January 27, 201412 yr I am trying to configure video pass-through on a server I've built with XenServer 6.2 to a XBMC host. I have an ASRock Z87 Extreme6 motherboard with an Intel i7-4770 CPU. I have on-board video enabled for XenServer and installed a NVidia GT 610 video card as well. I started with an OpenElec install, but it crapped out, so I moved to XBMCbuntu, which hung during startup, so I finally decided to try Windows 7 to see the results. With the first two (OE & Buntu) I was not sure if the video was moving to the Nvidia card and I just couldn't see it, which is why I tried Windows. I've enabled the Nvidia card on the VM and even been able to install Nvidia drivers, so I trust the VM is seeing the card okay, but I can't get video to display on my HDMI monitor. In Xen there is a message "This VM has a pass-through GPU assigned. You must connect to it using Remote Desktop.", however I can manage it via XenCenter fine. The Nvidia card has VGA, DVI and HDMI. I've tried all 3 connections without success. I've installed XenTools and updated all Microsoft patches, but no luck. If I go into display properties on the VM it only sees a generic monitor, which I assume is the on-board video. Any suggestions on what I am missing would be greatly appreciated.
January 27, 201412 yr Unless you flash the Rom on your GeForce 610 with a nVidia Quattro Series Rom (several sites on how to do this out there)... You will not be able to get pass through working with that video card. It's not a XenServer problem because ESXi and Xen have the exact same problem. KVM also has the problem if you are running on anything less than Linux Kernel 3.12 and QEMU 1.5+. KVM does too but it now can passthrough nVidia 4xx, 5xx, 6xx, etc. if running Linux Kernel 3.12+ and QEMU 1.5+. The issue is due to how nVidia configures / instruction codes on their non-quattro cards. Linux Kernel 3.12+ and QEMU 1.5+ have a way to utilize nVidia without a special ROM now. I haven't tried it in Xen 4.4 (in release candidate 2) but I have in KVM and it works like a champ. ESXi, it will probably be a while and who knows if you will be able too in their "free" version on the next release. As it stands today, you can't use Virtual Machine 10 past the expiration of the "free" license. I suspect Virtual Machine 11 will be the same.
January 27, 201412 yr ESXi, it will probably be a while and who knows if you will be able too in their "free" version on the next release. As it stands today, you can use Virtual Machine 10 past the expiration of the "free" license. I suspect Virtual Machine 11 will be the same. Did you mean "can't" above?
January 27, 201412 yr Author Unless you flash the Rom on your GeForce 610 with a nVidia Quattro Series Rom (several sites on how to do this out there)... You will not be able to get pass through working with that video card. It's not a XenServer problem because ESXi and Xen have the exact same problem. KVM also has the problem if you are running on anything less than Linux Kernel 3.12 and QEMU 1.5+. KVM does too but it now can passthrough nVidia 4xx, 5xx, 6xx, etc. if running Linux Kernel 3.12+ and QEMU 1.5+. The issue is due to how nVidia configures / instruction codes on their non-quattro cards. Linux Kernel 3.12+ and QEMU 1.5+ have a way to utilize nVidia without a special ROM now. I haven't tried it in Xen 4.4 (in release candidate 2) but I have in KVM and it works like a champ. ESXi, it will probably be a while and who knows if you will be able too in their "free" version on the next release. As it stands today, you can't use Virtual Machine 10 past the expiration of the "free" license. I suspect Virtual Machine 11 will be the same. Have you tried flashing a card? There seems to be a variety of details out there, but I am not sure what the best route to follow is. Do you think I would be better trying to install Linux and Xen to top of it? I picked XenServer 6.2 as it was a no-brainer to install as I don't really know Linux. I am not opposed to learning, but wanted to take the path of least resistance to start. I figured either you or IronicBadger would likely have suggestions as I think both of you run virtualized XBMC if I remember correctly.
January 27, 201412 yr Have you tried flashing a card? There seems to be a variety of details out there, but I am not sure what the best route to follow is. Do you think I would be better trying to install Linux and Xen to top of it? I picked XenServer 6.2 as it was a no-brainer to install as I don't really know Linux. I am not opposed to learning, but wanted to take the path of least resistance to start. I figured either you or IronicBadger would likely have suggestions as I think both of you run virtualized XBMC if I remember correctly. There are many users here who do this. The answers... Either buy Quattro series nVidia card. Convert your 6XX series nVidia card to be a Quattro series. Use KVM solution to passthrough nVidia 6XX video card (complicated to do still) Use AMD card in Xen, KVM and ESXi. I have a couple of $15 AMDs 6850's that I use for XBMC. Ironic and others use more powerful ones for Windows Gaming. If all you are doing is XBMC, a $15 card works the exact same and as good as a $300 one.
