Hey guys,

 

I just found this http://openvirtualizationalliance.org, although I'm sure the hard-core virtualizers already know of it.

 

Is this a viable alternative to ESXi? Appart from the (stated) improved performance, it seems you can manage the whole with a webgui, which would a big plus for me 

 

Any thoughs?

bump 

Nobody has any experience with KVM?

I would be interested in the guide please!

 

Could this support not be built into the product? it's not uncommon to virtualise products nowadays.

....I use KVM a lot...in fact it is the standard with nRHEL6 desktops around where I work.

 

Yes it *is* a great alternative to ESXi...if you want to manage the host via Web-UI, I strongly suggest looking into PROXMOX-VE. http://www.proxmox.com/proxmox-ve/features

Edit: Proxmox VE is a complete kvm hypervisor distribution with a Web-UI based management interface.

However, pcipassthrough needs to be done manually by  editing the VM config in a text editor as this feature is not integrated into the web-ui (yet).

 

unRAID on KVM works very well and it's a great alternative to ESXi. It requires compiling an unRAID kernel with KVM enabled and the various PV drivers.

when you say it works great and it's a great alternative, and just to be clear, should I expect better/worse/similar performance?

 

You would run KVM on top of a Linux Distro (OpenSUSE, Ubuntu, CentOS, Arch, Debian, etc.) which frees up your server to be a dual purpose. Example: You could either run XBMC or a Linux Desktop (instead of a console like ESXi) and all your VMs (like unRAID).

What the performance would be having KVM on top of a distro? Would this be considered a bare metal hypervisor?

In my current set up ESXi loads from a USB drive, then NAS4Free and unraid load from a CF card, and the rest of the VMs from the ZFS server.

Could the linux distro work from a USB drive?

 

You could also install Video Cards in your server and passthrough those (along with a USB Controller(s) for keyboard, mouse, IR remotes) and run Windows, XBMCs, OSX, etc.) With Cat 6 cables and using HDMI, USB convertors... You could run several Desktops or XBMCs throughout your house (I have heard people running these up to 150+ feet away).

This is actually one on the things I'm looking at. ESXi does not really support (that I'm aware of) Video Cards passthrough. Could with KVM build a photoshop vm, or even a gaming rig?

Having a server, plus a laptop, plus a desktop, it's not only expensive to keep up to date, but also a lot of work 

 

I will put together a unRAID / Linux / KVM guide like I did with XenServer / Xen. I will compile the unRAID Kernel, screenshots and walk through on how to install / set it all up.

that would really help indeed 

....I use KVM a lot...in fact it is the standard with nRHEL6 desktops around where I work.

 

Yes it *is* a great alternative to ESXi...if you want to manage the host via Web-UI, I strongly suggest looking into PROXMOX-VE. http://www.proxmox.com/proxmox-ve/features

Edit: Proxmox VE is a complete kvm hypervisor distribution with a Web-UI based management interface.

However, pcipassthrough needs to be done manually by  editing the VM config in a text editor as this feature is not integrated into the web-ui (yet).

 

Thanks Ford Prefect:

 

Could you elaborate a bit on the differences between ESXi, KVM and PROXMOX-VE?

 

I think I should state my goals on this KVM 'endeavor'

 

First of all, I am afraid of the direction ESXi is turning, since there is no real way to manage the free ESXi 5.5 after the 60-day trial. With this concern in mind, the sooner I move to open alternatives, the better.

 

Secondly, even though I wish, I cannot really get rid of windows (Photoshop, Lightroom, some light gaming), but being obliged to use Windows as my main machine just to be able to manage my server..., it pisses me off. Ideally I'd like a web gui, so I can manage it from anywhere around the house, (and who knows from where once I install pfSense, my x-mas project).

 

Third, virtualizing desktops is an attractive outlook. Maintaining the server (6 VMs) takes literally less time than my desktop and laptops (updates, firewall, hardware, antivirus, backups, etc, it's a lot of work). The wish here would be to have a powerful virtualized rig for gaming and image editing that I could access from anywhere around the house.

 

"If there are people who are interested in KVM...

 

I will put together a unRAID / Linux / KVM guide like I did with XenServer / Xen. I will compile the unRAID Kernel, screenshots and walk through on how to install / set it all up."

 

YES, PLEASE!!

 

 

One vote for CentOS

I'm pretty new in the Linux scene, and I started with ubuntu. I don't really know the differences with centos, or others.

What I lack in knowledge though, I have it in motivation to learn something new

The only thing I'd dare to ask, considering you'll be doing this in your free time, it's that it's small enough to run from a pendrive. I don't want any unneeded bells and whistles, i only want to run KVM, nothing else, don't want to load it with any overhead that might affect KVM performance.

Besides ,and IMHO,  that's one if the upsides of virtualizing: specific VMs for specific tasks. If well planned specialization will reduce downtime if something goes wrong, right?

 

BTW,  could this be run as a VM from within esxi for testing purposes? Migrating from esxi could really be a PITA, I've become very esxi - dependent .  Just want to make sure it's a no return journey

 

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Could you elaborate a bit on the differences between ESXi, KVM and PROXMOX-VE

 

I explain the differences in Xen (think of it as a "brother" to KVM) and ESXi in the following thread:

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=28665.0

 

PROXMOX-VE is a Linux Distro (Debian) with it's own webGUI and other tools to manage it. It's "free" but if you do not get get the subscription service you are going to be using the unstable packages for updates and get a nag screen every time you log in.

 

Promox-VE isn't the only game in town. There is Smart OS (Solaris Based), Opennebula, openstack, openqrm, openeucalyptus, openshift, etc.

When you say "think of Xen as a brother of KVM",  which one would you recommend,  both in terms of performance and long term support?

I know these are highly subjective questions but you do seem to know this stuff

 

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ddeeds, thanks a lot for your time on writing all this and making clearer for me (us)

 

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