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I use av access devices in pretty much the same scenario. I have a blog post about it here http://mediaserver8.blogspot.com/2019/07/routing-vms-anywhere.html Happy to answer any queries.

So, here's a few grabs of various metrics when I'm simultaneous streaming one 1080P movie and another 4K movie to different clients Thats with the load described above running as well. One caveat, it's entirely possible my clients are set to direct stream rather than transcode. Hope that helps. If you need any further information, testing or opinion, please don't hesitate to ask, I'll try my best to respond, time permitting., or someone else might chip in.

It would help if you could provide more information. How many simultaneous clients will access your Emby server? What kind of content will you be serving (audio only, SD video , HD video , UHD video)? Will you be using PVR capabilities or any other add ons? What transcoding expectations do you have? Will you be doing anything else with the server while expecting Emby to do its thing? Maybe with a bit more info, someone could help. All of the above will dictae any recommendations. I run Emby server and can have up to 2x simultaneous clients accessing anything up to UHD video. As it happens, I use the Emby plug-in for Kodi as my front end. The Emby Server runs in a Docker for me on a Threadripper 2950X system with 64GB RAM. The system handles handles 2x OSX VMs @ 16GB each, a couple of 8GB headless Win10 VMs and a bunch of other dockers. All of these run and can be in various states of use when Emby is accessed, so at worst, it's got to live in 16GB which it shares with the OS and other Dockers. The EmbyServer docker sits at ˜100MB memory when idle. I haven't measured its activity when accessed by clients but I will and report back for you. OK?

Hi you won't be able to share a single GPU with two different VMs running simultaneously, regardless of how many outputs it has. You could share a GPU across multiple VMs, provided that the don't run at the same time , but that's not what you asked I cannot answer the 'least power demanding graphics cads', sorry. You might need to fist establish what you want to do with your VM and find out the GPU features you need. I once ran an unRaid server with 3x Windows 8 VMs all using HD5xxx single slot fanless cards. That system sipped power, but I wouldn't be running games or rendering or anything too demanding in those VMs. Figure out what horsepower you need, and for what, and that will help narrow down the search.

That looks much better. Your GPU is in its own group, so should pass through for you now. The onboard audio looks good, but you'll need to block it from loading on system boot. Check out this thread for details;

Here's one of your problems, the GPU is not isolated in its own IOMMU group; And here, your on-board audio is also not isolated, and will not pass through; If you can solve those issues, you'll be well on your way. look into IOMMU groups for your Montherboard and what best BIOS settings would be. look into ACS override for Unraid.

This is a very common use case here. I myself run two workstation grade ‘daily driver’ systems simultaneously with full device and gpu passthrough (both OS X and windows). I also run a few headless systems that I can vnc into. you have a few issues there and for anyone to help, you’ll need to provide more details and info, such as your iommu grouping, debug fuels etc. however, a few pointers... you don’t need to reserve one gpu for unraid. You can pass both Gpus to discrete VMs, you might need to pass through a rom file for the boot gpu, but it should work. Ive had challenges using two identical gods (rx570s, as it happens). I could get the main one to pass through just fine, but the second always manifests the reset bug. I had to replace the second with an nvidia card to get stability. you need to ensure that any device you pass through is in its own iommu group, or you’re passing all devices in a group. Look into ACS override if your mb is not separating devices to your liking. your on board sound card will likely be grouped with a bunch of other devices and can be challenging to pass through. Consider outputting audio via the gpu hdmi connection. thats all I can think of for now based on your post. Check out space invader one videos on multiple gpu passthrough, iommu groups etc. good luck!

So it looks like you need those syslinux entries. i cannot look at that .zip file right now as I’m on a tablet. Have you tried swapping your Gus between VMs? is this problem gpu also your unraid boot gpu? Have you tried including a rom file?

Something else to try. Rather than rebooting the server, shut it down completely, remove the power cable for 2 minutes, then boot it back up. in an old system, I had to do this to force a gpu to reset. Only a complete power removal would do it.

If you pass through the USB and Serial controllers to the VM (check the ' other PCI devices' boxes), will it boot? If you remove the USB and Serial controllers from your syslinux, will the VM boot? Is there anything in the log file that's repeating over and over that causes it to fill so quickly?

