Re: [user question] Opinions about running Windows in KVM
On Thu, Dec 20, 2012 at 01:24:20PM -0500, Cole Robinson wrote: > On 12/20/2012 12:56 PM, Marc Haber wrote: > > I installed the spice-guest-tools-0.2.exe, and set the VGA model to > > "qxl" in virt-manager. I had to bcdedit -set loadoptions > > DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS and bcdedit -set TESTSIGNING ON to get the > > unsigned qxl graphics driver to load (and now have an ugly "Test > > Mode" warning) on my desktop, but resolution matching still does not > > do what I expect. How do I enable that feature? > > virt-manager doesn't have things implemented for that feature, try the > standalone client virt-viewer, it should do what you want: > > sudo virt-viewer It does, if one pulls the one from Debian experimental (the one in Debian unstable is not SPICE-enabled). And it thankfully does not need to run as root to work, $ virt-viewer --connect=qemu:///system does the job just fine. Even (ich6) sound works. However, scrolling and moving windows flickers heavily. Is there any way to get rid of the flicker? Until Red Hat feels like releasing signed spice-guest-tools, I guess I have to live with the "Test mode, Windows 7, Build 7601" in the lower right corner of my screen, right? Greetings Marc -- - Marc Haber | "I don't trust Computers. They | Mailadresse im Header Mannheim, Germany | lose things."Winona Ryder | Fon: *49 621 31958061 Nordisch by Nature | How to make an American Quilt | Fax: *49 621 31958062 -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe kvm" in the body of a message to majord...@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Re: [user question] Opinions about running Windows in KVM
On 12/20/2012 12:56 PM, Marc Haber wrote: > > I installed the spice-guest-tools-0.2.exe, and set the VGA model to > "qxl" in virt-manager. I had to bcdedit -set loadoptions > DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS and bcdedit -set TESTSIGNING ON to get the > unsigned qxl graphics driver to load (and now have an ugly "Test > Mode" warning) on my desktop, but resolution matching still does not > do what I expect. How do I enable that feature? > virt-manager doesn't have things implemented for that feature, try the standalone client virt-viewer, it should do what you want: sudo virt-viewer - Cole -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe kvm" in the body of a message to majord...@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Re: [user question] Opinions about running Windows in KVM
On Sun, Dec 16, 2012 at 08:23:02PM +0100, Paolo Bonzini wrote: > Il 16/12/2012 19:55, Andrew Cathrow ha scritto: > >> After the install and the resulting patch orgy finished, I noticed > >> that the KVM-based Windows install was running much slower than an > >> existing Windows 7 guest running under VirtualBox (on the same > >> hardware and a similiarly configured VM), which is odd since > >> sparkling new Windows installs usually tend to run much better than > >> an > > > > Where you using virtio-blk or emulated IDE? > > Also, if you're using virtio-blk, can you cut-and-paste the libvirt XML? > Check that it does not have cache='writethrough'. I have done so in my answer to Andrew's message, but I think that his help has solved my virtio-blk issue. Greetings Marc -- - Marc Haber | "I don't trust Computers. They | Mailadresse im Header Mannheim, Germany | lose things."Winona Ryder | Fon: *49 621 31958061 Nordisch by Nature | How to make an American Quilt | Fax: *49 621 31958062 -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe kvm" in the body of a message to majord...@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Re: [user question] Opinions about running Windows in KVM
Hi, sorry for taking so long to reply. I have results. On Sun, Dec 16, 2012 at 01:55:08PM -0500, Andrew Cathrow wrote: > > that the KVM-based Windows install was running much slower than an > > existing Windows 7 guest running under VirtualBox (on the same > > hardware and a similiarly configured VM), which is odd since > > sparkling new Windows installs usually tend to run much better than > > an > > Where you using virtio-blk or emulated IDE? Thanks for this question, it was very helpful. It turned out that choosing Windows as OS in virt-manager chose an emulated IDE drive. After retrying with virtio-blk, disk performance is now as expected. Here is the current XML: > > On another point: The VirtualBox graphics drivers for Windows have an > > option to couple the Windows desktop size to the size of the guest > > Window. That is, when I resize the X11 Window that shows the VM > > desktop, the desktop is automatically resized to fill the window > > completely. > > Try using spice with the windows guest tools which will give you copy > and paste, cursor handling, resolution matching etc. > http://www.spice-space.org/download.html I installed the spice-guest-tools-0.2.exe, and set the VGA model to "qxl" in virt-manager. I had to bcdedit -set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS and bcdedit -set TESTSIGNING ON to get the unsigned qxl graphics driver to load (and now have an ugly "Test Mode" warning) on my desktop, but resolution matching still does not do what I expect. How do I enable that feature? Here is the current XML: Thanks for helping! Greetings Marc -- - Marc Haber | "I don't trust Computers. They | Mailadresse im Header Mannheim, Germany | lose things."Winona Ryder | Fon: *49 621 31958061 Nordisch by Nature | How to make an American Quilt | Fax: *49 621 31958062 -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe kvm" in the body of a message to majord...@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Re: [user question] Opinions about running Windows in KVM
