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I agree with Gordan and his advice. However, ASrock seems to have a good reputation for VT-d support, but you definitely should check with them first! While Asus hardware isn't bad (as Gordan said), they are not committed in any way to support VT-d. One top of the line board - for example the Rampage IV Extreme - may support VT-d (via BIOS), the other won't, or only partially (e.g. Black edition). Also, some boards like the RIVE support VT-d with the latest Intel CPUs, others don't. Unless something drastically changed, their tech support is totally useless, even if you talk directly to headquarters.

In the realm of enthusiast boards, ASRock seems to be an exception in that they support VT-d in a range of boards and in that they actually know what VT-d is for.

Citrix certified boards will most likely be workstation boards.

Here is a list of motherboards I compiled based on success stories: http://www.overclock.net/t/1338063/vt-d-compatible-motherboards

Here the same for graphics cards: http://www.overclock.net/t/1307834/xen-vga-passthrough-compatible-graphics-adapters

Of course both lists aren't exhaustive, but provide perhaps a starting point.

On Monday, June 23, 2014 10:19 PM, Mihail Ivanov <mihail.ivanov93@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

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Hello everyone, I am new to xen and I'd like to ask some things.

I am looking to use Xen with both PV and HVM guests.
I want to pass-through most of my devices to DomU's.
My main concern so far is what hardware should I choose?

I've decided on the cpu - Intel i7-4770.
The ram will most likely be 32GB - two kits of Geil 2x8GB 1600-2166 Mhz.
About the mobos - what I know so far is that ASUS don't officially
support Vt-d, but Asrock say they do.
So I am thinking of getting an Asrock. Thing is - so far I've read
about people using the z87 chipset,
but only one example of z97. Also on Intel's website they are saying
that z87 has Vt-d,
but nothing about the z97.

So can someone confirm if Asrock Z97 mobos support Vt-d?
Also if it has problems with its tables?(EPT ones, if I am not mistaken).

I am particularly interested in the Asrock Z97 Extreme4.
Perhaps someone around here has experience with it?

Also I've read about the GPU pass-through, so I've decided to use AMD
since nVidia has no support for it
(unless I change the ID of my vga to a quadro or some other
professional vga).

Not having an FLR isn't an issue, correct?

And now my main concern - which of these devices can be used with
pass-through:
the integrated sound card
the integrated NIC
the sata controllers(expensive boards have two - one from the chipset
and another one)
the usb controllers

All of those should be PCI devices, correct?
Also in an article in wikipedia, they say that some mobos don't have
support for Vt-d for example on PCIe x8 or mini?
How come only one or two slots can't work?

Also can I passtrough just one USB device or I have to do it with the
whole controller?(as a PCI device I guess).

Greetings,
Mihail
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Re: [Xen-users] Some iommu questions(mostly about intel's vt-d)