Ah, I’ve actually transplanted it into a backup server, where all my smaller hard drives go to retire! No longer for sale.

I have the Taichi if you want to ping me any questions. I’ve got to know it very well in the past couple of weeks.

Yup. Though I believe it's the VII. I purchased the CPU, Cooler and Motherboard 'slightly used' and all 3 were connected when i dropped them into my case. I should have checked, of course, but I saw them running before I bought and there were no obvious problems. The AIO might still be good, I just don't want to be pfaffing around with it, especially given the prevalence that the Gen1 had for failing. There's a BeQuiet Dark rock Pro TR4 in there now and so far, so good. Hopefully the CPU itself did not get too stressed with all of this.

Yes, though I did a lot of manual reconfiguration of the XML as I went along as my first point of attack was the VM config. I have other Mojave and Windows VMs, but I decided to focus attention on this one as it's the one the family use and there I was under most pressure to 'fix'

Good news, (for me). I replaced my AIO cooler with an air cooler and unraid now reports idle temps at a positively icy 17 degrees. Booting my VM sees this rise to 18 degrees and cores are no longer throttling. Geekbench results inside the vm have increased fourfold. Either my AIO was faulty, or it had been incorrectly fitted. In any case, I now have my expected system perfromance. Yay!

Thanks for the input. I already had T&T installed and have tried all the profiles already. I've also been through the BIOS several times and everything is pretty much on auto. This is starting to look like a Thermal Throttling issue. With unRaid idling (no load), the CPU cores hover around 3GHz, but as soon as some load is applied (booting/running my VM, for example), all the cores immediately drop to ~500Hz and stay there until activity ceases. My GoogleFu finds similar reports for TRs that are either under-powered or exceeding temps. unRaid reports CPU temps between 55-60 degrees Celsius, so not too excessive. Though I do note I've only got the 8pin MB power connected on my TaiChi X399 - there's another 4 pin connector idle. I jury-rigged a second PSU into that last night and with MB getting full power, the TR temps shot right up. I'm guessing the CPU got an extra shot of power and started operating properly but this exacerbated whatever thermal problems it has. I currently have an AIO water cooling solution on the CPU but I really don't trust it. I have a hefty air cooler ready to install. I've ordered a beefier PSU and will swap both items in when that arrives. Hopefully this will solve any underpower and overheating issues. The silver lining is that I've become very familiar with OSX VM XML configuration! 😵

Hmm, so I ran this in unRaid command line; watch -n 1 grep MHz /proc/cpuinfo This doesn't look right for a 3.5GHz, does it? CPU under load (VM running benchmakrs on 8x coes); Guess I need to track this issue down.

