what is the best unix base host for virtualization?
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what is the best unix base host for virtualization?
Hi Everybody,
I search for a unix(Linux, BSD, Solaris) host to run better for virtualization some guest such as windows or arch or some BSD.
In other words, Which OS distribute specially to host virtualization?
My knee-jerk reaction is to ask what kind of virtualization you want to do, the answer depends upon that answer. I am going to assume from your detail that you mean FULL virtualization.
The answer still depends. What virtualization tools do you ant to use?
The best I KNOW about is AIX, it has that whole LPAR thing going on, which is very mature and powerful. (Ported from IBM Mainframe OS tools.) For AIX you need IBM hardware designed for AIX, the AIX may come with it. Not cheap.
What do your budget constraints, virtualization preferences, server environment, security environment, and any other restrictions look like?
If you want to use virtualization for home use (distro-hopping, experimentation, running Windows in a virtual machine, and so on), !!! is quite correct: VirtualBox is an excellent choice. I've used it on a number of distros (Mint, Ubuntu, Slackware, Mageia, and Debian, among others) and it works very nicely. Its functionality seems to be distro-independent, that is, there is no best distro for using it, though I tend to shy away from distros whose sole reason for existence seems to be to promote a particular desktop environment or appearance.
If you are contemplating some sort of enterprise usage (web hosting, containerization, and the like), wpeckham's question is very much to the point; what do you want to accomplish? For that sort of use, you may wish to explore KVM, QEMU, and similar projects. Also, if you are looking for some enterprise-like usage, I'd recommend a stable distro such as CentOS, Slackware, or Debian.
I have tried virtual-box and virt-manager and vmware and much more but all of them are softwares and not OS. I need an OS that developed only for host-virtualization and not other categories. I have some VM Files (OpenBSD, WIndows, Open Indiana, BlackArch,...) and want to run some of them when I needed.
Installing VirtualBox and VMWare and .. on general purpose Linux distro consume high memory quota and did not advice for professional purpose.
My H.W is: 8GB RAM with CoreI3 Intel CPU.
Does anyone know about SmartOS?
I have tried virtual-box and virt-manager and vmware and much more but all of them are softwares and not OS. I need an OS that developed only for host-virtualization and not other categories. I have some VM Files (OpenBSD, WIndows, Open Indiana, BlackArch,...) and want to run some of them when I needed.
Installing VirtualBox and VMWare and .. on general purpose Linux distro consume high memory quota and did not advice for professional purpose.
My H.W is: 8GB RAM with CoreI3 Intel CPU.
Does anyone know about SmartOS?
The best answer for that, in my experience, might be OpenVZ v7. A minute of research on distrowatch.com would give you an interesting list of other options. But: These VM files, what format are they? If those are specific to a virtualization engine you will require one that is compatible, and THAT may determine your OS options.
8G Ram is not a bad restriction, as long as you need not run a high traffic or performance engine. That CoreI3 CPU may not provide cutting edge performance depending upon WHICH CoreI3 it is, but should be more than adequate for testing.
Please tell us more about those files. That will help us direct our answers.
The best answer for that, in my experience, might be OpenVZ v7. A minute of research on distrowatch.com would give you an interesting list of other options. But: These VM files, what format are they? If those are specific to a virtualization engine you will require one that is compatible, and THAT may determine your OS options.
8G Ram is not a bad restriction, as long as you need not run a high traffic or performance engine. That CoreI3 CPU may not provide cutting edge performance depending upon WHICH CoreI3 it is, but should be more than adequate for testing.
Please tell us more about those files. That will help us direct our answers.
I need an OS for my Desktop(not Server) to perform a multi functional PC.
When I need security testing, I run BlackArch or OpenBSD. When I need OFFICE, I run windows. When I need mathematical processing, I run SAGE_Math, and etc..
I wanna do them with maximum speed and performance and I don't want any miscellaneous services to be run on my HOST!
I need an OS for my Desktop(not Server) to perform a multi functional PC.
When I need security testing, I run BlackArch or OpenBSD. When I need OFFICE, I run windows. When I need mathematical processing, I run SAGE_Math, and etc..
I wanna do them with maximum speed and performance and I don't want any miscellaneous services to be run on my HOST!
that so sounded like a advertisement for some kind of OS company ..
.. so when I need security firm I can trust I always call ...
I need an OS for my Desktop(not Server) to perform a multi functional PC.
When I need security testing, I run BlackArch or OpenBSD. When I need OFFICE, I run windows. When I need mathematical processing, I run SAGE_Math, and etc..
I wanna do them with maximum speed and performance and I don't want any miscellaneous services to be run on my HOST!
That is nice, and changes the entire question, but does not answer my question about those files. Before we can suggest what to use, we need to know what you need it to support. If you need it to support those files, we need to know what they really are.
Also, what you need is NOT a base OS for virtualization, what you need is a desktop OS that ALSO supports virtualization. I wish that this had been made clear from the beginning, as the answers are VERY different.
Also, your requirements are in conflict. You cannot do virtualization and still get native iron speeds. Kernel based virtualization gets close (under 3% overhead for LXC/LXD or OpenVZ Containers) but full virtualization will take (in general) 10% to 40% overhead depending upon the engine, settings, and degree of optimization for that guest. OpenVZ uses KVM/QEMU for the full virtualization so performance of full guests should reflect that. OpenVZ is the only linux I know that supports kernel based containers and full guests at the same time out of the box, but it may not be optimal for your use in other ways as it is really intended to be a server solution.
Please get back to me about those files. If I cannot help you from that point, at least we will then have enough information in this thread for someone else to give it a good shot.
Distribution: VM Host: Slackware-current, VM Guests: Artix, Venom, antiX, Gentoo, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, OpenIndiana
Posts: 1,006
Rep:
simple answer: Qubes (type I hypervisor vs type II hypervisors e.g VMware or Virtualbox).
Will give you VMs that are separated at the hardware level.
issues not related to Qubes but important:
not all OSes support virtualisation well e.g. from your list OBSD just added rudimentary support for virtualisation.
you can try Xen client too (different goals than Qubes but may fit your requirements)
Qubes and Xen client will give much better separation than OpenVZ or lxc (same kernel)
your specs are on the low end if you want to run different OSes at the same time.
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