Configuring VMware VMDirectPath I/O Passthrough with NVMe SSDs on ThinkSystem Servers

VMware VMDirectPath I/O (PCI passthrough) enables direct assignment of hardware PCI functions such as NVMe solid-state drives to a virtual machine. This gives the VM access to the PCI functions with minimal intervention from the ESXi host, potentially improving performance.

In this paper, we describe how to configure NVMe SSDs passthrough as PCI devices to VMs on Lenovo® ThinkSystem™ servers. We provide step-by-step instructions using VMware ESXi 7.0 U1.

This paper is intended for IT specialists and IT managers who want to learn more about NVMe SSDs passthrough.

Introduction
Scenario 1: Connecting the NVMe SSDs to onboard NVMe ports
Scenario 2: Connecting the NVMe SSDs to an NVMe Switch
References

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Related product families

Product families related to this document are the following:

• VMware Alliance
• VMware vSphere