From: Giray Pultar <giray@pultar.org>
To: pve-devel@lists.proxmox.com
Subject: [BUG] PCIe passthrough devices invisible on q35 with non-sequential hostpci numbering (two related issues)
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2026 16:38:24 +0200 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <11ce85d1-eb5d-48d1-a4ba-046424613f29@pultar.org> (raw)
Package: pve-manager
Version: 9.2.3
pve-qemu-kvm: 11.0.0-4
proxmox-kernel: 7.0.6-2-pve
Machine type: q35
## Summary
When PCI passthrough devices use non-sequential hostpci numbers (e.g.,
hostpci0,1,2,3,7,9) with pcie=1 on a q35 machine type, the devices at
higher indices become completely invisible to the guest OS. This is caused
by two related issues in qemu-server and proxmox-ve.
## Issue 1: qemu-server places PCIe root ports at invalid addresses
### Steps to Reproduce
1. Create a q35 VM with more than 4 PCIe passthrough devices
2. Use non-sequential hostpci numbering, e.g.:
hostpci0: mapping=devA,pcie=1
hostpci1: mapping=devB,pcie=1
hostpci2: mapping=devC,pcie=1
hostpci3: mapping=devD,pcie=1
hostpci7: mapping=devE,pcie=1
hostpci9: mapping=devF,pcie=1
3. Start the VM
4. Observe that hostpci7 and hostpci9 are invisible in the guest
### Actual Behavior
Only hostpci0-3 appear. The remaining devices get dynamically-created
PCIe root ports at addresses such as:
pcie-root-port,id=ich9-pcie-port-8,addr=10.3,bus=pcie.0,port=8,chassis=8
pcie-root-port,id=ich9-pcie-port-10,addr=10.5,bus=pcie.0,port=10,chassis=10
These map to PCI slot 0x10 (decimal 16), functions 3 and 5. No device
exists at function 0 of this slot. Per the PCI specification, function 0
must be present before the OS will scan higher functions. The guest never
discovers these root ports, and the devices behind them are invisible.
Guest dmesg confirms empty buses:
pci_bus 0000:07: extended config space not accessible
pci_bus 0000:08: extended config space not accessible
### Expected Behavior
All PCIe passthrough devices should appear in the guest regardless of
the hostpciN index numbering.
### Suggested Fix
qemu-server's PCI address allocation logic for dynamically-created PCIe
root ports should either:
- Place each root port at its own slot with function 0, or
- Create a placeholder function 0 when using multifunction, or
- Avoid multifunction grouping for root ports without function 0
## Issue 2: proxmox-ve does not keep hostpci numbering sequential
### Problem Description
When a PCI passthrough device is removed from the middle of a sequence,
Proxmox VE does not renumber the remaining devices to fill the gap:
Before removal of devC (hostpci2):
hostpci0: mapping=devA
hostpci1: mapping=devB
hostpci2: mapping=devC
hostpci3: mapping=devD
hostpci4: mapping=devE
hostpci5: mapping=devF
After removal:
hostpci0: mapping=devA
hostpci1: mapping=devB
hostpci3: mapping=devD
hostpci4: mapping=devE
hostpci5: mapping=devF
The gap at hostpci2 persists. These gaps directly trigger Issue 1 above.
### Expected Behavior
Proxmox VE should either:
1. Automatically renumber hostpci devices sequentially (0,1,2,...)
when a device is removed, or
2. Provide a CLI/API command to compact/renumber PCI device indices, or
3. At minimum, warn the user when non-sequential numbering is detected
### Suggested Solution
Renumber hostpci entries automatically when a device is removed via
the GUI or `qm set --delete hostpciN`, preventing gaps from accumulating.
## Workaround (for both issues)
Manually renumber hostpci devices to be sequential (0,1,2,3,4,5)
instead of using non-sequential numbers.
Giray
next reply other threads:[~2026-06-23 10:33 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 2+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-06-22 14:38 Giray Pultar [this message]
2026-06-23 12:02 ` [BUG] PCIe passthrough devices invisible on q35 with non-sequential hostpci numbering (two related issues) Dominik Csapak
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