Understanding what Proxmox does and does not do.

[sn0cr4sh]

I'm just getting started with Proxmox. I've been researching a ton, and have even ordered the Mastering Proxmox book. I'm currently running a test system with a MySQL server, a music server, and a Windows 7 VM which I access thru remote desktop. I'm evaluating Proxmox on a test system first before I commit to buying new hardware dedicated specifically for what I have in mind. Keep in mind, this is for home use / fun, not a serious production / lab environment.

I don't know what this is actually called, and searching for "passthrough" seems to be the closest way to get information. I would like to set up a server with the appropriate / compatible hardware and provide physical access to the guest VM. This means I would like to install 3 video cards, plug in 3 keyboards and 3 mice, and have access to each individual VM directly. No VNC, no RDC. Direct. The inspiration for this came from this blog, which is based on ESXi. This is basically what I want to do (except with Proxmox): http://thehomeserverblog.com/esxi-lab-specs/

Does this just fall under the general umbrella of "passthrough"? Or is this concept called something else? The ESxi lab referred to it as "physicalizing the VM".

In addition to the physical access VMs, I will run other VMs like the MySQL, and even Windows that I'm ok with accessing thru VNC.

I know this depends a ton on the hardware, and I can post what I have in mind to see if it is compatible, but I wanted to start with the general question - does ProxMox do this? Is it capable of doing this at all? My current hardware for testing has no VT-D / passthrough capabilities, so I can't test it. Assuming I have a motherboard+BIOS+CPU+video card that is capable of it, will Proxmox do it? Has anyone done this with their setup? Is there a name or term for this kind of configuration that I missed?

Thanks so much for any help you can offer.

 

[term]

A lot of progress has been made recently in passthrough,but I think you'll need to load the latest packages from pvetest, and possibly by running the latest test kernel. I guess the question is why use proxmox for this when your lab is written to use esx?

I would search the forums for pci passthrough and see how people are getting it working. There have been several recently. Then I would read the proxmox wiki parts about passthrough.
https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Pci_passthrough

I don't think anyone is going to give you any guarantee that it is all going to work for you, if that is what you are looking for. I think this ultimately will require a expensive leap of faith for you. It does look like a cool idea, but I'm not sure I would want to concentrate so much thermal density anywhere in the house .

 

[mir]

For highest success rate in pci passthrough you should buy Intel hardware which supports VT-d. This generally means Intel Xeon and a suitable motherboard, a Supermicro motherboard is generally a good idea since many developers in kvm runs there development environments using Intel Xeon on Supermicro motherboards. If you need hardware raid the recommended brand is LSI or 3ware since these brands has outstanding opensource drivers.

 

[spirit]

Be also carefull that not all intel processors support vt-d

here the list

http://ark.intel.com/search/advanced?VTD=true&MarketSegment=DT

 

[sn0cr4sh]

Ok, I'll keep reading. I appreciate you responding. Regarding the ESXi lab example: I like the web front end for Proxmox and its been very straight forward and easy to get started with. Granted, I have a ton to learn still to get into the fine tuning. ESXi has left me a little confused. While it does seem to support the configuration I describe, I'm not clear on the licensing after 60-days (I have seen some mention of that), I keep reading about features getting dropped in new releases, and I don't quite understand the Windows control panel application either. As for density - I rackmount all my gear anyway. I look at it as being more efficient to buy one powerful server vs 4 or 5 individual computers.

A lot of progress has been made recently in passthrough,but I think you'll need to load the latest packages from pvetest, and possibly by running the latest test kernel. I guess the question is why use proxmox for this when your lab is written to use esx?

I would search the forums for pci passthrough and see how people are getting it working. There have been several recently. Then I would read the proxmox wiki parts about passthrough.
https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Pci_passthrough

I don't think anyone is going to give you any guarantee that it is all going to work for you, if that is what you are looking for. I think this ultimately will require a expensive leap of faith for you. It does look like a cool idea, but I'm not sure I would want to concentrate so much thermal density anywhere in the house .

 

[sn0cr4sh]

Ok, so quick side discussion on hardware thoughts.

One of the hardware configurations I was considering is a dual AMD Opteron 4334 on a Supermicro MBD-H8DCL-6F board with the SR5690 chipset. According to all I've read, it should allow passthrough. BIOS info seems to suggest it as well. Manual isn't the greatest in the world. I can get a board for $250 on NewEgg, processors are $189 each. RAM can be as little as two sticks, or as much as... well I don't want to do the math yet. It's the kind of kit I can start out with and grow into something truly absurd and overpowered if I want.

It has x4 PCIe slots - so I was thinking I could branch off 4 physically accessible VMs. I don't need gaming video cards - so any decent and compatible video card will do.

I'm running video/USB1.1 over CAT6. I would likely do HDMI runs as HDBASET, or possibly a DVI/VGA extender over CAT6. USB1.1 can run over CAT5, and that covers keyboard and mouse. So these 3 or 4 VMs can be distributed to bedrooms and offices in the house. I can have a computer in every bedroom, except they are actually VMs being served up from Proxmox.

 

[mir]

I can speak for the passthrough part since I don't use this, it sort of contradicts virtualization! But I have Opteron and Supermicro motherboards and it just works with proxmox.

The motherboard and CPU is certified for RHEL which is the kernel used in Proxmox: http://www.supermicro.com/Aplus/support/resources/OS/OS_Comp_SR5690.cfm