So here's the ugly truth; That's the pitiful Geekbench score I obtained having spent the weekend reading all the threads on OSX VM Optimisation, CPU pinning, Performance Enhancements etc. This VM will often cause UnRaid to report the CPUs at full throttle, yet inside the VM, not a whole lot is happening; Here's my setup, maybe someone can spot something..... CPU: Threadripper 2850X (16 cores, 32 threads) MB: Taicahi X399 RAM: 64GB OS: Unraid 6.8rc6 VM: OSX Catalina 10.15.1 My Bios is updated to the latest (3.80) and all the bios VM optimised settings are turned on, as far as I can see. Memory is set to channel and here's my LSTOPO Unraid is configured to boot as follows; default menu.c32 menu title Lime Technology, Inc. prompt 0 timeout 30 label Unraid OS menu default kernel /bzimage append isolcpus=4-7,12-15,20-23,28-31 vfio-pci.ids=1b73:1100,dd01:0003,1412:1712 pcie_aspm=off kvm_amd npt=1 nested=1 avic=1 initrd=/bzroot label Unraid OS GUI Mode The VM Configuration is; Which looks like this in XML; <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?> <domain type='kvm' id='18' xmlns:qemu='http://libvirt.org/schemas/domain/qemu/1.0'> <name>MacinaboxCatalina</name> <uuid>faaaf6f5-246f-4a88-bf26-111de687651f</uuid> <description>MacOS Catalina</description> <metadata> <vmtemplate xmlns="unraid" name="MacOS" icon="/mnt/user/domains/MacinaboxCatalina/icon/catalina.png" os="Catalina"/> </metadata> <memory unit='KiB'>25165824</memory> <currentMemory unit='KiB'>25165824</currentMemory> <memoryBacking> <nosharepages/> </memoryBacking> <vcpu placement='static'>8</vcpu> <iothreads>1</iothreads> <cputune> <vcpupin vcpu='0' cpuset='4'/> <vcpupin vcpu='1' cpuset='20'/> <vcpupin vcpu='2' cpuset='5'/> <vcpupin vcpu='3' cpuset='21'/> <vcpupin vcpu='4' cpuset='6'/> <vcpupin vcpu='5' cpuset='22'/> <vcpupin vcpu='6' cpuset='7'/> <vcpupin vcpu='7' cpuset='23'/> <emulatorpin cpuset='0,16'/> <iothreadpin iothread='1' cpuset='0,16'/> </cputune> <resource> <partition>/machine</partition> </resource> <os> <type arch='x86_64' machine='pc-q35-4.1'>hvm</type> <loader readonly='yes' type='pflash'>/mnt/user/domains/MacinaboxCatalina/ovmf/OVMF_CODE.fd</loader> <nvram>/mnt/user/domains/MacinaboxCatalina/ovmf/OVMF_VARS.fd</nvram> </os> <features> <acpi/> <apic/> </features> <cpu mode='host-passthrough' check='none'/> <clock offset='utc'> <timer name='rtc' tickpolicy='catchup'/> <timer name='pit' tickpolicy='delay'/> <timer name='hpet' present='yes'/> </clock> <on_poweroff>destroy</on_poweroff> <on_reboot>restart</on_reboot> <on_crash>restart</on_crash> <devices> <emulator>/usr/local/sbin/qemu</emulator> <disk type='file' device='disk'> <driver name='qemu' type='qcow2' cache='writeback'/> <source file='/mnt/user/domains/MacinaboxCatalina/Clover.qcow2'/> <backingStore/> <target dev='hdc' bus='sata'/> <boot order='1'/> <alias name='sata0-0-2'/> <address type='drive' controller='0' bus='0' target='0' unit='2'/> </disk> <disk type='block' device='disk'> <driver name='qemu' type='raw' cache='writeback'/> <source dev='/dev/disk/by-id/ata-KINGSTON_SV300S37A120G_50026B775B0777DE'/> <backingStore/> <target dev='hdd' bus='sata'/> <alias name='sata0-0-5'/> <address type='drive' controller='0' bus='0' target='0' unit='5'/> </disk> <disk type='block' device='disk'> <driver name='qemu' type='raw' cache='writeback'/> <source dev='/dev/disk/by-id/ata-TS64GSSD340_20140731B61710144112'/> <backingStore/> <target dev='hdf' bus='sata'/> <alias name='sata0-0-3'/> <address type='drive' controller='0' bus='0' target='0' unit='3'/> </disk> <controller type='sata' index='0'> <alias name='ide'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x1f' function='0x2'/> </controller> <controller type='pci' index='0' model='pcie-root'> <alias name='pcie.0'/> </controller> <controller type='pci' index='1' model='pcie-root-port'> <model name='pcie-root-port'/> <target chassis='1' port='0x10'/> <alias name='pci.1'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x02' function='0x0' multifunction='on'/> </controller> <controller type='pci' index='2' model='pcie-root-port'> <model name='pcie-root-port'/> <target chassis='2' port='0x11'/> <alias name='pci.2'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x02' function='0x1'/> </controller> <controller type='pci' index='3' model='pcie-root-port'> <model name='pcie-root-port'/> <target chassis='3' port='0x12'/> <alias name='pci.3'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x02' function='0x2'/> </controller> <controller type='pci' index='4' model='pcie-root-port'> <model