I am new to unRAID.

I am thinking of some possibilities that I want to have the answers here from the experts.

 

I am current having a hackintosh with dual boot Sierra and Windows 10.

 

Here's my setup:

Intel i7-4790k

ASRock Z97 Extreme 3

Gigabyte GTX 970

Antec 550W 80Plus

8GB * 4 Memory

1 SSD with 4(5?) partitions, 1 for EFI, 1 for macOS Sierra, (1 for macOS recovery? I think it is hidden), 1 for Windows reserved and 1 for and Windows 10 for dual boot (UEFI)

1 HDD with 2 partitions, 1 NTFS for installing software in Windows, and 1 FAT32 for files shared between macOS and Windows

1 HDD in FAT32 for iTunes library shared between Sierra and Windows

1 HDD in exFAT and 1 HDD in NTFS for video files

2 monitors

1 set of mouse and keyboard

1 USB audio device

 

I am planning to

1. Make this build into an unRAID server with two VMs, 1 for macOS and 1 for Windows.
2. Install media server software like Plex on the unRAID for streaming videos on both systems or even other systems on the same network.
   (The NTFS drive for video files will be formatted in exFAT for compatibility)

 

Questions :

1. Can this be done without reinstalling any OS?
2. Can this be done without formatting any hard drive?
3. Can I still have the documents drive mounted on both systems for direct access?
4. Can I use the USB audio device in both systems?
5. Can I run both systems simultaneously?
   Regardless of the power supply, I have a GTX 560 not in use, so I can have on-board display for unRAID, GTX 560 for macOS and GTX 970 for Windows.
6. If 5 is yes, can I control either one system with the same set of mouse and keyboard?
7. If 5 is yes, can I switch between the two systems?
   e.g. When I am using macOS, the Windows side is like no mouse or keyboard connected, vice versa.
   Then I can "do something" on the unRAID server or even the macOS or the Windows directly to switch to another system.

Edited September 7, 20178 yr by kit17

1)  It will depend on whether the hardware emulated by KVM is compatible with the installed OS.   The only way to be sure would be to try it.

2)  If 1) turns out to be yes it can, but the drive would have to be an 'unassigned' device - it could not be part of the main unRAID array.

3)  Not sure what you are looking for here.   They can be exposed as network shares at the unRAID level and the VM's can then access them via the 'emulated' network.

4)  You cannot have hardware shared between two running VM's    This would therefore only eb possible if you shut down one OS before starting the other one.

5).  As long as you have a separate GPU for each OS then it should be possible,   Another possibility is to use something like VNC or RDP from one VM to the other so you only need one GPU.

6)  This is not easy as hardware cannot be shared between running VM's   It would probably work if each VM had its own dedicated USB card passed through to it.   There is also the possibility to dynamically detach/attach USB devices from a running VM but this requires a system to control the process.

7).  The unRAID GUI is Web based so is accessible from any running OS whether it is a VM or not.   As was mentioned earlier you might find VNC/RDP as the way to access one VM from the other so that no switching of the keyboard/mouse is required.

3 hours ago, itimpi said:

1)  It will depend on whether the hardware emulated by KVM is compatible with the installed OS.   The only way to be sure would be to try it.

2)  If 1) turns out to be yes it can, but the drive would have to be an 'unassigned' device - it could not be part of the main unRAID array.

3)  Not sure what you are looking for here.   They can be exposed as network shares at the unRAID level and the VM's can then access them via the 'emulated' network.

4)  You cannot have hardware shared between two running VM's    This would therefore only eb possible if you shut down one OS before starting the other one.

5).  As long as you have a separate GPU for each OS then it should be possible,   Another possibility is to use something like VNC or RDP from one VM to the other so you only need one GPU.

6)  This is not easy as hardware cannot be shared between running VM's   It would probably work if each VM had its own dedicated USB card passed through to it.   There is also the possibility to dynamically detach/attach USB devices from a running VM but this requires a system to control the process.

7).  The unRAID GUI is Web based so is accessible from any running OS whether it is a VM or not.   As was mentioned earlier you might find VNC/RDP as the way to access one VM from the other so that no switching of the keyboard/mouse is required.

 

Thank you for the answers.

 

I thought I could be able to use two systems with the same set of hardware at the same time, like booting into a Windows VM on Linux with PCI pass-through for gaming, as well as the USB devices. Like this video 

(Not exactly that smooth experience, but something like this, without extra hardware needed)

 

It turns out making the system an unRAID server will not have much benefits as I was planning.

Edited September 7, 20178 yr by kit17