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Proxmox PCI passthrough NIC | Enable & Configure

Proxmox VE plays a key role in managing and using computing resources. Furthermore, it can perform PCI passthrough. This involves the direct sharing of PCI devices with virtual machines.

Today, we are going to dive into configuring and verifying PCI passthrough within the Proxmox environment.

1. First, we have to log into our Proxmox node through SSH.
2. Then, it is time to open the GRUB configuration file and modify the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=”quiet” line according to our CPU type.
   • For Intel CPUs, add: intel_iommu=on
   • For AMD CPUs, add: amd_iommu=on
3. After making the changes, save the file and exit.
4. Then, we have to update GRUB to apply the changes.

How to pass a physical NIC to a VM

1. First, we must ensure the hardware and BIOS support and have IOMMU enabled.
2. Next, we have to verify that Proxmox recognizes the NIC we want to pass through. We can do this with the lspci command. It will list all PCI devices and identify the NIC by its identifier.
3. If the kernel driver binds to the NIC, preventing passthrough, we must blacklist it. We can do that by editing the /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf file and add the following line:

   blacklist driver_name

   We have to replace driver_name with the kernel driver’s name.
4. Then, open the grub configuration file and add the following line:

   GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT = “quiet intel_iommu=on”

   After that, we have to save and update the grub configuration file.
5. Now, reboot the Proxmox host to let the IOMMU changes take effect.
6. Before passing via the NIC to the VM, we have to make sure it is not in use by the host. We can use this command to detach the NIC:

   echo 1 > /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:xx:xx.x/remove
7. Next, head to the Proxmox web interface and go to Datacenter.
8. Then, we must choose the node and select the VM.
9. After that, we have to click Add under Hardware.
10. Next, choose PCI Device and select the PCI device corresponding to the NIC.
11. After attaching the NIC, we have to configure its network settings within the guest OS.

Finally, we can confirm the NIC’s functionality within the VM by testing network connectivity and usage.

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Conclusion

In summary, our Support Techs introduced us to enabling and configuring the PCI passthrough in Proxmox.