KVM ... anyone ?

[luk_s]

Hi

 

I browsed through the forum here and noticed that many users use ESXi on their servers.

I use vSphere/ESXi and all it's components at work and in labs, no question, it's an awesome software/solution.

 

However, i use KVM virtualization for my little "homeboxes" (Various generations of HP MicroServers). Btw. information about KVM, in case anyone is interested: http://www.linux-kvm.org.

 

Proper setup might not be as easy as ESXi but i never had any issues with it and it runs rock stable. Especially upgrading/patching/maintenance is very easy. A good thing is also, that i can use the hardware of the server (e.g. for a Fileserver (CIFS/NFS) on the host operating system) and use virtual servers on top of it e.g. for services i only need from time to time or "experiments".

 

I wonder, anyone else uses KVM run his virtual systems at home ?

[JasonP]

Yes, KvM on Linux is crazy stable and works well

[ikon]

I've never heard of it 'til now. Mind you, except for niche applications like Untangle I haven't run Linux in a number of years.

[Drashna Jaelre]

I'd forgotten about it. Not a linux fan. Except for Android, and pfsense/untangle/etc

[dj-h-]

KVM is too hard for the average home user. ESXi and VMware Workstation and VMware Player are so easy to setup.

 

I read through the Ovirt install docs and I reminded myself this is not work. No hard stuff at home please.  

 

If you already know lots of Linux, then it makes sense to go with it at home.

[yarre]

kvm is pretty easy to get running with proxmox

[Drashna Jaelre]

If you already know lots of Linux, then it makes sense to go with it at home.

I think you hit the nail on the head.

 

But personally, I like "easy to use" at home, and at work. Not something that takes me a week to figure out......

[marty_oc]

Hi guys, sorry for unburying this thread but I came here from the "Links post" so I thought it would be fine to be more current. 

 

I run Debian Linux on my Gen8 Microserver. I was looking for good virtualization solution which will be gentle to my system and will be easily manageable. Currently KVM will fulfill - the basic is easy to install and it is manageable via libvirt in linux, which is common management interface for various virtualization platforms. However it is CLI only (talking about virsh command). But luckily, there are many GUI tools running on top of libvirt - I personally chose kimchi. For Debian, there is a deb package available and it is very easy to install and set up. It can be downloaded here: http://kimchi-project.github.io/kimchi/downloads/

Additionally, I have also linux on my desktop in dualboot with Windows. It is possible to run virt-manager GUI app on linux client and manage KVM host with it. 

 

Having also not small experience with VMware (both desktop and server versions) and Hyper-V, KVM fulfilled my needs and runs very well. 

There is only one caveat if you are aiming at highest performance - virtio (the best option for virtual disks) disk drivers for windows are not available in WHQL signed versions so no way to install windows on virtio. At least I was unable to find them... Red Hat has probably package with ISO containing these drivers, but I did not manage to get it. Fedora has signed drivers, but not WHQL.