Il 16/12/2012 19:55, Andrew Cathrow ha scritto: >> After the install and the resulting patch orgy finished, I noticed >> that the KVM-based Windows install was running much slower than an >> existing Windows 7 guest running under VirtualBox (on the same >> hardware and a similiarly configured VM), which is odd since >> sparkling new Windows installs usually tend to run much better than >> an > > Where you using virtio-blk or emulated IDE? Also, if you're using virtio-blk, can you cut-and-paste the libvirt XML? Check that it does not have cache='writethrough'. Paolo > > >> install that has been used for months. A few benchmarks showed that >> the KVM-based Windows suffers from I/O performance that is almost an >> order of magnitude slower than the one running based on VirtualBox. >> >> I would like to know whether I did something wrong, or if there is >> another way to achieve compareable I/O performance in a Windows VM on >> KVM than it is reachable with a trivial VirtualBox installation. >> >> On another point: The VirtualBox graphics drivers for Windows have an >> option to couple the Windows desktop size to the size of the guest >> Window. That is, when I resize the X11 Window that shows the VM >> desktop, the desktop is automatically resized to fill the window >> completely. > > Try using spice with the windows guest tools which will give you copy and > paste, cursor handling, resolution matching etc. > http://www.spice-space.org/download.html > >> >> On KVM, I understand that the canonical way to run Windows in a VM is >> to use the graphics drivers from VMWare as the graphics card emulated >> by qemu-kvm is VMWare compatible. But it looks like this doesn't work >> since Windows claims to have a "Standard VGA graphics adapter" which >> is rather slow and only offers a list of standard screen resolutions >> which also does not adapt to window size. I guess this is an issue >> that I better address on a LibVirt mailing list, right? >> >> I would appreciate any comments, and - if appropriate - pointers to >> other mailing lists that may help with getting Windows 7 to run >> better >> under KVM. >> >> Greetings >> Marc >> >> -- >> - >> Marc Haber | "I don't trust Computers. They | Mailadresse im >> Header >> Mannheim, Germany | lose things."Winona Ryder | Fon: *49 621 >> 31958061 >> Nordisch by Nature | How to make an American Quilt | Fax: *49 621 >> 31958062 >> -- >> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe kvm" in >> the body of a message to majord...@vger.kernel.org >> More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html >> > -- > To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe kvm" in > the body of a message to majord...@vger.kernel.org > More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html > -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe kvm" in the body of a message to majord...@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Re: [user question] Opinions about running Windows in KVM
- Original Message - > From: "Marc Haber" > To: "KVM" > Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2012 7:47:11 AM > Subject: [user question] Opinions about running Windows in KVM > > Hi, > > I am a heavy user of virtualization in my private zoo of systems. My > main Operating System is Debian, and I am running a multitude of > other > Linuxen inside KVM, and also a handful of Windows systems that are > still using VirtualBox. > > However, VirtualBox has losing attractivity since there are issues > that prevent current VirtualBox from being packaged for Debian > (VirtualBox 4.2 needing the non-free OpenWatcom compiler to build), > and the latest VirtualBox in Debian (4.1.18) does not build its > kernel > module with Linux 3.7. > > I would therefore like to migrate my Windows guests to KVM as well. > Judging from what one finds on the net, this is possible thanks to > Fedora/Red Hat's work on virtio-win, which has not been updated since > july 2012. The documentation on > http://www.linux-kvm.org/page/WindowsGuestDrivers/Download_Drivers > has > also not been touched in a while. I'll check to see if there are newer drivers available but they don't change that often. http://alt.fedoraproject.org/pub/alt/virtio-win/latest/images/bin/ > > I proceeded to do a test install of Windows 7 in a KVM VM which only > worked after configuring a second virtual CD-ROM drive and giving the > Windows 7 installer access to the virtio-win.iso from the very > beginning (the dreaded F6 option). If it's important, the VM is > configured with libvirt 0.9.15, has two virtual cores off a Core i7 > Quad Core host and 2 Gigs of RAM. libvirt's Virtual Machine Manager > is > used to get access to the VM's graphics console. Another approach is the put those drivers in a virtual floppy drive > > After the install and the resulting patch orgy finished, I noticed > that the KVM-based Windows install was running much slower than an > existing Windows 7 guest running under VirtualBox (on the same > hardware and a similiarly configured VM), which is odd since > sparkling new Windows installs usually tend to run much better than > an Where you using virtio-blk or emulated IDE? > install that has been used