Linux/Unix on Windows system

BEGINNERS & HELP
#21

Setting up a VM is more easy than installing a dedicated PC, in terms of limitations or advantages there are basically the same, we are talking about computer resources (cpu, ram, storage, devices).
If you plan to work with high demand of computer resources apps, you might get a dedicated PC.
If you plan to just run an entire OS to do one specific task and low computer resources are need it, sometimes is better to run a VM. (Setting up a webserver is an example of a specific task for a OS)

In terms of coding/develop, you can do it in any kind of PC, resources does not matter when coding, the resources will be need it to run the stack of software need it to run properly your code (webserver, databases, users connections managementā€¦).

From my personal point of view, is easy to deploy a VM to use it has a Test Enviroment for any use case than installing a dedicated PC, and if i do not need the Test Enviroment any more, i just have to delete the VM, while on a dedicated PC is a more complex process since it involve to format the entire disk and install something else and bla blaā€¦

Hope you find this useful.
If you have any more questions, please let us know so we can help you! :slight_smile:

Carlos Z.

2 Likes
#22

Hi @kryptomagpie
I just played around with Vmware Player once or twice. So I canā€™t really comment on it.

Disadvantages of virtualization:

  • Performance* might be an issue if your host is not the best. Every virtualization means overhead.
  • Expect 10-15% performance loss over a metal installation.
  • Desktop envs might also not feel as ā€œsnappyā€ as on bare metal.
  • Disc-IO might be slow if you donā€™t pre-allocate the disc-image (fixed size)
  • Many virtual discs may take up a lot of extra disc space on your host. Avoid spinning hard drivesā€¦

With Virtualbox I sometimes had performance issues(Desktop only!), just because I didnā€™t check 3D-accelaration.
Itā€™s these small settings that are important for a good performance.
No more disadvantages regarding virtualization come to mind.

Advantages of virtualization:

  • You can give it a dedicated network connection
  • You can communicate directly with your host, if needed or create private networks between VMs only.
  • You can drop/clone/backup/restore a VM super easily.
  • You can create a VM for each project individually to keep your environments separate. (and rollback a snapshot fast, if you screwed it up)
  • Use your home NAS, if you have one and make use of an iSCSI LUN or NFS over ethernet, if supported.

ā€“> VMs and containers give you a lot of flexibility and help you keep your host / main OS clean!

Personally, for devops tasks/project I would have good host hardware with tons of RAM and spawn VMs as needed or even better to keep overhead low, go for Docker or LXC, if possible. Since we are generally within the FOSS world, I would even use a GNU/Linux host system (with dual-boot for Windows) and install KVM, docker or lxc ontop.

Hope this helps a bit in your decision making process.

Regards,
Mathieu

Off-topic:
Hardcore devs and tinkerers might also have a look at Proxmox(https://www.proxmox.com/en/) or XCP-ng (https://xcp-ng.org/)

2 Likes
#23

Wow! thanks for the detailed explanations guys, that will be really helpful when I get round to doing this :sunglasses:

1 Like
#24

@MattMiller
@thecil

I have spun up LinuxMint on Virtual Box, working fine, however some of the tweaks recommended such asā€¦

You find the guest additions in the VMs window main menu:
Devices --> Insert Guest Additions CD image...

I havenā€™t been able to do this yet, its always such a time-sucker, few hours gone without blinking!.. for now all I want is a working linux box, Iā€™ll tinker around later on (probably when I get annoyed cos I canā€™t do some of the things you talk about!)

Also ā€¦ iSCSI LUN,NFS,FOSS,KVM,docker,lxc these terms all all new to me.
I googled them, again Iā€™ll come back to them, but good to have in mind for later on maybeā€¦

Avoid spinning hard drives

ā€¦ I bought a cheap desktop PC (with spinning hard drive!) which is good to get me started, however I think I will get a better one (with no spinning disks!?) ,maybe $600-$1000, so I can fire up multiple VMs if need beā€¦ any general recommendations for that price range?
Iā€™m familiar with Windows but not sold on it, however the suggestion of a Windows base with multiple Linux VMs seems like a good one.

