and have the Intel Device Manager VMware plug-in setup and the accelerator vib installed on the ESXi hosts. When looking at the ESXi hosts in vCenter nothing loads for Managed Devices for the Intel Device Manager plug-in. We're using the VMware Tools vSGA drivers on the guest OS. Have the vSGA driver, GPU driver, and GPU tools installed on the ESXi hosts as well.

[ArchieD_Intel]

Hi Brandon7,

Thank you for reaching out to the Intel Community Forum. To assist us in investigating the issue, please provide the following details:

Is this working fine before?

When did the issue starts? Did you do any recent changes?

What versions of ESXi, vCenter, and the Intel Device Manager plug-in are you using? Are they all compatible with each other?

Are there any error messages or logs available from vCenter or the ESXi hosts that might provide more insight into the issue?

Have you tried reinstalling the drivers or tools to ensure they are not corrupted?

Additionally, to gain a comprehensive understanding of your system, please use the System Support Utility (SSU). This tool will generate a text file compiling all your system information. You can follow the instructions at this link and send the text file here. Help Guide for the Intel® System Support Utility.

If you have any questions, please let us know. Thank you.

Best regards,

Archie D.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Brandon7]

Hi Archie,

Is this working fine before?

- This is a new implementation.

When did the issue starts? Did you do any recent changes?

- Issue has always been present.

What versions of ESXi, vCenter, and the Intel Device Manager plug-in are you using? Are they all compatible with each other?

- ESXi 8.0.3, vCenter 8.0.3, Intel Device Manager plug-in 2.0.1

- Between these 3, yes I believe they should all be compatible

Are there any error messages or logs available from vCenter or the ESXi hosts that might provide more insight into the issue?

- I'm not receiving any errors and haven't checked any logs yet

Have you tried reinstalling the drivers or tools to ensure they are not corrupted?

- I have not, but they've been installed on several hosts and the issue appears on all of them

Is the SSU tool supported on ESXi? I didn't see it listed as a supported OS.

Thanks.

[ArchieD_Intel]

Hi Brandon7,

Thank you for the feedback. I will check this first and will update you as soon as possible. Additionally, can you please confirm if you're a developer? Thank you.

Best regards,

Archie D.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Subhashish]

Hello Brandon7,

Greetings for the Day !!

Thank you for trusting Intel with your business. As with all good things, your product has reached the end of its interactive technical support life since December 27th , 2024 . However, you can find Intel® Data Center GPU Flex 140 recommendations at Intel Community forums and additional information at the Discontinued Products website. It is our pleasure to continue to serve you with the next generation of Intel innovation here.

Regards,

Subhashish_Intel.

[Brandon7]

Hello, are you saying that the Intel Device Manager VMware Plug-in has reached end of life? Thanks.

[Brandon7]

Hi, it's not clear to me what has reached the end of technical support life. Thanks.

[Brandon7]

Hi, just checking in on this. What has reached end of support?

[aaaaaaaaaaaaaaas]

Brandon, were you ever able to figure this out?  We are having the same issue here and Intel support has been a complete joke.

[Brandon7]

No, Intel Device Manager still doesn't load anything and I think with using the vSGA drivers usage can't be seen over CLI either. In one of my attempts at getting support I did get a response that the proper forum is the Developer forum. I posted there, but never received a response.

https://community.intel.com/t5/GPU-Compute-Software/Intel-Device-Manager-VMware-Plug-in/m-p/1719125#M2103

[aaaaaaaaaaaaaaas]

How are you specifying GPU profiles for vSGA if the device manager isn't loading?  My understanding from reading the documentation is that SR-IOV and passthrough both need to be disabled and no GPU profiles specified for vSGA mode:

"Enhanced VF-based driver does not require any manipulation with SR-IOV and VFs. This type of driver sets the number of VFs based on profile regardless of the VF number specified through VMware UI. It is strongly recommended to have SR-IOV settings unmodified (SR-IOV to be disabled and the number of VFs to be unspecified). Also, avoid using the Toggle Passthrough operation with a loaded Enhanced driver; it should be unloaded first. If recommendations are not followed, various side effects can be observed. Also, additional MMIO parameters are not required for Enhanced DirectPath I/O VDEVs."

[aaaaaaaaaaaaaaas]

Disregard, I misinterpreted this to mean profiles should not be set from from intdcgpu cli but that was incorrect.  After setting profiles with "esxcli intdcgpu profiles set -d=0000:24:00.0 -p=5"  it worked great!  Looks like the IDM vm is an optional (poorly designed) component 

[Brandon7]

Good to know. Are you using this profile with vSGA?

[aaaaaaaaaaaaaaas]

Yes, or "Enhanced DirectPath I/O" as the documentation calls it. 

It's a shame what happened to the Flex series of GPUs, I have never seen a piece of enterprise hardware be introduced and EOL'd within 12 months of it launching.  The fact that they are not even offering support on these is really telling.  Oh well, I'm sure this is in no way related to their deal with the Big Green.

[Brandon7]

Thanks for the help. I'll have to look into this further when I have some time.