virtual macine How feasible is it to run a high-end server-based VM remotely with a low-end laptop?

[Shutset]

I've been led to believe that its possible to be able to run a server, either running Linux or BSD, where I can run virtual machines remotely.

 

What I have in mind, as an example, is that I'd have a Linux machine running 24/7 at home.

It would have a 32-core CPU and 64GB.

 

Whenever I'm abroad, I'd take a quad-core laptop with only 8GB RAM but I would log into my server then I would run my virtual machines.

 

So now I'm wondering, would I be able to feasibly use my measly 4-core and 8GB RAM laptop to remotely run a virtual machine running on 8 cores and 16GB RAM? Would the remote VM be taking all of its resources from the server machine or would it actually need any from my remote laptop as I run it and therefore cause it to blow up?

Edited August 12, 2022 by Shutset
People are mistaking the problem of remotely connecting to my server as main focus of my question, when I am explicitly address the feasibility of running high-end VMs on my server while accessing it wth lower-end hardware.

[tkitch]

SSH is text based, so yeah you can do that off almost anything.

[Needfuldoer]

Your laptop can easily run SSH, Remote Desktop, VNC, etc, as long as it can talk back to the server. (You'd need to set up a VPN for that.)

[Shutset]

Okay. I mean could I also run a display from the host server on my laptop?

Again, would using my low-end PC to remotely run a high-end VM from the host server be too taxing on my client machine?

[igormp]

I used to use a 2gb chromebook to access remote servers with 100gb of ram and 16 cores, it's totally doable.

 

Take a look into some VPN options such as tailscale, then you can easily access your remote stuff through ssh. If you also want a display, have a look at vnc or other similar stuff.

[voyager_]

Remoting in doesn't require many resources, the most intensive part is normally decompressing the feed from the machine you are connecting too. SSH, Remote desktop, and VPN software is easy to run. I often will connect from my phone to one of my machines, I even do this at work when I'm on site. I have a surface pro that I can connect to either my desktop or my render machine to process data. The i7 in my surface is pretty much always at idle even when sending a couple hundred gigs of data back to the server. The biggest thing I would consider with your setup is going to be your connection speed. I run into this on site where I may be able to remote in but sending files is out of the question until I get back to the hotel.

[Shutset]

1 hour ago, igormp said:

I used to use a 2gb chromebook to access remote servers with 100gb of ram and 16 cores, it's totally doable.

 

Take a look into some VPN options such as tailscale, then you can easily access your remote stuff through ssh. If you also want a display, have a look at vnc or other similar stuff.

Seriously?

 

So I could even, as another example, play Cyberpunk 2077, GTA5 or any other graphically intensive game on a high-end gaming machine from, like, a laptop that could only run a 16-bit game and the laptop would not blow up?

[LIGISTX]

31 minutes ago, Shutset said:

Seriously?

 

So I could even, as another example, play Cyberpunk 2077, GTA5 or any other graphically intensive game on a high-end gaming machine from, like, a laptop that could only run a 16-bit game and the laptop would not blow up?

Yes… the laptop wouldn’t actually be “doing” anything. The server your connected to is doing all the “work”, it’s just streaming a display to your laptop, think Netflix or Amazon video streaming but you can interact with it instead of just receiving pre-recorded video. Or better yet, think of google stadia or any of the remote game subscription services. 
 

For gaming though, look into parsec - it’s designed specifically for remote gaming and remote CAD work. 

[igormp]

1 hour ago, Shutset said:

Seriously?

 

So I could even, as another example, play Cyberpunk 2077, GTA5 or any other graphically intensive game on a high-end gaming machine from, like, a laptop that could only run a 16-bit game and the laptop would not blow up?

The answer above explains it pretty well, the only problem you'll face is the latency due to the remote connection. 

[m9x3mos]

On 8/12/2022 at 12:23 PM, igormp said:

The answer above explains it pretty well, the only problem you'll face is the latency due to the remote connection. 

And this is where parsec can help. I have used this running at home and been at my parents 1.5 hours away and can game pretty well that way. Yes there is higher latency, but not high enough they I can't play Apex legends without issue. I won't have my best matches playing like that but does play very well. This will work as long as your upload is fast enough. For the best results you really should be using hard wired connections though and not WiFi. WiFi does increase latency and would make fps games pretty hard. Cyberpunk, racing, and games like wow are still perfectly fine though.

[igormp]

20 minutes ago, m9x3mos said:

And this is where parsec can help. I have used this running at home and been at my parents 1.5 hours away and can game pretty well that way. Yes there is higher latency, but not high enough they I can't play Apex legends without issue. I won't have my best matches playing like that but does play very well. This will work as long as your upload is fast enough. For the best results you really should be using hard wired connections though and not WiFi. WiFi does increase latency and would make fps games pretty hard. Cyberpunk, racing, and games like wow are still perfectly fine though.

Keep in mind that this is not an issue of distance itself. If you happen to be in a provider which has bad routes to you home, then latency will be also high, even if you're right next to your house.