Windows Server OS with Hyper-V, as a workstation - performance questions

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HaxNobody

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I'm trying to figure out what to expect if I build a new virtualization rig running Hyper-V, and do my daily work from a virtual machine. As far as I can tell, Hyper-V is the only major platform that allows me to use a VM from the server's attached keyboard, mouse, and screen.

I do not plan on any gaming or such things, but I do want to be able to watch full screen high resolution video without choppiness and stuttering. Is this a fantasy, or could it work? I keep hearing about RemoteFX - does this also benefit the local user that's attached to the server?

In the "most-bang-for-my-buck" department, I'm looking at a Supermicro X9DAX-7F with two E5-2667 V2 processors, and 128GB of 2Rx4 16GB sticks so I can achieve 1866MHz. Storage probably an array of 840 EVOs but I haven't decided on that yet. Not sure if I need any video cards or not.
 
So the situation you're asking about is what RemoteFX was designed for. It should work fine. There are a lot of blogs about RemoteFX and people playing games over it.

RemoteFX requires a dedicated graphics card though. See this page for RemoteFX hardware requirements: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff817602(v=ws.10).aspx

Your CPUs have SLAT so no worry there.

One thing you should be aware of. Do not use the Hyper-V Server for anything other than being a Hyper-V server. If you run any processor intensive apps on it you will destroy your VM performance. This is due to the fact that Hyper-V virtualizes the host OS on top of it and gives priority to its running processes.

Running something like BOINC on your Hyper-V box will make your VMs unusable. Other than that, Hyper-V rocks. But your question: does it benefit the locally logged on user, not any more than adding a graphics card normally does...but that goes back to my suggestion of not using it for anything other than being a Hyper-V server...
 
The title of your post and your message body are a bit confusing though...

You say you want to "do my daily work from a virtual machine" but your title is "Windows Server OS with Hyper-V, as a workstation."

Does this mean you want to build a Hyper-V server and then build a VM and remote desktop to it all the time with the option of logging in locally and running the VM inside a console there. OR does it mean you want to use the Hyper-V host as a workstation of general use PLUS run VMs on top of it such as a dedicated "work" VM and "non work" on the host OS?

Either way I mostly answered that. I don't suggest using the HOST as a workstation unless you're ok with poor VM performance while you're playing.

I have Windows 8.1 Pro and I run VMs through Hyper-V...

You will notice a slight performance drop on the HOST when you activate Hyper-V though, since it becomes a virtual machine itself.
 
Thanks for the info. What I meant was that I was planning on building a server, and move my daily desktop stuff (browser, emails, etc) to a virtual machine that would run on that server. However, I want to connect my keyboard, mouse, and screen directly to the server without using a thin client, and that's where the performance question comes in.

Additionally, I want to be able to live-migrate to a headless server in order to handle upgrades, patches, and reboots. However, the docs say they have to have identical video cards which is not possible. Do they also have to share CPU architectures? Because the headless server is a lot older...
 
Ok so being able to use the locally connected keyboard, mouse and screen isn't any different than using a remote machine with the Hyper-V manager installed. You can also use the Virtual Machine Remote Desktop Console thing...locally or remotely you'll have the same functionality...it's exactly the same as using the "Console" connection on a ESXi host via the vSphere tool.

As far as CPUs go, Hyper-V has a "Compatibility Mode" for different INTEL <-> INTEL or AMD <-> AMD but it doesn't work for INTEL <-> AMD

But I'm afraid that the RemoteFX will be the gotcha there if you can't provide the same GPUs.

I do not believe that RemoteFX will help you over the Hyper-V "Console" connection but I could be wrong. I have no idea what your reasoning is behind running everything inside a VM and then using the directly attached console to access it...
 
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Well, I need to build myself a new desktop, and my existing VM server is getting old. So I thought to myself "why not have it all in one box?".

I wasn't actually aware that ESXi could access the VMs from the console - I've always made do with XenServer and all its limitations.

If I used an additional graphics card, would I connect my monitor to the card itself, or to the Matrox integrated video from the server mobo?
 
If you have XenServer then you can use XenCenter, that has a console the same as ESXi.

I don't know enough about what you're doing with your VMs or Workstation to give you clear advice. As I understand it: You want to use it as a workstation (not remotely but directly) and you want it to host virtual machines that you can live migrate to an old box.

Well if you want your workstation to be a VM and you want graphics performance then you need RemoteFX but your old server that you want to live migrate too wont support RemoteFX so you're out of luck there. If you use the host (Server 2012) as your workstation then you'd get the graphics performance you're looking for but you couldn't migrate it, it would be the same as a normal desktop at that point and you could also negatively impact all the other VMs running on that host while you were playing with it (assuming you're doing processor intensive things).

I think your expectations are too high for doing everything on one box with an OLD backup box for live migration...
 
My point is that XenCenter (and I'm pretty sure ESXi too) have a text based console and cannot access the VMs directly except from a second machine over the network. Hyper-V can.

At this point, it seems more logical to use a thin client to make this stuff work since running from the console seems to be such an unknown.

Only one VM gets the GPU, the rest will use whatever integrated graphics they would have used without a special GPU. The only VM that I need to migrate and keep up will not have a GPU, so I'm hoping the backup server idea still will work.
 
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