Knowledge Base

ESXi/ESX 4.1

• Run this command from a console or SSH session to disable interrupt mapping:
  
  # esxcfg-advcfg -k TRUE iovDisableIR
  
  To back up the current configuration, run this command twice:
  
  # auto-backup.sh
  
  Note: It must be run twice to save the change.
  
  Now reboot the ESXi/ESX host:
  
  # reboot
  
  To check if interrupt mapping is set after the reboot, run the command:
  
  # esxcfg-advcfg -j iovDisableIR

iovDisableIR=TRUE
  
  
• In the vSphere Client:
  
  
  1. Click Configuration > (Software) Advanced Settings > VMkernel.
  2. Click VMkernel.Boot.iovDisableIR, then click OK.
  3. Reboot the ESXi/ESX host.

ESXi 5.x

• To set the interrupt mapping using the esxcli command:
  
  List the current setting by running the command:
  
  # esxcli system settings kernel list -o iovDisableIR
  
  The output is similar to:
  
  Name          Type  Description                              Configured  Runtime  Default
------------  ----  ---------------------------------------  ----------  -------  -------
iovDisableIR  Bool  Disable Interrupt Routing in the IOMMU   FALSE        FALSE    FALSE 
  
  Disable interrupt mapping on the host using this command:
  
  # esxcli system settings kernel set --setting=iovDisableIR -v TRUE
  
  Reboot the host after running the command.
  
  Note: If the hostd service fails or is not running, the esxcli command does not work. In such cases, you may have to use the localcli instead. However, the changes made using localcli do not persist across reboots. Therefore, ensure that you repeat the configuration changes using the esxcli command after the host reboots and the hostd service starts responding. This ensures that the configuration changes persist across reboots.
  
  
• To set the interrupt mapping through PowerCLI:
  
  Note: The PowerCLI commands do not work with ESXi 5.1. You must use the esxcli commands as detailed above.
  
  PowerCLI> Connect-VIServer -Server 10.21.69.233 -User Administrator -Password passwd
PowerCLI> $myesxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost 10.21.69.111
PowerCLI> $myesxcli.system.settings.kernel.list("iovDisableIR")

Configured  : FALSE
Default     : FALSE
Description : Disable Interrrupt Routing in the IOMMU
Name        : iovDisableIR
Runtime     : FALSE
Type        : Bool

PowerCLI> $myesxcli.system.settings.kernel.set("iovDisableIR","TRUE")
true

PowerCLI> $myesxcli.system.settings.kernel.list("iovDisableIR")

Configured  : TRUE
Default     : FALSE
Description : Disable Interrrupt Routing in the IOMMU
Name        : iovDisableIR
Runtime     : FALSE
Type        : Bool
  
  
• After the host has finished booting, you see this entry in the /var/log/boot.gz log file confirming that interrupt mapping has been disabled:
  
  TSC: 543432 cpu0:0)BootConfig: 419: iovDisableIR = TRUE