linux Citrix XenServer v. vmware Esxi v. OpenSuse

[Bendy_BSD]

Background for context:

 

I'm creating this topic to find what you guys think of these three operating systems and what the pros/cons of each are.   That and I'm trying to come to the best conclusion as to what os i should use for the sole purpose of having a host for PCI-Passthrough for the guest VM's to have. I have enough money to get UnRaid OS (basic) if I really have to, and I say this because in my experience with using linux, I did all the steps necessary to get it working and not only that but i also made sure that all hardware in my server are in separate IOMMU groups (which they are, every last part are and no ACS override patch is necessary.)

What bugs me the most is that after following all necessary steps to get it working, it always fails one way or another.  The only distro that i know of that worked without spitting out errors to my face is Manjaro.  But, there in lies another issue: OVMF Tianocore firmware not recognized by libvirt gui, and within the software library gui i had it installed and restarted my server and yet it still didn't recognize that it was included.   That is unless my particular build of Manjaro is buggy then fair enough.  But, until I can find out about it with manual testing (I don't have physical access to it for now because it is located at my father's house and the drive is a long way's away.  There's a good reason for it, I don't trust my step family with my computer. period.  And my father is FAR from computer illiterate and knows which is which. Moving on..) i will have to plan ahead and make sure that i can go with the best option and if necessary, i will buy just to get PCI Passthrough working.

 

From reading a couple of forums, OpenSuse, Arch, CentOS and Gentoo are arguably the ones that are well-suited to have run as the host for having these vms.  OpenSuse caught my eye in particular due to having a gui desktop, and the kernel(s)  (if I'm not mistaken, otherwise please correct me) are pre-configured for this type of virtualization application.  And the command line scheme is familiar to me because i am used to the "apt-get" style that i learned from ubuntu originally when i first began using linux.    Speaking of that, why does manjaro have to have a confusing command scheme?  Instead of "apt-get" its "pamac" or something else.  I get that linux can be open source and the command variable schemes can be different but dang is it confusing the hell out of me. XP

 

Anyway, that aside I don't mind getting my hands dirty to get PCI passthrough working just as long as it works, otherwise my genetically coded stubbornness thanks to my scotch-irishness will make me continue until insanity comes around to making it work.   So, what i know so far already are:

 

i.) Citrix XenServer is Windows-centric (i.e., requires the server management console software to be run on a windows system in order to create vms, etc.  Note that there's an open source version of this said software for linux available.)

 

ii.) in order to get vmware esxi i would have to put in a lot of info before i can buy a license or let alone download a free version of the said hypervisor software.

 

iii.) In order to get to download XenServer hypervisor, i must create an account and i'll be able to download it for free or buy a license to get more features.  (Makes sense if i have to do that so I can add the licensed vers. to my account's shopping cart to purchase, fair enough.)

 

iv.) unraid requires that you get a trial key or a key that allows you to use it full time (basic, pro, etc.) made by purchasing a key.

 

So, is there any info at this point that needs to be corrected?  If so, please correct me.

 

Use Case moving forward:

 

In my head, i would have a host that i can get access to in order to create and spin up a vm so that i can not only run it as a server for my windows machine to play games but as well as a hackintosh rendering station for content creation (non-commercial; private use at home.) and finally have it serve up some media for my kodi/plex clients and be a general-purpose file server.

 

Final Conclusion:

 

So, in terms of:

 

i.) ease to setup a vm with a pci host device passed through to guest machine without too much difficulty (i.e., the manjaro example where the ovmf firmware wasn't detected after installation of package.)

ii.)  ease to obtain an .iso.

iii.) ease to setup the packages required to host vms (libvirt, qemu, ovmf, etc.)

iv.) less prone to errors when passing through a host device to a vm (note: while all devices are in completely separate iommu groups.)

 

So, in your experience or opinion, which distro mentioned here is best for this application?

Edited July 23, 2019 by Bendy_BSD

[Sauron]

If you want a plug and play experience then buy unraid. If you're willing to put in some time any other distro will do, I do this in CentOS and Arch and it works fine on both. RHEL based distros generally have more tutorials because KVM is mostly supported by Red Hat, so something like CentOS or Fedora would be a good place to start.

