Unknown device with PCI vendor ID 5853 seen in Windows XP XEN Virtual Machine

  • Document ID:7002715
  • Creation Date:20-Feb-2009
  • Modified Date:30-Apr-2012
    • Micro Focus Products:
      Open Enterprise Server
    • SUSE Products:
      SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
      SUSE Linux Virtual Machine Driver Pack

Environment


Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 (OES 2)
Novell Open Enterprise Server (Linux based)
Novell SUSE Linux

Situation

An unknown PCI device is seen in the Windows VM Device Manager.  The details tab of the unknown device displays a vendor ID of 5853:

PCI\VEN_5853&DEV_0001

Resolution

The PCI\VEN_5853&DEV_0001 device is a Xen assigned PCI ID that Xen presents to all HVM Windows virtual machines.  It does not represent a real piece of hardware.  The Unknown PCI device is essentially a device for high-speed communication between the guest and the host.  When the VMDP (PV drivers) are installed into the VM, the device is no longer unknown.  It should become xenblk.sys.  The pv block and net drivers then talk through the xenbus to enable improved i/o performance.

The VMDP driver pack can be purchased.  It an also be downloaded for evaluation from:

https://download.novell.com/Download?buildid=Y1CGHtTWH8c~