TOTAL NooB, to VM on unRAID

CDLehner

By CDLehner
in VM Engine (KVM)

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CDLehner Collaborator

CDLehner

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OK...so I need to run some VMs for my consulting business. Nothing too demanding; just some 64-bit Win7 machines, for testing and development.

 

I did some research, and was going to run VirtualBox, on the same machine...I use solely for ripping, and such.

 

Wasn't getting 64-bit options...which led to more research; and it seems my current BIOS, doesn't have the option for Virtualization (under OS Security).

 

I suppose I could try flashing the BIOS; but then I started thinking, about whether uR might be a "better" option?

 

But I don't really know the first thing, about VM on unRAID. Could I run VB on my unRAID server; or does it have its own, Virtual software?

 

LOTS of other questions, obviously; but I think I need to start there...before I proceed further. FTR, I did look for a tutorial or something (oops...I didn't look at the Wiki; I will); but if this is spelled-out somewhere, I'm happy to do my own legwork...with a point in the right direction.

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f3dora Apprentice

f3dora

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Virtual Box and unRAID (KVM) are hypervisors that need a motherboard and CPU that supports virtualization to host x64 VMs. unRAID will most likely work on your hardware but hosting VMs probably wont work.

 

EDIT: Your CPU supports Virtualization according to Newegg, probably either your motherboard doesn't support it or the BIOS/UEFI version has virtualization disabled.

 

EDIT²: Your Motherboard supports virtualization as well, is your Motherboard BIOS/UEFI updated to the newest version?

 

EDIT³: Virtualization should be under "Advanced BIOS Features" on your motherboard.

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CDLehner Collaborator

CDLehner

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I think that's where you guys are confused:
We're not confused, but I think you are.

On your unRaid main gui, click on "Info" and post the results.

 

No...with all due respect; you...or some of you...thought it was my unRAID server, that wasn't supporting Virtualization.

 

I hadn't even gotten that far; I was talking about, whether or not I could pull it off...with this old HP RP5700.

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CDLehner Collaborator

CDLehner

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jonathan gave you some advice regarding what to post and that will tell us what your server is capable of.  He's not confused, he's on the same page, yes there was some confusion initially regarding which box you were talking about but not from him.

 

No, agreed; moreso, from f3dora...initially. So why would Jonathan, kinda "call me out"?

 

Water under the bridge; I just want to move forward. Thanks

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CHBMB Veteran

CHBMB

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jonathan gave you some advice regarding what to post and that will tell us what your server is capable of.  He's not confused, he's on the same page, yes there was some confusion initially regarding which box you were talking about but not from him.

 

No, agreed; moreso, from f3dora...initially. So why would Jonathan, kinda "call me out"?

 

Water under the bridge; I just want to move forward. Thanks

 

It didn't read to me as though he was, he's asked you to post some advice so he can help you, I've pointed this out and you still haven't posted it....  ::)

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CDLehner Collaborator

CDLehner

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jonathan gave you some advice regarding what to post and that will tell us what your server is capable of.  He's not confused, he's on the same page, yes there was some confusion initially regarding which box you were talking about but not from him.

 

No, agreed; moreso, from f3dora...initially. So why would Jonathan, kinda "call me out"?

 

Water under the bridge; I just want to move forward. Thanks

 

It didn't read to me as though he was, he's asked you to post some advice so he can help you, I've pointed this out and you still haven't posted it....  ::)

 

We're not confused, but I think you are.

vb3.png.bad72b89b3c910dd517bc12ba89969b0.png

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CHBMB Veteran

CHBMB

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We're not confused, but I think you are.

 

jonathan was trying to help and he got caught in the conversation between you and f3dora, f3dora was assuming you were talking about one machine as did I when I read your post, you then pointed out that "you guys" are getting confused, jonathan was not confused and he posted that.  It's not important, but I'mnot sure I'd refer to it as "calling you out" makes it sound like he asking you to the pub car park for a punch up....

 

Anyways IOMMU is disabled on your system, have a poke around in your BIOS and motherboard manual and make sure any virtualisation options are enabled.  On Intel they are vt-x or vt-d, AMD I forget the name.  Probably will find KVM easier than Virtualbox as KVM is integrated into Unraid.

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JonathanM Grand Master

JonathanM

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With the system information you posted, you should be fine running 1 VM at a time with unRaid's built in KVM, no need to try to get virtualbox running. Virtualbox is kind of a pain compared to KVM, now that KVM is native to unRaid. You would be accessing the VM over the network, through VNC or RDP. You would not be able to directly pass through hardware unless your CPU and motherboard support it and the features are turned on, right now they are off, and without researching I don't know whether or not they can be enabled. I currently have a Windows 7 Pro VM running 24/7 on a box with similar specs, and it's not super fast, but it's very usable.

 

These wiki articles pretty much documents what you need to do to get started. Since you can't currently pass through hardware, and may not want to anyway, you can skip all the references to assigning graphics cards and usb devices.

http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/UnRAID_Manual_6#Installing_a_Windows_VM

http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/UnRAID_6/VM_Management

 

I wasn't calling you out, I was trying to help you. I needed your system info to do that.

 

 

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CDLehner Collaborator

CDLehner

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With the system information you posted, you should be fine running 1 VM at a time with unRaid's built in KVM, no need to try to get virtualbox running. Virtualbox is kind of a pain compared to KVM, now that KVM is native to unRaid. You would be accessing the VM over the network, through VNC or RDP. You would not be able to directly pass through hardware unless your CPU and motherboard support it and the features are turned on, right now they are off, and without researching I don't know whether or not they can be enabled. I currently have a Windows 7 Pro VM running 24/7 on a box with similar specs, and it's not super fast, but it's very usable.

 

These wiki articles pretty much documents what you need to do to get started. Since you can't currently pass through hardware, and may not want to anyway, you can skip all the references to assigning graphics cards and usb devices.

http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/UnRAID_Manual_6#Installing_a_Windows_VM

http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/UnRAID_6/VM_Management

 

I wasn't calling you out, I was trying to help you. I needed your system info to do that.

 

Cool; let me get into KVM set-up...and I'll see if I need pointers from there (I would bet on it, lol  :-[)

 

Should I start, by uninstalling the VB plug-in?

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