Virtual Machines?

Hey guys -

My Mother asked me about maybe building her a cheap computer (one of the DIY kits @ Newegg for like $300). But then I remember reading about "virtualization" on Intel's site about the Xeon X3440 (i7 8xx) I ordered, and will be getting tomorrow. Now I am not expecting to set this up, if I can, right away. I try and be as efficient with a dollar as possible, if setting up virtualization is cost effective, I may go this route. After I get a better understanding, since I'm quite confused.


But in general, how does this work exactly, if I wanted to setup my Xeon as a virtual machine for her? The only things she does, is read e-mail, Office, and Pogo games (http://www.pogo.com/).

1. Would the Xeon I chose be acceptable for needs?
2. Must I leave my computer on 24/7? (I think so, just double checking)
3. What are the requirements to set up virtualization on both ends (my end and her end)?
4. And what kind of software is needed? (Anything that's free is better!)


Eh, I apologize about the questions. I tried to do a little google searching but I kind of got more confused..

Thanks for your time and patience - it's really appreciated.

Games will not work well on Virtual Machines, they lack actual video drivers.

1) Any CPU with virtualization would work.
2) Yes.
3) Have a CPU that supports it and software that runs in your OS (Windows/Linux)
4) VMware is freely available.

thideras said:

Games will not work well on Virtual Machines, they lack actual video drivers.

1) Any CPU with virtualization would work.
2) Yes.
3) Have a CPU that supports it and software that runs in your OS (Windows/Linux)
4) VMware is freely available.

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Thanks. Pogo games aren't graphically heavy one bit, and many run like 800x600. Would this be a problem?


In regards to the requirements, the computer on the other end of mine, must it have all the necessary hardware (cpu, HDD, gpu, copy of Windows, etc.)?

Even if they don't really require a video card, you are going to need a lot of bandwidth to display the game since it is trying to update the screen frequently. Games won't really work very well at all. Think of it like this, you are basically taking the data that would go to the monitor via a DVI/VGA cable and are running it over ethernet. Ethernet is NO where near as fast as a video cable.

You could always install VMWare and try it.

thideras said:

Even if they don't really require a video card, you are going to need a lot of bandwidth to display the game since it is trying to update the screen frequently. Games won't really work very well at all.

You could always install VMWare and try it.

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Thanks. So the machine on the other end of mine, must be fully functional, then? At the moment it is not, and she's using a old laptop. Does it also to have its own copy of Windows too? Like could I install my copy, then install VMWare and deactivate the key on her computer, so then VMWare is installed, and usable. Then reactivate Windows on my end? (I hope this talk isn't illegal or against TOS)

The virtual machine would need a different copy of Windows. You would also want a gigabit connection between the server and client.

thideras said:

The virtual machine would need a different copy of Windows. You would also want a gigabit connection between the server and client.

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Alrightly, thanks.

This is not what you want to do really.

What you are talking about is called making your machine a virtual machine server. You'd be running vmware server, which installs like an application on your PC (it is an application/service, and must be running anytime someone wants to use a virtual machine). vSphere Hypervisor is another option, but that installs on bare metal and definitely isn't what you want on your PC (it is the OS, and must be running anytime someone wants to use a virtual machine).

Virtual machines are good because they abstract the hardware from the operating environment - rather than having a 1 to 1 relationship between OS and hardware, you have the flexibility for a 1 to many relationship. If you have one machine that is often at high utilization and several with very low average utilization, running them all on the same hardware uses more of the system resources that would often be sitting idle if each machine were on dedicated hardware. Virtualization gets more out of available processor cycles and system resources, especially if you use thin provisioning which allows you to overallocate resources (assign more resources to all machines than physically exists on the server, based on the rule that all machines will never be using all of the allocated resources simultaneously).

So in your situation, your machine would be running the vmware server software, and you'd be looking to deliver a virtual desktop to your mother. To do this, her machine must be fully functional regarding hardware, and it must have the vmware view installed. This is a free trial, but not free to use indefinitely like vmware server, vsphere hypervisor, or vmware player (this lets you use multiple guest OSs from your desktop OS, runs as an application). It does not have any of the benefits you are looking for.

I've focussed on vmware offerings, but citrix offers a roughly equivalent product called xendesktop that does the desktop virtualization thing also, similar to vmware view. Both don't suit you, and are not free to do what you are considering.

If you really want to do what you are considering, the best option would be a terminal server setup - she uses a low cost machine, like her laptop, to remote desktop into your "server" and run the applications from there with all the power of your machine, minus the graphics as thideras mentioned. Youtube and flash based games do not work well in this setup. You can do this with vmware server, or with a version of windows that enables concurrent terminal sessions.

She'd be light years better with a throwaway cheapo emachine. Get the warranty even, and forget any of the headache and complexity.

I.M.O.G. said:

She'd be light years better with a throwaway cheapo emachine. Get the warranty even, and forget any of the headache and complexity.

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I also agree with this.

Thanks guys. Appreciate it.

im not even sure why she would even need a virtual machine, or a xeon for that matter. unless you are running linux and she wants to use windows, you can run virtualpc for example and set her up with a virtual machine. but you dont need a xeon processor/mobo just for that.

hkfeet said:

im not even sure why she would even need a virtual machine, or a xeon for that matter. unless you are running linux and she wants to use windows, you can run virtualpc for example and set her up with a virtual machine. but you dont need a xeon processor/mobo just for that.

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Because the one she was using is terribly old, and needs to be replaced/updated. I didn't buy a Xeon for this, I bought it for myself, with no intentions on setting something like this up. I just thought I could share what I have, with her, without costing anything to her.