for months. A few benchmarks showed that > the KVM-based Windows suffers from I/O performance that is almost an > order of magnitude slower than the one running based on VirtualBox. > > I would like to know whether I did something wrong, or if there is > another way to achieve compareable I/O performance in a Windows VM on > KVM than it is reachable with a trivial VirtualBox installation. > > On another point: The VirtualBox graphics drivers for Windows have an > option to couple the Windows desktop size to the size of the guest > Window. That is, when I resize the X11 Window that shows the VM > desktop, the desktop is automatically resized to fill the window > completely. Try using spice with the windows guest tools which will give you copy and paste, cursor handling, resolution matching etc. http://www.spice-space.org/download.html > > On KVM, I understand that the canonical way to run Windows in a VM is > to use the graphics drivers from VMWare as the graphics card emulated > by qemu-kvm is VMWare compatible. But it looks like this doesn't work > since Windows claims to have a "Standard VGA graphics adapter" which > is rather slow and only offers a list of standard screen resolutions > which also does not adapt to window size. I guess this is an issue > that I better address on a LibVirt mailing list, right? > > I would appreciate any comments, and - if appropriate - pointers to > other mailing lists that may help with getting Windows 7 to run > better > under KVM. > > Greetings > Marc > > -- > - > Marc Haber | "I don't trust Computers. They | Mailadresse im > Header > Mannheim, Germany | lose things."Winona Ryder | Fon: *49 621 > 31958061 > Nordisch by Nature | How to make an American Quilt | Fax: *49 621 > 31958062 > -- > To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe kvm" in > the body of a message to majord...@vger.kernel.org > More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html > -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe kvm" in the body of a message to majord...@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
[user question] Opinions about running Windows in KVM
Hi, I am a heavy user of virtualization in my private zoo of systems. My main Operating System is Debian, and I am running a multitude of other Linuxen inside KVM, and also a handful of Windows systems that are still using VirtualBox. However, VirtualBox has losing attractivity since there are issues that prevent current VirtualBox from being packaged for Debian (VirtualBox 4.2 needing the non-free OpenWatcom compiler to build), and the latest VirtualBox in Debian (4.1.18) does not build its kernel module with Linux 3.7. I would therefore like to migrate my Windows guests to KVM as well. Judging from what one finds on the net, this is possible thanks to Fedora/Red Hat's work on virtio-win, which has not been updated since july 2012. The documentation on http://www.linux-kvm.org/page/WindowsGuestDrivers/Download_Drivers has also not been touched in a while. I proceeded to do a test install of Windows 7 in a KVM VM which only worked after configuring a second virtual CD-ROM drive and giving the Windows 7 installer access to the virtio-win.iso from the very beginning (the dreaded F6 option). If it's important, the VM is configured with libvirt 0.9.15, has two virtual cores off a Core i7 Quad Core host and 2 Gigs of RAM. libvirt's Virtual Machine Manager is used to get access to the VM's graphics console. After the install and the resulting patch orgy finished, I noticed that the KVM-based Windows install was running much slower than an existing Windows 7 guest running under VirtualBox (on the same hardware and a similiarly configured VM), which is odd since sparkling new Windows installs usually tend to run much better than an install that has been used for months. A few benchmarks showed that the KVM-based Windows suffers from I/O performance that is almost an order of magnitude slower than the one running based on VirtualBox. I would like to know whether I did something wrong, or if there is another way to achieve compareable I/O performance in a Windows VM on KVM than it is reachable with a trivial VirtualBox installation. On another point: The VirtualBox graphics drivers for Windows have an option to couple the Windows desktop size to the size of the guest Window. That is, when I resize the X11 Window that shows the VM desktop, the desktop is automatically resized to fill the window completely. On KVM, I understand that the canonical way to run Windows in a VM is to use the graphics drivers from VMWare as the graphics card emulated by qemu-kvm is VMWare compatible. But it looks like this doesn't work since Windows claims to have a "Standard VGA graphics adapter" which is rather slow and only offers a list of standard screen resolutions which also does not adapt to window size. I guess this is an issue that I better address on a LibVirt mailing list, right? I would appreciate any comments, and - if appropriate - pointers to other mailing lists that may help with getting Windows 7 to run better under KVM. Greetings Marc -- - Marc Haber | "I don't trust Computers. They | Mailadresse im Header Mannheim, Germany | lose things."Winona Ryder | Fon: *49 621 31958061 Nordisch by Nature | How to make an American Quilt | Fax: *49 621 31958062 -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe kvm" in the body of a message to majord...@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
