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#1 2009-01-10 06:23:41

Ranguvar
Member
Registered: 2008-08-12
Posts: 2,544

Virtualization (Xen, OpenVZ, KVM) for desktops

I've been reading up on low-level virtualization and it sounds highly awesome. But, the guest OSen are using emulated hardware... as in, say goodbye to 3D graphics? Among other things? I know the new VMware supports DirectX through the virtual machine... anyone know how they do it, how it actually works? Are they just providing a more advanced fake graphics card to the guests?

From the XenFaq:

In a para-virtualized domain, you could give access to the graphics card by hiding the device from Dom0 and giving the DomU of choice access to this card.

That might be acceptable. Are there controls to change on-the-fly who has the graphics card?

Last edited by Ranguvar (2009-01-10 06:26:18)

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#2 2009-01-11 17:15:50

Ranguvar
Member
Registered: 2008-08-12
Posts: 2,544

Re: Virtualization (Xen, OpenVZ, KVM) for desktops

Bump. Just looking for the fastest (as in performance) way to run more than one OS at a time, with hardware graphics acceleration. I do have a VT-enabled CPU. Right now it seems like VMware Workstation 6.5.

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#3 2009-01-11 17:33:32

buttons
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From: NJ, USA
Registered: 2007-08-04
Posts: 620

Re: Virtualization (Xen, OpenVZ, KVM) for desktops

VMware fusion uses the wine libraries.


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#4 2009-01-11 22:41:57

Ranguvar
Member
Registered: 2008-08-12
Posts: 2,544

Re: Virtualization (Xen, OpenVZ, KVM) for desktops

I didn't know that, but still, that's for Macs running a VM - I want to use Linux as a host, and other OSen as guests, primarily Windows. Also, one of the biggest reasons I'd be running VM Windows is for more application support than Wine. A lot of stuff works with VMware, including graphics, that does not with Wine... and then worst case is rebooting into said OS.

Last edited by Ranguvar (2009-01-11 22:42:27)

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#5 2009-01-12 11:10:45

Lastebil
Member
From: Suomi
Registered: 2007-01-16
Posts: 35

Re: Virtualization (Xen, OpenVZ, KVM) for desktops

I am almost 100% certain vmware fusion does not use the wine libraries, and the buttons meant to say 'Crossover.'  (As Crossover helps fund development, etc etc etc)

Nonetheless Vmware workstation, Server, and such are not just Windows libraries set to run on Windows, and Ranguvar, you know this, so I'll move on to my experience with Xen and multiple desktop bits.

Xen _used_ to have a nice bootable cd that would let you try out multiple desktops; I haven't seen it lately, but I'm sure it's out there on the web somewhere.  It set up centos and debian domU's under a debian dom0.  It used the SDL backend for doing the graphics, but you could change this to VNC if you wished.  (This is what I recall from the bootable CD.)

In either case, those are the two methods you have to create displays.  You don't really get a driver the way that VMware and Parallels do, you get VESA emulation on VNC or SDL.  Which isn't the worst thing, but it may not be what you are after.

Much of the backend/frontend scripting is Python for xen, so if you know Python, you can hook into it.  But that's advanced.  Vmware is far simpler, but of course is a commercial solution for workstation.

I've been impressed with VMWare _server_ which is free (not open source) - however the packages in the arch repository are a bit out of date, as the current implementation of VMware Server is 2.0, and web-based in it's 'display program.'  1.0 was a separate viewer executable.  2.0 uses a plugin for firefox (and I did not have luck with getting it to work under Opera.)

So there's some random smatterings of 'xen may work, it will be much, much harder; but very possibly more rewarding' - I like xen on my servers.  But I don't think of it as a desktop soution.

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#6 2009-01-12 12:47:51

test1000
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Registered: 2005-04-03
Posts: 834

Re: Virtualization (Xen, OpenVZ, KVM) for desktops

virtualbox now supports opengl. so all games supporting opengl should work smile

see: http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog and the manual for more info.. but as far as  i remembered it worked..


KISS = "It can scarcely be denied that the supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience." - Albert Einstein

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#7 2009-01-12 14:46:16

Lastebil
Member
From: Suomi
Registered: 2007-01-16
Posts: 35

Re: Virtualization (Xen, OpenVZ, KVM) for desktops

I actually am testing VirtualBox today, and from what I have seen so far, it's a viable alternative to add to your list there.

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#8 2009-01-12 15:47:20

Ranguvar
Member
Registered: 2008-08-12
Posts: 2,544

Re: Virtualization (Xen, OpenVZ, KVM) for desktops

Thanks for the info smile Sadly VirtualBox is not what I'm looking for - the SMP support is limited (I have a quad core), and a lot of OpenGL games will run on Wine anyways. DirectX is the big thing I'd like to get working. What would be really cool is Xen but the ability to hot-swap the physical graphics card between VMs, since I don't really need acceleration on more than one VM at once.

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#9 2009-01-13 23:28:29

sand_man
Member
From: Australia
Registered: 2008-06-10
Posts: 2,164

Re: Virtualization (Xen, OpenVZ, KVM) for desktops

I have recently tried the new VirtualBox 3D acceleration and I am really impressed. I am able to run games at full speed that I could not get to work in wine big_smile

Last edited by sand_man (2009-01-13 23:28:42)


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#10 2009-07-05 19:56:58

graysky
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From: :wq
Registered: 2008-12-01
Posts: 10,595
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Re: Virtualization (Xen, OpenVZ, KVM) for desktops

@Ranguvar - been 1/2 a year since you posted, but have you found what you were looking for and if so what is it smile


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