1 common storage HDD for two windows VMs

[bill.d.trav]

So I pre-emptively ask this question because I have not used unraid yet but I plan to use it on a project PC which I await some parts to arrive in order to build it. 

 

So this is a single tower PC that will serve as a general purpose windows machine for 2 users (my nephews) 

 

Each each nephew will get his own nvme for his windows VM (separate pass-through GPU, cores ram etc) 

 

But I have a 6TB HDD that I would like them both to have access to simultaneously for general storage purpose (e.g individual steam libraries) 

 

Is it possible to make the HDD look like network storage to each individual windows VM (or share it in any other way doesnt necessarily need to look like a network storage device I just thought that this could be an option maybe) ?

 

Thanks. 

Edited November 7, 2020 by bill.d.trav

[JonathanM]

Yes, you can map user shares to any number of machines on the network, VM or physical, doesn't make a difference.

 

I hope you are copying a successful build with your hardware, getting 2 full passthrough VM's with good performance requires specific hardware.

[bill.d.trav]

On 11/7/2020 at 2:24 PM, jonathanm said:

Yes, you can map user shares to any number of machines on the network, VM or physical, doesn't make a difference.

 

Mapping user shares is only possible for a network drive right?  So the only solution to what I try to achieve is to make it look like a network drive? 

 

And how will I manage to do that (its not an actual network drive I dont have a nas enclosure it will connect over sata) ?

 

 

 

  

On 11/7/2020 at 2:24 PM, jonathanm said:

I hope you are copying a successful build with your hardware, getting 2 full passthrough VM's with good performance requires specific hardware.

 

 

As for the rest of the system it will have a i9 9900k (I plan to give 1st core and thread to unraid and split the rest to the two VMs) 

 

4 sticks of 8GB (I hope in that way both can have dual channel 16GB)  <----- also an other question can I use 2 sticks of 16GB and still have each VM using about 16GB but with dual channel speed?  (like have unraid manage it and give virtual memory to the VMs and in that way both VMs are able to leverage the dual channel speed) 

 

and two RX vega 64 graphics cards. (sapphire nitro + variants) 

Edited November 8, 2020 by bill.d.trav