for Windows VM's on Linux Hosts using KVM/QEMU

Hi folks
If using a Linux host for running Windows Guests the built in Hypervisor (KVM/QEMU) approx equiv to Windows HYPER-V is infinitely better than running vbox or vmware products.

However DO run the virtio drivers (disk available from fedora site --free) - this will optimise display, mouse, disk i/o network throughput etc. Run on any known linux build or distro that supports KVM/QEMU -- probably all of them. !!





This iso set performs a similar function to vmware tools on vmware and vbox (or Guest) additions. If you clone the VM to a physical disk you don't need to uninstall these --minimal space !!


Cheers
jimbo

I am running Fedora 39 Beta and both QEMU/KVM and Gnome Boxes are running fine. Trying to install the VMware Tech Preview however I am running into a familiar problem that the installer cannot find the headers - I am updating the kernel and may look around for them but I suppose it is best to install Windows 11 Canary or Dev on QEMU/KVM for although I have several vmdk disk I certainly agree tjat QEMU/KVM is the better virtualization platform than VMware.

martyfelker said:

I am running Fedora 39 Beta and both QEMU/KVM and Gnome Boxes are running fine. Trying to install the VMware Tech Preview however I am running into a familiar problem that the installer cannot find the headers - I am updating the kernel and may look around for them but I suppose it is best to install Windows 11 Canary or Dev on QEMU/KVM for although I have several vmdk disk I certainly agree tjat QEMU/KVM is the better virtualization platform than VMware.

Click to expand...

Hi there
And as it's part of the kernel you don't need the linux headers to create and run VM's.

One little "snagette" now though on some distros is that you can choose between 3 qemu packages qemu-basic, qemu-desktop or qemu-full. Unless you have a text only linux host qemu-desktop is the one to install -- it includes spice driver and qxl for video plus ovmf for sec boot bios for VM's and tpms/lintpms/tpms-tools for emulating a TPM.

Installing Windows VM's on KVM is easy enough - I use vhdx file with dism /Apply-image --vCPU and other virtual hardware can be made compliant with W11 even if the Host isn't.

While HYPER-V is good for Windows hosts - KVM runs rings around VBOX and VMWare plus the USB -redirection works perfectly (can dynamically do it too) and sound on the VM not a problem --select ich9 for most hardware.

I don't use GNOME -- I prefer KDE - I only install the plasma bit with XORG and just install the odd app I need manually - so keeps the size down and runs nice and fast.
On a laptop only around 950 packages while on this old machine (really old) I'm using as a NAS server around 1200 packages It serves up 3 Windows VM's too.



cheers
jimbo

@martyfelker

just had a kernel upgrade to 6-5-5 -- no need for messing around with linux headers to get KVM to work --- although headers are always there if I need them. I've had the missing kernel headers with Fedora and vmware workstation a few times in the past -- I like the new stuff but fedora is much too unpredictable these days compared with Arch linux which is always pretty well up to date. I've loads of Windows VM's on it -- including XP (both 64 and 32 bit editions) and even the much maligned VISTA -- which was only poor because it required hardware rather greater than most people had at the time.

I avoid things like ubuntu like the plague as everything they do seems to want you to use snap or flatpak or both -- I don't want or need any of those things --I don't believe in Linux systems just being "more windows than windows" as some things are. !!! = Docker and containers are OK if one uses them sensibly. Centos was a great stable OS too -- shame it's gone to being another "experimental model" but I think Rocky Linux will e a decent substitute if one needs an enterprise quality server equivalent to RHEL server.

cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 said:

I avoid things like ubuntu like the plague as everything they do seems to want you to use snap or flatpak or both -- I don't want or need any of those things

Click to expand...

Same here.
Always I prefer the provided distro packaging. No snap / flatpak.
There are cases where I build stuff myself, in case that doesn't get too complicated for me.

And where there is no alternative or I want a quick run, there is the AppImage format. Way better that snap / flatpak, IMHO.

Hopachi said:

Same here.
Always I prefer the provided distro packaging. No snap / flatpak.
There are cases where I build stuff myself, in case that doesn't get too complicated for me.

And where there is no alternative or I want a quick run, there is the AppImage format. Way better that snap / flatpak, IMHO.

Click to expand...

Running Windows Server LTSC 2022 free trial 180 day server as a VM on KVM - incredibly fast --beats my W11 pro basic system (full of bloat) running on a physical machine hands down !!!

Here's the Host -- still very fast fast even though it's an old laptop even if not much RAM over -- I will test tonight on my NAS with DUAL XEON processors (2 physical CPU's) 64 GB RAM and 2 GPU connections --the thing will fly and as it's a free trial it's activate on any device you can boot it up on to -- also you can keep using it after expiry via slmgr /rearm.



and the Windows server LTSC 2022 (free 180 day trial) which I've hobbled to run brilliantly as a workstation -- no bloat etc very fast and efficient even as a VM on this old laptop. Even runs SKY GO and other video things OK (use GPU passthru though) ,





cheers
jimbo