January 27, 201412 yr Author There are many users here who do this. The answers... Either buy Quattro series nVidia card. Convert your 6XX series nVidia card to be a Quattro series. Use KVM solution to passthrough nVidia 6XX video card (complicated to do still) Use AMD card in Xen, KVM and ESXi. I have a couple of $15 AMDs 6850's that I use for XBMC. Ironic and others use more powerful ones for Windows Gaming. If all you are doing is XBMC, a $15 card works the exact same and as good as a $300 one. Do all AMD cards just work out of the box? Also, if I look for AMD 6850 I only see the Radeon HD 6850, but they are $150 cards, not $15. I see 5450 based cards for $20-30, but don't know if they will suffice. Can you confirm the card you are talking about?
January 28, 201412 yr Do all AMD cards just work out of the box? Also, if I look for AMD 6850 I only see the Radeon HD 6850, but they are $150 cards, not $15. I see 5450 based cards for $20-30, but don't know if they will suffice. Can you confirm the card you are talking about? Yes most AMD's work. Not old AGPs or Rage series. The HD Series and above you should be fine. If you look in some of the guides on the first page they have links to approved / working motherboards, CPUs, video cards, etc. I gave you the wrong model number. The 6450 is what I meant. Click Here <--- $29.99 after rebate but you will see them dip down to $15 - $20 dollars. Several members use the HD 6000 series (even the 64XX) cards here and thousands in the XBMC / Plex forums. Unless you plan on doing hardcore gaming, it can easily do XBMC without breaking a sweat.
January 28, 201412 yr Author Yes most AMD's work. Not old AGPs or Rage series. The HD Series and above you should be fine. If you look in some of the guides on the first page they have links to approved / working motherboards, CPUs, video cards, etc. I gave you the wrong model number. The 6450 is what I meant. Click Here <--- $29.99 after rebate but you will see them dip down to $15 - $20 dollars. Several members use the HD 6000 series (even the 64XX) cards here and thousands in the XBMC / Plex forums. Unless you plan on doing hardcore gaming, it can easily do XBMC without breaking a sweat. Thanks. I will pick up one of these tomorrow and see how it goes. I am assuming you are doing 1080p without an issue with this card, correct?
January 28, 201412 yr I am assuming you are doing 1080p without an issue with this card, correct? Yes. You will need to use the AMD proprietary drivers and XBMC compiled with XVBA support. You can quickly install XBMCbuntu, add a "special" repo and install XBMC Frodo (12.3) with XVBA support and get full hardware video acceleration. After you complete an install of XBMCbuntu in a VM... Do the following: 1. Remove XBMC. sudo apt-get remove xbmc xbmc-bin 2. Add the XBMC Frodo XVBA Repository. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:wsnipex/xbmc-xvba-frodo 3. Update the package manager with the new XBMC Frodo Repository. sudo apt-get update 4. Install XBMC Frodo XVBA Edition sudo apt-get install xbmc xbmc-bin 5. Reboot your VM. 6. Make the following changes within XBMC: Settings->System->Video Output: Vertical Sync: Always Enabled Settings->Video->Playback: VDPAU: Off VAAPI: Off XVBA: On 7. Reboot VM one more time. You should be able to play 1080p files and have your CPU utilization in your VM below 10% with a halfway decent processor and if you have a newer one, it should be below 5%. Without Video Hardware Acceleration (AMD Proprietary Drivers and XBMC Frodo with XVBA support) your CPU utilization will be above 60% easy.