name='pcie-root-port'/> <target chassis='4' port='0x13'/> <alias name='pci.4'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x02' function='0x3'/> </controller> <controller type='pci' index='5' model='pcie-root-port'> <model name='pcie-root-port'/> <target chassis='5' port='0x8'/> <alias name='pci.5'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x01' function='0x0'/> </controller> <controller type='virtio-serial' index='0'> <alias name='virtio-serial0'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x02' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/> </controller> <controller type='usb' index='0' model='ich9-ehci1'> <alias name='usb'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x07' function='0x7'/> </controller> <controller type='usb' index='0' model='ich9-uhci1'> <alias name='usb'/> <master startport='0'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x07' function='0x0' multifunction='on'/> </controller> <controller type='usb' index='0' model='ich9-uhci2'> <alias name='usb'/> <master startport='2'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x07' function='0x1'/> </controller> <controller type='usb' index='0' model='ich9-uhci3'> <alias name='usb'/> <master startport='4'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x07' function='0x2'/> </controller> <interface type='bridge'> <mac address='52:54:00:ae:04:3c'/> <source bridge='br0'/> <target dev='vnet0'/> <model type='e1000-82545em'/> <alias name='net0'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x01' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/> </interface> <serial type='pty'> <source path='/dev/pts/0'/> <target type='isa-serial' port='0'> <model name='isa-serial'/> </target> <alias name='serial0'/> </serial> <console type='pty' tty='/dev/pts/0'> <source path='/dev/pts/0'/> <target type='serial' port='0'/> <alias name='serial0'/> </console> <channel type='unix'> <source mode='bind' path='/var/lib/libvirt/qemu/channel/target/domain-18-MacinaboxCatalina/org.qemu.guest_agent.0'/> <target type='virtio' name='org.qemu.guest_agent.0' state='connected'/> <alias name='channel0'/> <address type='virtio-serial' controller='0' bus='0' port='1'/> </channel> <input type='tablet' bus='usb'> <alias name='input0'/> <address type='usb' bus='0' port='1'/> </input> <input type='mouse' bus='ps2'> <alias name='input1'/> </input> <input type='keyboard' bus='ps2'> <alias name='input2'/> </input> <hostdev mode='subsystem' type='pci' managed='yes'> <driver name='vfio'/> <source> <address domain='0x0000' bus='0x09' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/> </source> <alias name='hostdev0'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x03' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/> </hostdev> <hostdev mode='subsystem' type='pci' managed='yes'> <driver name='vfio'/> <source> <address domain='0x0000' bus='0x09' slot='0x00' function='0x1'/> </source> <alias name='hostdev1'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x04' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/> </hostdev> <hostdev mode='subsystem' type='pci' managed='yes'> <driver name='vfio'/> <source> <address domain='0x0000' bus='0x08' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/> </source> <alias name='hostdev2'/> <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x05' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/> </hostdev> <memballoon model='none'/> </devices> <seclabel type='dynamic' model='dac' relabel='yes'> <label>+0:+100</label> <imagelabel>+0:+100</imagelabel> </seclabel> <qemu:commandline> <qemu:arg value='-usb'/> <qemu:arg value='-device'/> <qemu:arg value='usb-kbd,bus=usb-bus.0'/> <qemu:arg value='-device'/> <qemu:arg value='isa-applesmc,osk='/> <qemu:arg value='-smbios'/> <qemu:arg value='type=2'/> <qemu:arg value='-cpu'/> <qemu:arg value='IvyBridge,vendor=GenuineIntel,+hypervisor,-erms,+invtsc,kvm=on,+topoext,+svm,+invtsc,+fma,+mmxext,+avx,+avx2,+aes,+xsave,+xsaveopt,+ssse3,+sse4_2,+popcnt,+sse4a,+bmi1,+bmi2,+arat,+abm,+3dnowprefetch,+adx,+clflushopt,+cr8legacy,+fsgsbase,+fxsr_opt,+misalignsse,+movbe,+osvw,+pclmuldq,+pdpe1gb,+rdrand,+rdseed,+rdtscp,+sha-ni,+smap,+smep,+svm,+vme,+xgetbv1,+xsave,+xsavec,+clwb,+umip,+topoext,+perfctr-core,+amd-ssbd,+wbnoinvd'/> <qemu:arg value='-overcommit'/> <qemu:arg value='cpu-pm=on'/> </qemu:commandline> </domain> Setup in Clover as iMacPro1,1, with the following kext versions; Here's some info from the running system; Very frustrating to have such a dog slow experience. All help & insights appreciated.

