cannot pass through PCI device (GPU) - greyed out

[LordNicoll]

I got a new server a few days ago and have been setting it up, including ESXi 6.5, my first time with version 6.5, and so far it's much like what I'm used to, but I can't pass through the Firepro V5900 I put into it. I can see it in the list of devices, but it's greyed out and I can't toggle it, it something using it or do I need to edit other settings that are hidden? You can see what I mean in the screenshot included. I don't think anything else has claimed the card and is using it.

[TheBobkin]

Hello Joshua,

Are you trying to pass this device through to a single VM?

If so then follow the steps outlined here to configure the advanced config settings and attach:

https://kb.vmware.com/kb/1010789

Further ESXi-version specific info:

https://kb.vmware.com/kb/2142307

Alternatively if you are trying to enable shared-passthrough - only specific (relatively expensive) cards are supported for shared-passthrough, of which the v5900 does not appear to be one:

http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?&deviceCategory=sptg

Bob

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[LordNicoll]

I found a solution, I just enabled the option to pass through the onboard server video and the card's audio, rebooted and was allowed to enable the pass through option for the V5900. It was for a single VM to use as a compute card, I'm not a massive fan of vGPU's to all the guests, at that point for my uses I'd rather invest in a large 4U server with 4 dual GPU cards as I use them for compute performance.