Best virtualisation solution for Windows 10

[Cromulent]

I know this is a question about Windows 10 and not Windows Server but I figure the people who read this forum will be more knowledgeable about virtualisation.

I currently use VMWare Workstation Pro 14.1.3 to run Linux virtual machines and one Windows 10 virtual machine. I primarily use them for programming. The problem is even if I upgrade to VMWare Workstation Pro 15 it'll only support DirectX 10.1. I was wondering if I should switch to using Hyper-V instead?

Features I need are being able to manage a virtual network between virtual machines. Being able to simulate latency and packet loss of network traffic, being able to do GPGPU computing (CUDA primarily) and possibly Vulkan or DirectX 12 programming.

Does anyone know what the best solution is for me regarding virtualisation in Windows 10?

I'm running 64 bit Windows 10 Pro 1809.

Edit: Of course GPU passthrough is essential for my workloads. I'd also want to run an instance of Windows Server 2019 to learn how to use it.

 

[andshrew]

If you want to do proper GPU pass through I believe there is nothing that would do it from a Windows 10 host - you'd need to run ESX, KVM or Server 2016 Hyper-V.

I would stick with your existing Workstation install and do your GPU development on the actual host rather than a VM.

 

[Cromulent]

If you want to do proper GPU pass through I believe there is nothing that would do it from a Windows 10 host - you'd need to run ESX, KVM or Server 2016 Hyper-V.

I would stick with your existing Workstation install and do your GPU development on the actual host rather than a VM.

Hmm. Thanks for the reply. I guess I'll upgrade my copy of VMWare Workstation Pro to the latest version then.

Having said that now I'm tempted to run Linux as the host operating system and have two Windows 10 virtual machines running instead of just the one. I wonder how well gaming works with GPU pass-through via KVM?

 

[Throrik]

Passthrough always has a cost - and Linux GPU drivers aren't the best in general, they've improved a lot over the last few years but still not able to get the FPS you would have in Windows for the most part.

 

[awaybreaktoday]

GPU passthrough will give you near native performance:

Checkout level1tech youtube channel and forums...

 

[Cromulent]

GPU passthrough will give you near native performance:

Checkout level1tech youtube channel and forums...

Awesome. Thank you for the video. Now I'm really tempted to switch over to Linux as my host operating system and just use a Windows VM to play games.

Slightly concerned about Nvidia not liking this type of virtualisation though although I'm sure I can find a fix somewhere. Now I just need to decide which Linux distro I want to use on a daily basis.

 

[awaybreaktoday]

Awesome. Thank you for the video. Now I'm really tempted to switch over to Linux as my host operating system and just use a Windows VM to play games.

Slightly concerned about Nvidia not liking this type of virtualisation though although I'm sure I can find a fix somewhere. Now I just need to decide which Linux distro I want to use on a daily basis.

Here is some more really useful and important information for you... Please take your time to read the entire thread. This thread help me out with an issue with 10 GB net cards and passthrough in a production environment.

https://forum.level1techs.com/t/increasing-vfio-vga-performance/133443

 

[Zefan]

Awesome. Thank you for the video. Now I'm really tempted to switch over to Linux as my host operating system and just use a Windows VM to play games.

Slightly concerned about Nvidia not liking this type of virtualisation though although I'm sure I can find a fix somewhere. Now I just need to decide which Linux distro I want to use on a daily basis.

Although this is more of a viable option than ever, be mindful of the issues you'll run in to with some online games, specifically those that run anti-cheat software such as Battleye. The last time I looked in to this the most popular games flagged any virtualisation software as cheating.

 

[Cromulent]

Here is some more really useful and important information for you... Please take your time to read the entire thread. This thread help me out with an issue with 10 GB net cards and passthrough in a production environment.

https://forum.level1techs.com/t/increasing-vfio-vga-performance/133443

Thanks. I'll read through that in the morning.

Although this is more of a viable option than ever, be mindful of the issues you'll run in to with some online games, specifically those that run anti-cheat software such as Battleye. The last time I looked in to this the most popular games flagged any virtualisation software as cheating.

Honestly, gaming isn't as important as I might have come across. I spend most of my time fiddling around with development/programming and system admin stuff. Gaming is just for times when I want to relax a bit.

 

[awaybreaktoday]

Also you can keep an eye on this steam project: https://steamcommunity.com/games/221410/announcements/detail/1696055855739350561

Our goal for this work is to let Linux Steam users enjoy easy access to a larger back catalog. We think it will also allow future developers to easily leverage their work from other platforms to target Linux. This would give them the option of focusing on areas that would make a meaningful experience difference for all users instead, such as supporting Vulkan[www.khronos.org].

As a result of this work, today we are releasing the Beta of a new and improved version of Steam Play to all Linux users! It includes a modified distribution of Wine, called Proton, to provide compatibility with Windows game titles. Here are some of the improvements it brings to the table

• Windows games with no Linux version currently available can now be installed and run directly from the Linux Steam client, complete with native Steamworks and OpenVR support.
  
• DirectX 11 and 12 implementations are now based on Vulkan, resulting in improved game compatibility and reduced performance impact.
  
• Fullscreen support has been improved: fullscreen games will be seamlessly stretched to the desired display without interfering with the native monitor resolution or requiring the use of a virtual desktop.
  
• Improved game controller support: games will automatically recognize all controllers supported by Steam. Expect more out-of-the-box controller compatibility than even the original version of the game.
  
• Performance for multi-threaded games has been greatly improved compared to vanilla Wine.

 

[Cromulent]

Also you can keep an eye on this steam project: https://steamcommunity.com/games/221410/announcements/detail/1696055855739350561

Our goal for this work is to let Linux Steam users enjoy easy access to a larger back catalog. We think it will also allow future developers to easily leverage their work from other platforms to target Linux. This would give them the option of focusing on areas that would make a meaningful experience difference for all users instead, such as supporting Vulkan[www.khronos.org].

As a result of this work, today we are releasing the Beta of a new and improved version of Steam Play to all Linux users! It includes a modified distribution of Wine, called Proton, to provide compatibility with Windows game titles. Here are some of the improvements it brings to the table

• Windows games with no Linux version currently available can now be installed and run directly from the Linux Steam client, complete with native Steamworks and OpenVR support.
  
• DirectX 11 and 12 implementations are now based on Vulkan, resulting in improved game compatibility and reduced performance impact.
  
• Fullscreen support has been improved: fullscreen games will be seamlessly stretched to the desired display without interfering with the native monitor resolution or requiring the use of a virtual desktop.
  
• Improved game controller support: games will automatically recognize all controllers supported by Steam. Expect more out-of-the-box controller compatibility than even the original version of the game.
  
• Performance for multi-threaded games has been greatly improved compared to vanilla Wine.

Thanks for the information. I'm now running Manjaro as my main operating system. We'll see what happens over the next couple of days if I can figure everything out.

 

[awaybreaktoday]

Thanks for the information. I'm now running Manjaro as my main operating system. We'll see what happens over the next couple of days if I can figure everything out.

Nice choice