Hi folks, don't want to open a big discussion here to derail the thread, but if anyone has any thoughts on why I'd be seeing less than stellar performance in OSX VMs on a decent Threadripper system, please help me out here: Thanks!

I'm at a bit of a loss here and hoping for some pointers. Rather than immediately post config files etc., I thought I'd outline my predicament and can respond with specific info if people take the time to make suggestions...... I've been successfully running Windows and OSX VMs with satisfactory performance on an AMD FX based system for several years. (8x cores, 32GB RAM). I recently upgraded to a Threadripper 2950X based system with 64Gb to allow me run more simultaneous VMs and/or dedicate more resources to discrete VMs and hopefully benefit from a speed bump. In use, however, it's become clear that my VMs have reduced, (or perceived reduced) performance on the new system. I'm really working with OSX only at the moment but here's what I observe; General sluggishness in the OS. Longer than expected delay when clicking on menus. Longer than expected application load times. Slower than expected network performance All assigned CPUs pinned at 100% for several hours after boot (they calm down after that until next reboot) While just about usable, It's generally an underwhelming experience, and a lot less than I would have expected. I migrated a couple of Mojave VMs from my old system, assigned more CPU cores and memory but overall, the in-OS experience feels generally slower and less satisfactory. (booting time etc. is acceptable, if not stellar). My VMs run from either a dedicated SSD, or an image file on my cache SSD. (nothing on the array). I have 24GB memory assigned and 8x CPUs (from the 32 available on the 2950X). The CPUs are isolated, and pinned to the VM only. I have GPU and dedicated USB cards passed through. One VM runs on a GTX 770, the other on an AMD 570, though which GPU I use appear to have negligible impact on performance - both show Metal support. Regardless of whether I run a single VM or 2x simultaneously, the same issues apply. Here's a few things I've tried; Installed a completely new Catalina VM using MacInABox. No real difference. Updated from 6.7.x to 6.8.rc5 - this fixed an issue I had with VM use seeming to cause my system to crash / shut down. I thought I saw a marked improvement in my fresh Catalina VM after this update, but unfortunately, I'd made my disk image too small to transfer my Mojave user account & files. After re-createding the VM with a bigger disk image, it was back to uninspiring performance. I've tried to get my head around Numas and tweaked assigned CPUs a bit, with no real affect. I've read all the threads around improving VM performance etc. but don't see anything obvious. I've switched the network type in my VM XML, but no joy So, I'm at a bit of a loss. One thing I'm unsure of is whether of not my CPU is actually throttling up. It's a 3.5Ghz rated speed and I believe I've got my bios and unRaid set up to allow it scale up, but I'm not sure where I can see if that's working in UnRaid. I've been using unRaid and VMs for several years and like to think I'm reasonably knowledgable. However, I'm just not sure where to focus my efforts 0- MB Bios?, CPU config?, unRaid boot config?, VM config? somewhere else? Part of my problem, I think, is a degree on unfamiliarity with the TR platform and how I might optimise it I hope the above adequately explains my observations. I've refrained from posting a bunch of XML and logs etc. as I'm just not sure which ones to focus on, but I can and will if some kind soul has any thoughts on a direction of attack. Here's some system highlights: CPU: Threadripper 2850X (16 cores, 32 threads) MB: Taicahi X399 RAM: 64GB OS: Unraid 6.8rc5 Many thanks for reading!

I note deprecation of AFP from 6.9. Is there any impact on maintaining TimeMachine volumes? Thanks nevermind, I found a rather testy exchange on the matter across in another thread. I guess I'll be doing my own research ;-(

I saw a significant increase in network performance when I did this. Let us know what the impact for you is.

I have a similar need for one of my VMs that occasionally locks up. The screen and keyboard/mouse is some distance from my unRaid server so I need to find a way to force reset the vm that’s easy for the family. Fortunately, I’m into home automation and have a Node-Red docker running on my server. In there, I’ll be able to set up a flow to call virsh reset and power on commands to the unRaid server. Once that’s set up, I’ll just need to trigger them. One idea is to use an amazon echo so it can be done via voice eg “Alexa, turn on the computer”. another is to use a physical button such as this z-wave remote to get the job done: https://amzn.to/2ZX1MF9 it's a high priority project for me so will be done soon. I’ll report back on success, or otherwise.

Great that Tom took the time to respond. I enjoyed reading that, and it brought back a few memories. <pedantry> It's 'without further adoo', or 'ado', not 'adieu', (which is old French for 'Goodbye') </pedantry>

Last call before I part this out on fleabay. Open to reasonable offers.