GUI Boot and VM GPU Passthrough


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So I have a PNY GTX960 graphics card installed on my Unraid box with 3 monitors hooked into it. I have the IGPU disabled because I don't want to use it.

 

I've been hearing about the GUI Boot mode and just tried it out. On boot using the very latest stable Unraid, I selected GUI Boot, and it started up Firefox so I could manage the server. I then start the array and my Windows 10 VM but then all displays go off and nothing happens. I can't get back to any kind of display and have to use another computer to force it to stop.

 

The VM Log doesn't tell me much:

 

2016-12-04 06:37:12.622+0000: starting up libvirt version: 1.3.1, qemu version: 2.5.1, hostname: Zooey

Domain id=1 is tainted: high-privileges

Domain id=1 is tainted: host-cpu

char device redirected to /dev/pts/0 (label charserial0)

 

Anyone have ideas on how I can get this to work. My ideal goal is to get it to boot up. Then when I shut down the VM, it goes back to the GUI Boot display....

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  • 1 year later...
On 12/4/2016 at 2:49 AM, saarg said:

You will not get the unraid GUI back when you shut down your VM.

The solution is to use the igpu for unraid and connect it to one of your monitors and just switch the input when you want the unraid GUI. Then leave the gtx card for the VM.

 

I know this post is old... I have a VM with a GTX 970 passed through to it and I am wondering how one would set unraid to use the igpu when you boot it into gui mode?

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4 hours ago, Jacrushar said:

 

I know this post is old... I have a VM with a GTX 970 passed through to it and I am wondering how one would set unraid to use the igpu when you boot it into gui mode?

 

If you prod around your BIOS options there should be the facility to set the primary GPU to iGPU (or similar wording). You will need either a dedicated monitor for that, or one that allows you to have both iGPU and dedicated connected (with the option to switch between inputs).

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  • 1 year later...
2 hours ago, thepizzaguy said:

What if I'm running a ryzen cpu with no integrated graphics? Can I still access the GUI and have a gpu passthrough at the same time?

You can ALWAYS access the Unraid GUI over the network. That means any device on the same network with a browser app, including mobile phone, ipad, etc.

If you want to access the Unraid GUI from the server then you need a graphic card dedicated to Unraid. That can be integrated or dedicated (usually a lowend dedicated one is used e.g. GT 710 but high-end Nvidia models can also be used e.g. P2000 for hardware transcoding).

Once a GPU is passed through to a VM, it is exclusively by the VM. While it's possible to pass it to another VM if the current VM using it is shutdown, it is NOT possible to return it back to Unraid to use for the GUI on the server.

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21 hours ago, testdasi said:

Once a GPU is passed through to a VM, it is exclusively by the VM. While it's possible to pass it to another VM if the current VM using it is shutdown, it is NOT possible to return it back to Unraid to use for the GUI on the server.

This is the exact answer that I was looking for! Thank you! I'm planning to build an Unraid server dedeicated for gaming, a plex server and a file server and maybe a Mac VM too. I'm getting a Ryzen 9 3900x, RTX 2010 for GPU pass through for the windows VM and a quadro P400 for transcoding (and unraid GUI if ever I need it so the RTX will be used solely for gaming).

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1 minute ago, thepizzaguy said:

This is the exact answer that I was looking for! Thank you! I'm planning to build an Unraid server dedeicated for gaming, a plex server and a file server and maybe a Mac VM too. I'm getting a Ryzen 9 3900x, RTX 2010 for GPU pass through for the windows VM and a quadro P400 for transcoding (and unraid GUI if ever I need it so the RTX will be used solely for gaming).

Get a Gigabyte motherboard. It would give you flexibility in GPU placement i.e. you don't have to place the P400 on the 1st PCIe slot.

Gigabyte BIOS allows you to pick any PCIe x16 slot to boot with (it's called "Initial Display Output").

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15 minutes ago, testdasi said:

Get a Gigabyte motherboard. It would give you flexibility in GPU placement i.e. you don't have to place the P400 on the 1st PCIe slot.

Gigabyte BIOS allows you to pick any PCIe x16 slot to boot with (it's called "Initial Display Output").

Thanks for the tip! I was initially gonna go for asus cause they're the only one with a white-ish motherboard with an x570 chipset. I guess it's gonna look way better if I could put the 2070 on top of the quadro card.

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8 minutes ago, thepizzaguy said:

Thanks for the tip! I was initially gonna go for asus cause they're the only one with a white-ish motherboard with an x570 chipset. I guess it's gonna look way better if I could put the 2070 on top of the quadro card.

The P400 probably can only handle 1x 4k stream or 6x 1080p streams so keep that in mind too with your Quadro selection.

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  • 6 months later...

Sorry. I guess it's a nerc'd topic, but I'm planning an extensive system where the missus is permitting 1 (tiny) box in the house. So I want it to do the following in this priority/neccesity

Unraid (uses 1 cheap gfx card)

Plex (nvidia p2000)

VM for gaming (dedicated gfx card eg 3070/3080)

VM for a friend to play multi-player together (another 3070/3080)

This will be the only computer in the house. Wife uses a smart phone and an iPad. I use a phone only.

Playing quest in games like diablo/borderlands or multi-player like CS is always best in the same room. Maybe I'm old fashioned.

Now on the ATX board what I understand (eg ROG Corsair hero viii)

Top and 2nd will be x8/x8 where I want to give the VM gfx and the pcie will be governed (fed) to the CPU

the 3rd slot is x1 which should be enough for the unraid gfx

The lowest slot x4 where I'd populate the P2000 and it'll be feeding to the x570 chipset.

Does it look like a legit setup as in will it work?

Also I'll be running maybe 1 or 2 m.2 depending on the pcie available to me.

I know I should go threadripper and maybe this won't work, in which case the friend and me will play on a laptop he brings home but it's really not correct for me to not treat him nicely. I mean at time we game for hours at end and a 12" (work) laptop isn't good.

The case is limited to 450mm in height, and I'm looking at a few of them. Will the 4 graphics cards also become very toasty?

Since it's a plex system it'll run 24x7. Gaming time temps can be controlled since we'll be running an AC anyways when we are sitting or I'm running a VM.

 

Sent from my HD1911 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

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