A suitable linux distro and software for Multiseat Desktop Virtualizations?

Elliander · February 7, 2023

Hi, is there a lite linux distro that would be suitable for running "Multiseat Desktop Virtualizations" of multiple different virtual machines at the same time, creating within itself a sort of virtual computer lab? Like a virtual... virtual private network? Ideally I'd like each to have their own virtual GPU, but if I have to get a different GPU for each virtual machine I could do that. If the software running on Linux could load a virtual machine created in VMWare that would be helpful.

I remember seeing a video some time ago on Linux Tech Tips channel with a linux PC running 4 different high end windows gaming applications at the same time, but I haven't been able to find it and not really sure what I'd need to do to replicate the experience. I figured that this would be the place to ask since this forum is connected to the channel In my case though I want to run retro PC applications with 4:3 aspect ratio monitors, but would rather not waste the power needed to run several old computers when a single modern machine with virtual machines would suffice. Since they are all old a single GPU could easily run circles around dozens of old GPUs as well. With USB extension cables I could even have a different terminal in different rooms.

This doesn't have to be Linux, but I tried doing this in windows 10 and aside from windows wasting too many resources just running the telemetry data disrupted network communications and I couldn't get more than one virtual machine to each have it's own keyboard and mouse. I'm assuming that a lite linux distro could do just what I need without these problems, but I'd be open to trying windows Ameliorated instead if that would work better.

Electronics Wizardy · February 7, 2023

Windows 10 with Aster can do this easily and is pretty easy to setup.

Look up Xorg multiseat for linux. You can setup devices for each user and it basically works like mulitple systems at the same time.

xAcid9 · February 7, 2023

1 hour ago, Elliander said:

I remember seeing a video some time ago on Linux Tech Tips channel with a linux PC running 4 different high end windows gaming applications at the same time, but I haven't been able to find it and not really sure what I'd need to do to replicate the experience.

iinm, Linus use https://unraid.net for that one.

Ralphred · February 7, 2023

12 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Look up Xorg multiseat for linux. You can setup devices for each user and it basically works like mulitple systems at the same time.

I do this, it's pretty easy to do, but I had most of the prerequisites to make it really easy (be using SDDM, be using X, have multiple GPU's)

If I was doing it from scratch for more than 2 seats with the idea of running VM's in each "seat instance" then I wouldn't bother with multiseat at all as the main advantage of using cheap old GFX cards as assignable outputs for a "proper GPU" doing all the heavy lifting wouldn't work with VM's, and using multiseat to bootstrap VM's would be a lot of wasted overhead for something that can be scripted.

Having a gfx card per VM instance is obviously simple to do with passthrough, and helps with the audio issue qemu creates when you don't want a spice terminal, but if you have VMware created VM's then you are better off just biting the bullet and using the VMware virtual gfx extensions (Horizon?). I've not used VMware in about 10 years or so, and when I did it was for HA and redundancy, not resource sharing, and it was really simple to use (as in designed to be used by IT people, no dev level understanding needed).

If you are using a discreet GPU per VM then doing what you ask is simple with VMM and virsh, but you need to be on top of the vfio-pci.ids in the kernel command line.

But back to the original question:

13 hours ago, Elliander said:

Hi, is there a lite linux distro that would be suitable for running "Multiseat Desktop Virtualizations" of multiple different virtual machines at the same time.

Anything really, but for the sake of overhead debian, arch or gentoo would be the prime choices, with debian being the easiest/quickest to reach the "project start point" where you are implementing your goal and not laying foundations. VMM gives you a UI to "build" your first VM and/or administer them further. You could either: create two boot options where the admin option gives you a UI for VM administration and one less VM available OR have an autologin VNC session (locked obviously) running that you can attach to administer VM's. Setting the VM's up to run on their own virtual network is kind of built into VMM with very little tinkering, and virsh can attach all the right USB devices to the right VM.