SR-IOV works with VMware ESXi 6 and Xeon D-1540/1541, but Supermicro implies it's only supported with 1541

Posted by Paul Braren on May 11 2016 in
  • Virtualization
  • ESXi
  • Homelab
  • Network

    • Just a quick update about SR-IOV support today. On Sunday, May 8th, Supermicro quietly made some updates to the Supermicro SuperServer SYS-5028D-TN4T Product Page, specifically, the Key Features section:

    Key Features

    • Space-efficient, compact design
    • Network Security Appliance
    • Cloud and Virtualization
    • High Performance NAS Servers
    • Business Critical Applications
    • Small and Medium Business
    • SR-IOV supported (for Xeon D-1541)

    Admittedly, this update isn't likely to settle those longstanding questions about SR-IOV support, but it may help folks to know what (little) Supermicro has to say about this. Also note that I never did get SR-IOV to work on the two 1GbE Intel I-350 ports, but I didn't try that hard either.

    If you're really in need of using SR-IOV for your heavy workload and/or production environment, you'll instead really want to check out Patrick's definitive article about this:

    The Supermicro SYS-5028D-TN4T system uses the X10SDV-TLN4F motherboard, so it's worth noting that the Supermicro X10SDV-TLN4F Motherboard Product Page hasn't yet been updated to mention SR-IOV yet. Likely just something they overlooked. I've reached out to Supermicro.

    Finally, here's the original press release, which clearly mentioned SR-IOV for this very same motherboard:

    Product Specifications

    • X10SDV-F/-TLN4F - Mini-ITX Motherboard (6.7" x 6.7") supports single Intel® Xeon® processor D-1540 SoC (8 core, 45W), VT-d/x, TXT, AES-NI, SR-IOV, Xeon RAS, built in 10GbE. 128GB 2133MHz DDR4 RDIMM or 64GB UDIMM in 4x DIMMs, 6x SATA 3.0, 1x M.2 slot (M key for SSD, 2242/2280, PCIe3.0 x4), 2x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0, 1x PCIe 3.0 x16, Quad LAN ports with SoC dual 10GbE and I350-AM2 dual GbE (-F with dual GbE only), IPMI 2.0 with KVM and dedicated port, 0-60°C operating temperature, 4 pin 12V DC and ATX power source
    • SYS-5018D-FN4T - Cost effective Embedded server solution for Network Communication with Virtualization. Compact 1U short-depth (9.8") with front I/O. Compatible with VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 5.5)
    • SYS-5028D-TN4T - Advanced Mini-Tower Server for Network Security Appliance, SMB entry server/storage, dedicated Servers featuring 4 x 3.5" hot-swap SATA HDD and 2x internal 2.5" SATA HDD, 250W power supply

    I don't have near-term plans to revisit this topic, as I'd rather use those two precious 10GbE interfaces for a variety of roles such as a vMotion and/or vSAN, rather than pinning them to some VMs. Using SR-IOV would also preclude me from using the fun and useful home lab stuff I regularly do with those VMs, such as snapshots and vMotion. See also some brief tests I did with the arrival of BIOS 1.1:

    along with my first article about SR-IOV on the Intel X552/X557 and I350 NICs, where I get into the backstory:

    SR-IOV-enabled
    Click the image to jump to the full story.

    See also at TinkerTry

    See also

    TinkerTry - PCs, EVs, home tech, efficiency and more, including virtualization. My opinions here, not my employer's.

    Paul Braren, MCSE in 1998, VCP #2681 in 2005, vExpert 2014 to 2024, Veeam Vanguard Emeritus, 2015 to 2019.

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    After 6 successful years testing then shipping well over 1,000 Xeon D Bundles, Wiredzone had to stop selling them in mid-2021 due to cost, supply, and logistics challenges. So far, Xeon D-1700/2700 (Ice Lake D) was a minor refresh for 2023, with Xeon D-1800/2800 (Granite Rapids D) refresh looking a little better for 2024. More cores, but still just PCIe Gen4 and DDR4. Looking ahead, I'm glad it's Pat Gelsinger at Intel's helm. I'm also grateful to have had the honor of working at VMware when Pat was the CIO there. I'll leave it at that, given the whole Broadcom thing.

    Easily update VMware ESXi at TinkerTry.com/easy-update-to-latest-esxi