January 28, 201412 yr Author I am assuming you are doing 1080p without an issue with this card, correct? Yes. You will need to use the AMD proprietary drivers and XBMC compiled with XVBA support. You can quickly install XBMCbuntu, add a "special" repo and install XBMC Frodo (12.3) with XVBA support and get full hardware video acceleration. After you complete an install of XBMCbuntu in a VM... Do the following: 1. Remove XBMC. sudo apt-get remove xbmc xbmc-bin 2. Add the XBMC Frodo XVBA Repository. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:wsnipex/xbmc-xvba-frodo 3. Update the package manager with the new XBMC Frodo Repository. sudo apt-get update 4. Install XBMC Frodo XVBA Edition sudo apt-get install xbmc xbmc-bin 5. Reboot your VM. 6. Make the following changes within XBMC: Settings->System->Video Output: Vertical Sync: Always Enabled Settings->Video->Playback: VDPAU: Off VAAPI: Off XVBA: On 7. Reboot VM one more time. You should be able to play 1080p files and have your CPU utilization in your VM below 10% with a halfway decent processor and if you have a newer one, it should be below 5%. Without Video Hardware Acceleration (AMD Proprietary Drivers and XBMC Frodo with XVBA support) your CPU utilization will be above 60% easy. Thank you for the assistance. I will give this a try today and see how it goes.
January 28, 201412 yr Author Newegg had a PowerColor HD6450 2 months ago for $29.99 with a $20 MIR. I will have to keep my eyes open for that if it comes up again. Ideally I will want to run 2-3 XBMC VMs assuming things work as well as I am hoping.
January 28, 201412 yr 2. Add the XBMC Frodo XVBA Repository. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:wsnipex/xbmc-xvba-frodo Just as a heads up, according to the maintainer, wsnipex, the Xvba ppa is deprecated.
January 28, 201412 yr Author 2. Add the XBMC Frodo XVBA Repository. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:wsnipex/xbmc-xvba-frodo Just as a heads up, according to the maintainer, wsnipex, the Xvba ppa is deprecated. When I try this command it just seems to hang. When I break the process it reports multiple exceptions occurred. Is this due to the deprecation, or is something else likely happening? Update: Never mind... not sure what the issue was, but it seems to be working now.
January 28, 201412 yr Author I am assuming you are doing 1080p without an issue with this card, correct? Yes. You will need to use the AMD proprietary drivers and XBMC compiled with XVBA support. You can quickly install XBMCbuntu, add a "special" repo and install XBMC Frodo (12.3) with XVBA support and get full hardware video acceleration. After you complete an install of XBMCbuntu in a VM... Do the following: 1. Remove XBMC. sudo apt-get remove xbmc xbmc-bin 2. Add the XBMC Frodo XVBA Repository. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:wsnipex/xbmc-xvba-frodo 3. Update the package manager with the new XBMC Frodo Repository. sudo apt-get update 4. Install XBMC Frodo XVBA Edition sudo apt-get install xbmc xbmc-bin 5. Reboot your VM. 6. Make the following changes within XBMC: Settings->System->Video Output: Vertical Sync: Always Enabled Settings->Video->Playback: VDPAU: Off VAAPI: Off XVBA: On 7. Reboot VM one more time. You should be able to play 1080p files and have your CPU utilization in your VM below 10% with a halfway decent processor and if you have a newer one, it should be below 5%. Without Video Hardware Acceleration (AMD Proprietary Drivers and XBMC Frodo with XVBA support) your CPU utilization will be above 60% easy. I did the above instructions, but have a couple of questions. 1) It still shows Frodo 12.2, not 12.3. Any idea what may have gone wrong? 2) Even though XBMC shows on the boot screen, once I completed this I end up at the XBMCbuntu desktop console - not in XBMC, which I need to start manually. Can you please advise how I get it to boot into XBMC automatically again? Thanks for the help, and thanks for the detailed instructions. I appreciate the fact that rather just providing minimal information or pointing me elsewhere that you take the time to provide step-by-step instructions. The extra effort you put in (whether grumpy or busy driving the bus) is greatly appreciated.
