Enable SR-IOV on VMware

Enabling SR-IOV on VMware is optional, but it is necessary to realize the full benefit of DPDK to improve packet processing performance.

Prerequisites

This requires a specific NIC card. The following chipsets are certified by VMware to work with the SD-WAN Gateway.

• Intel 82599/82599ES
• Intel X710/XL710

Note: Before using the Intel X710/XL710 cards in SR-IOV mode on VMware, make sure the supported Firmware and Driver versions described in the Deployment Prerequisites section are installed correctly.

To enable SR-IOV on VMware:

1. Make sure that your NIC card supports SR-IOV. Check the VMware Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) at https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?deviceCategory=io

   Brand Name: Intel

   I/O Device Type: Network

   Features: SR-IOV

   

   The following VMware KB article provides details of how to enable SR-IOV on the supported NIC: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2038739

2. Once you have a support NIC card, go to the specific VMware host, select the Configure tab, and then choose Physical adapters.

   

3. Select Edit Settings. Change Status to Enabled and specify the number of virtual functions required. This number varies by the type of NIC card.
4. Reboot the hypervisor.

   

5. If SR-IOV is successfully enabled, the number of Virtual Functions (VFs) will show under the particular NIC after ESXi reboots.