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Virtualisation Question

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  • 29-05-2010 7:47pm
    #1
    _Kaiser_
    Registered Users Posts: 28,867 ✭✭✭✭


    Hey all,

    Right so I'm familiar with Microsoft's Hyper-V/Virtual PC solutions, but one limitation is that you can't modify/change the default S3 graphics that is used by the client OS's.

    So more out of curiosity, I'm wondering if VMware's ESXi server (which seems to be free from what I can make out) would let you do this.

    Ideally you see, I'd setup a box - in this case a rather significantly modified high-end DELL Precision - with Server 2003/8 and then run a virtualised Win7 install on it that'd take advantage of the high-end NVidia card I have in the physical machine.

    Why? Well because what I'd ideally like is one physical machine that I can run several VMs on for testing/file and print access, and for entertainment when I feel the need to (hence the graphics requirement)

    Is this even possible with the current software that's out there?


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    #2
    swampgas
    Registered Users Posts: 3,564 ✭✭✭swampgas


    Kaiser2000 wrote: »
    Hey all,

    Right so I'm familiar with Microsoft's Hyper-V/Virtual PC solutions, but one limitation is that you can't modify/change the default S3 graphics that is used by the client OS's.

    So more out of curiosity, I'm wondering if VMware's ESXi server (which seems to be free from what I can make out) would let you do this.

    Ideally you see, I'd setup a box - in this case a rather significantly modified high-end DELL Precision - with Server 2003/8 and then run a virtualised Win7 install on it that'd take advantage of the high-end NVidia card I have in the physical machine.

    Why? Well because what I'd ideally like is one physical machine that I can run several VMs on for testing/file and print access, and for entertainment when I feel the need to (hence the graphics requirement)

    Is this even possible with the current software that's out there?

    You are correct that ESXi is free. As far as I know ESXi does not support any advanced graphics in the VM, which will see a standard graphics card.

    As ESXi is usually installed on servers rather than desktop machines, this isn't really an issue. Also, if you imagine multiple VMs running, how would they all share the same physical graphics card?

    Graphics-intensive apps simply don't perform very well in a virtualised environment.

    Alternatively, if you run VMware Server (Free) or Workstation (not free) on Windows 7, you will have the option of running W2K3/W2K8 VMs for testing, and still be able to run games un-virtualised on Win 7.


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    #3
    Sputnik
    Registered Users Posts: 194 ✭✭Sputnik


    There's a good chance ESXi won't even run on that system. Desktop machines aren't certified so it's likely there won't be any drivers that work.

    swampgas is correct with regards to the advanced features of the graphics adapter, even if esx can pick up the card none of those features will be available.


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    #4
    swampgas
    Registered Users Posts: 3,564 ✭✭✭swampgas


    Sputnik wrote: »
    There's a good chance ESXi won't even run on that system. Desktop machines aren't certified so it's likely there won't be any drivers that work.

    swampgas is correct with regards to the advanced features of the graphics adapter, even if esx can pick up the card none of those features will be available.

    This is true.

    However if you are not worried about support and want to see if your desktop *might* work with ESXi, check out one of the white-box sites, for example: http://www.vm-help.com//esx40i/esx40_whitebox_HCL.php

    But ESXi is not really an option if you want gaming-level video performance...


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    #5
    Jumpy
    Registered Users Posts: 7,606 ✭✭✭Jumpy


    Virtualisation is not an option for you if you want graphics performance. All user interface is done via remote console which reduces its bandwidth by doing minimal refreshes. You will get very bad performance on anything that has screen refresh requirements.


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    #6
    fcrossen
    Registered Users Posts: 241 ✭✭fcrossen


    Kaiser2000 wrote: »
    Ideally you see, I'd setup a box - in this case a rather significantly modified high-end DELL Precision - with Server 2003/8 and then run a virtualised Win7 install on it that'd take advantage of the high-end NVidia card I have in the physical machine.

    Try Sun's VirtualBox. You can enable/disable access to the host's 2D and 3D graphics extensions...


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    #7
    Jumpy
    Registered Users Posts: 7,606 ✭✭✭Jumpy


    fcrossen wrote: »
    Try Sun's VirtualBox. You can enable/disable access to the host's 2D and 3D graphics extensions...

    To what end? You will still be accessing the VM via a remote console. This will kill any frame rate you would need for a gaming rig.


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    #8
    fcrossen
    Registered Users Posts: 241 ✭✭fcrossen


    Jumpy wrote: »
    To what end? You will still be accessing the VM via a remote console. This will kill any frame rate you would need for a gaming rig.
    You can run the VM on your host machines desktop in full screen mode - no need to use a remote console.

    Since VirtualBox 3.0:
    On the desktop side, it can now run Microsoft Direct3D support for Windows guests, which allows for graphically intensive Windows applications, such computer modelling, 3D design, and games software, to run in a virtual environment. Support for version 2.0 of the Open Graphics Library (OpenGL) standard has also been added, which allows for high-performance graphical applications that typically use graphical hardware acceleration.
    (http://www.infoworld.com/d/virtualization/sun-upgrades-freeware-virtualization-tool-366)

    Regardless the original question was:
    what I'd ideally like is one physical machine that I can run several VMs on for testing/file and print access, and for entertainment when I feel the need to (hence the graphics requirement)

    A dual boot environment would be much better for games.


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    #9
    joe_elway
    Registered Users Posts: 170 ✭✭joe_elway


    Do some googling on RemoteFX. It's a new feature in the beta of SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2. It's intended for VM's running on Hyper-V to take advantage of GPU virtualisation. Citrix will also be taking advantage of it.


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    #10
    jpl888
    Closed Accounts Posts: 407 ✭✭jpl888


    I'll second the vote for VirtualBox. I had trouble with the 3d support last time out though, YMMV.


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    #11
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Intel VT-d would do the trick but I'd assume it would need supported hardware.


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    #12
    logic
    Registered Users Posts: 938 ✭✭✭logic


    Would it not be easier to install win7, then virtualize the other operating systems (Server 2003/8, etc) with a type 2 hypervisor (VM Player is free too).


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    #13
    Standard Toaster
    Registered Users Posts: 10,264 ✭✭✭✭Standard Toaster


    Parrells is your man if you want 3D etc.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWU4DTOP9ys


    Version 6 is out next week I believe.
    ESX/ESXi/vSphere/Hyper-V/Xen etc are no use for what your looking for. Maybe SunVBox seeing as it's free, give it a try
    i have used them all, feel free to ask away.


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