January 28, 201412 yr I am assuming you are doing 1080p without an issue with this card, correct? Yes. You will need to use the AMD proprietary drivers and XBMC compiled with XVBA support. You can quickly install XBMCbuntu, add a "special" repo and install XBMC Frodo (12.3) with XVBA support and get full hardware video acceleration. After you complete an install of XBMCbuntu in a VM... Do the following: 1. Remove XBMC. sudo apt-get remove xbmc xbmc-bin 2. Add the XBMC Frodo XVBA Repository. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:wsnipex/xbmc-xvba-frodo 3. Update the package manager with the new XBMC Frodo Repository. sudo apt-get update 4. Install XBMC Frodo XVBA Edition sudo apt-get install xbmc xbmc-bin 5. Reboot your VM. 6. Make the following changes within XBMC: Settings->System->Video Output: Vertical Sync: Always Enabled Settings->Video->Playback: VDPAU: Off VAAPI: Off XVBA: On 7. Reboot VM one more time. You should be able to play 1080p files and have your CPU utilization in your VM below 10% with a halfway decent processor and if you have a newer one, it should be below 5%. Without Video Hardware Acceleration (AMD Proprietary Drivers and XBMC Frodo with XVBA support) your CPU utilization will be above 60% easy. This is exactly what I do on 3 different XBMCbuntu VMs and they work flawlessly. Some additional tweaks... - Turn off the RSS feed (unless you really like it). It uses CPU while idle. - If you are going to have more than 1 XBMC instance, a MYSQL shared library will be your best friend EVER! John
January 28, 201412 yr Author This is exactly what I do on 3 different XBMCbuntu VMs and they work flawlessly. Some additional tweaks... - Turn off the RSS feed (unless you really like it). It uses CPU while idle. - If you are going to have more than 1 XBMC instance, a MYSQL shared library will be your best friend EVER! John I am planning on the same MySQL approach and hope to have up in the next few days. Since you do the same approach, can you advise if you see any reason why I would still have 12.2 instead of 12.3 running after following these instructions?
January 28, 201412 yr Since you do the same approach, can you advise if you see any reason why I would still have 12.2 instead of 12.3 running after following these instructions? My bad it is 12.2. You will eventually either use the open source Radeon drivers or the AMD proprietary ones that use VDPAU for hardware video acceleration. Without jumping through a TON of hoops you can't use either one yet. Stick with 12.2 for now until Xen, AMD and the Linux Kernel is all sorted out.
January 28, 201412 yr Author Since you do the same approach, can you advise if you see any reason why I would still have 12.2 instead of 12.3 running after following these instructions? My bad it is 12.2. You will eventually either use the open source Radeon drivers or the AMD proprietary ones that use VDPAU for hardware video acceleration. Without jumping through a TON of hoops you can't use either one yet. Stick with 12.2 for now until Xen, AMD and the Linux Kernel is all sorted out. Thanks for the clarification. Are you able to advise how I get it to boot into XBMC automatically again? Since following your instructions I boot to the XBMCbuntu desktop and need to launch XBMC manually. Otherwise this works great! The AMD GPU definitely made life a lot easier. I just need to get another IR remote and I am set to virtualize a few of my XBMC clients.
January 29, 201412 yr I cannot help you there. Johnodon will be able to answer that. He is the one who figured out how to install XVBA in XBMCbuntu and shared it with me. I would send him a PM and ask him how he the autostart.
January 29, 201412 yr Author I cannor help you there. . Johnodon will be able to answer that. He is one who figured out how to install XVBA in XBMCbuntu and shared it with me. I would send him a PM and ask him how he did it. Okay, thanks.
January 29, 201412 yr Does XBMCbuntu login automatically? If so, all you need to do is logout and then select XBMC (not XBMCbuntu) from the drop down list and log in again. This will take you to XBMC. Reboot and it should log into XBMC automatically next time. It basically remembers the last domain you logged into. If it is not automatically logging into anything then you didn't check off that box during the xbmcbuntu install ("login automatically")
January 29, 201412 yr I'm a bit late to this party but for reference I use Xen 4.3 to passthrough to Windows a Radeon HD 7970, which works flawlessly. Also a HD 6450 will work fine with Xen and passthrough... All this is on an Arch Linux host, but I will be trying some other stuff soon and writing up some blog posts about it.
January 30, 201412 yr Author Does XBMCbuntu login automatically? If so, all you need to do is logout and then select XBMC (not XBMCbuntu) from the drop down list and log in again. This will take you to XBMC. Reboot and it should log into XBMC automatically next time. It basically remembers the last domain you logged into. If it is not automatically logging into anything then you didn't check off that box during the xbmcbuntu install ("login automatically") Thanks John. That makes sense. I have another issue to deal with first though... it seems the boot up hangs now for some reason. I get: * Starting Mount network filesystems [OK] *Stopping Mount network filesystems [OK] Then nothing. Eventually the console screen goes blank, and I never get anything on my HDMI monitor. I am going to try and reinstall XBMCbuntu and then will use your suggestion to fix my original issue. With you mentioning it I do remember having to log out of XBMC and into XBMCbuntu to get to the desktop, but didn't think through having to re-log back into XBMC to fix things.
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