15 minutes ago, Bendy_BSD said:

OpenSuse caught my eye in particular due to having a gui desktop

Any distro can have a gui desktop, you just have to install it yourself for some.

11 minutes ago, Bendy_BSD said:

so that i can not only run it as a server for my windows machine to play games

I don't recommend this, if you have another windows computer just put the graphics card in that.

12 minutes ago, Bendy_BSD said:

as well as a hackintosh rendering station for content creation

This is going to be hit and miss on any distro and I don't think unraid supports this use case.

13 minutes ago, Bendy_BSD said:

serve up some media for my kodi/plex clients and be a general-purpose file server.

That doesn't require passthrough of any kind. Arguably it doesn't require a VM either, you can just use the host system directly.

 

Generally speaking it would be better if you asked specific questions about problems you encounter instead of a megatopic like this - you'll get better advice. Looking at this wall of text I barely know where to start and it's rarely as simple as "what is the best distro for <x>".

[Bendy_BSD]

Thank you so much. 

 

Seriously, thank you so much for helping me with this.

 

Also, have a cookie and have a wonderful day man.  ^^

[Windows7ge]

It's not on the list but I'd look into PROXMOX. It's free but offers a paid subscription. I have heard though that GPU pass-though is suppose to be a pain on it so it may not be your best option.

 

If you're not afraid to spend money and sticking to the list I've been told unRAID is suppose to be really easy to pass-though GPU's with.

[Bendy_BSD]

Thank you so much man.

Have a cookie too.  ^^

And have a wonderful day too.  ^u^

[NelizMastr]

20 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

It's not on the list but I'd look into PROXMOX. It's free but offers a paid subscription. I have heard though that GPU pass-though is suppose to be a pain on it so it may not be your best option.

 

If you're not afraid to spend money and sticking to the list I've been told unRAID is suppose to be really easy to pass-though GPU's with.

Passthrough in VMware is rather easy, but the main issue is you can't use Nvidia cards. They get the infamous error 43 which cannot be fixed as it's a lockout in the driver once it detects a VMware virtual machine. UnRAID is the easiest bar none.

[Bendy_BSD]

4 minutes ago, NelizMastr said:

Passthrough in VMware is rather easy, but the main issue is you can't use Nvidia cards. They get the infamous error 43 which cannot be fixed as it's a lockout in the driver once it detects a VMware virtual machine. UnRAID is the easiest bar none.

Well crap, I did forget about that particular detail a long time ago to be honest.

 

If I had to guess you can't edit the vm's  vmx file to hide the fact that it's virtualized?

If so then darn.  XP

[Windows7ge]

1 minute ago, NelizMastr said:

Passthrough in VMware is rather easy, but the main issue is you can't use Nvidia cards. They get the infamous error 43 which cannot be fixed as it's a lockout in the driver once it detects a VMware virtual machine. UnRAID is the easiest bar none.

I have not used ESXi so I couldn't comment on it's ease of use. I do want to try it out though if it has a free basic version. While I'm here does it?

 

And does that mean it's quite literally a deliberately implemented "feature" so you that you can't use them? Wouldn't surprise me since NVIDIA is pushing $5000+ Quadro cards in that market. Wouldn't want the riff raff using mere $700 cards.

[Bendy_BSD]

1 minute ago, Windows7ge said:

I have not used ESXi so I couldn't comment on it's ease of use. I do want to try it out though if it has a free basic version. While I'm here does it?

 

And does that mean it's quite literally a deliberately implemented "feature" so you that you can't use them? Wouldn't surprise me since NVIDIA is pushing $5000+ Quadro cards in that market. Wouldn't want the riff raff using mere $700 cards.

Well, to be honest i don't see the point of having to implement that virtualization-awareness component to the nvidia drivers because there's really no reason to.

 

I'll look it up and i'll reply back what i find.

[NelizMastr]

5 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

I have not used ESXi so I couldn't comment on it's ease of use. I do want to try it out though if it has a free basic version. While I'm here does it?

 

And does that mean it's quite literally a deliberately implemented "feature" so you that you can't use them? Wouldn't surprise me since NVIDIA is pushing $5000+ Quadro cards in that market. Wouldn't want the riff raff using mere $700 cards.

Apparently even Quadros are iffy to get working.

 

Either way, yes, ESXi has a free version. We use it at work all the time.