Thanks again for the advice and recommendations guys, been really helpful

2 Likes
#25

I have an old server for my VMs (Intel Xeon 1230,16 gb ram, 3 hdd, 2 ssd) it cost me around 400$, just to give you an idea of price, i would recommend to install some SSD to get the most speed of your server or VM. But in terms of how much should you invest in a PC to virtualize/learn our courses, I think less than 500$ or even less should be good.

If you have any more questions, please let us know so we can help you! :slight_smile:

Carlos Z.

2 Likes
#26

Hi @kryptomagpie,

sorry for my very late response. I havenā€™t been here for a whileā€¦ Did you made progress in the meantime?

Spinning drives are ā€œokā€, especially if you want to spin some simple GNU/Linux server VMs without desktops environments. I mentionend SSDs because bad user experience (lack of snappiness) can be a deal breaker. For desktops you always need the drivers from the guest additions for performance reasonsā€¦

I donā€™t know your systemā€™s configuration, but you can always get an SSD und upgrade your rig.
If you post it here, we might give you some specific advice.

Cheers and have a nice week!
MM

1 Like
#27

Hi Matt, thanks for the response.
Iā€™ve not done anything else with it lately, too much to do and not enough time :slight_smile:
Hoping to get a proper rig set up, might get myself a little server to play around with as @thecil suggestedā€¦ would that be on a windows platform, or linux for you guys? if Linux, which flavour?
Servers / operating systems is not something Iā€™ve played around with much, its not really my bag, but I need to get my own one to play around with, maybe set up a little HTML server or somethingā€¦

Currently addicted to Axie Infinityā€¦ :sunglasses:

#28

What are you looking to do ? Still run Windows 10 as a desktop and run linux vm ?

  1. If you Run Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise Edition you can install Microsoft Hyper-V -Free

  2. You can run Windows Subsystem for Linux which I do running Ubuntu 18.04 ā€¦ which can be tweaked as developers . Requires no virtual - Free

  3. You can VirtualBox -Free

  4. VMware Workstation .- Cost

  5. If you want enterprise experience and performance you remove windows 10 and install and run a Hypervisor 1 like VMware ESXI or KVM - Free ā€¦ Yes there is a Free version of VMware ESXi
    For Both I suggest booting off of USB and install on it requires 32 GB . For VMware you need to meet Hardware requirements (.https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php) To learn more about creating bootable esxi go to tinkertry.com

  6. You want a lab infra like mine then you go look into VMUG and sign up yearly.

  7. Looking to play with something for the fun of it build a droplet on DigitalOcean a cloud create for developers for 5/month ā€¦ In 2012 I was building droplets trying to mine (cpu vs gpu) for peercoin and beercoin. It runs KVM probably on Ubuntu Serversā€¦

  8. You can use free vms on AWS , Azure or Google Free Tier ā€¦

1 Like
#29

Hi Zozo,

Thanks for all the ideas, would certainly be thinking about the ones at the top of the list to start off with.
I am running Windows 10 pro so might give Hyper-V a go.
At the moment Iā€™m ticking along, will prob look into this more when the need arises, but appreciate the advice :slight_smile:

Cheers

#30

Hi guys. Sorry for bumping the old thread, but Iā€™m really nervous about the end of the life of CentOS7. I mean, I love it too much to let it go. How are you gonna keep it alive as long as possible?

#31

Hey there. Iā€™m new here, but I totally get where youā€™re coming from. As far as I know, one option here is to switch to CentOS Stream, which will continue to receive updates and support. Another option is to switch to a different OS altogether, like Ubuntu or Debian. It really depends on your specific needs and preferences. I also heard of some companies that can offer centos 7 eol support. You can check them out too. Thanks for posting this question and giving me a chance to contribute