Virtualization of infrastructure (including workstations) at home?

Question

Virtualization

Hello Habr!

Interested in a solution for desktop virtualization at home. Home server virtualization is also of interest, but the problem is in desktops.

What I want
Since the topic is new and unknown to me, instead of a normal TK, I’ll just write a list of the Wishlist that I have:

1. The ability to run the required (15-20 pieces, no more) number of virtual machines on a powerful PC, the ability to connect to them from relatively weak customers who do not have a hard drive (or other storage device). iOS client - desirable but not required;

2. The ability to automatically dynamically change the actual size of virtual machine storage files, at least upwards;

3. Ability to dynamically allocate host RAM between virtual machines without the need to reboot them;

4. Ability to view HD-video on client devices, the ability to "forward USB" and sound;

5. Compatible with Linux. I mean, now Debian is installed on workstations, and I really don't want to give it up;

6. Low cost solution. Project budget (including both software and hardware) - up to 40 thousand rubles. If you can do it on free software and existing hardware, it will be great;

7. No noise. Clients must be passively cooled (this requirement is likely to limit the list of potentially usable hardware, which, in turn, may affect the choice of software).

How the network is organized now, and why this option does not suit

There are four PCs on the network:
1. A powerful workstation (i7 2600K, 16 gigabytes of RAM, SSD),. It is planned to make it a host. Cooled passively;

2. Weak server (old Celeron, 1 gigabyte of RAM). If possible, it will be used as a "thin client" after the removal of fans and HDD (so as not to make noise);

3. Weak workstation (Sempron 145, 2 gigabytes of RAM). Candidate for conversion to thin client. Cooled passively;

4. A working laptop with Win 7. It is not currently used on the network, in the future I want to open access from it to the server's file storage for backup.

There is also a router that distributes the Internet, and a smartphone. There are two users on the network, both of them do not like to share their desktop with anyone else (especially with each other), i.e. the option of "temporarily working on someone else's computer" is unacceptable.

Users do not like the current organization for a number of reasons:

1. Equipment resources are not used at full capacity (while one of the users has occupied a powerful station in order to watch cute cats, the second one is forced to edit video on a much weaker machine);

2. Workstations require the installation of SSDs, which, as practice has shown, are not as reliable as we would like (tried to use SLC and MLC devices on different controllers). With all the data stored on the server, installing an SSD to meet the requirements of the OS seems to be a very wasteful step.

3. Low speed of copying video content from mobile devices / cameras on which it was recorded to the server where it will be stored;

4. Difficulty launching additional operating systems if necessary. Quite often I am approached with questions regarding the behavior of various software in conditions that are slightly different from “normal” (“ what if I run this thing under Vine, and not under Windows, and put the import?"). To answer such questions, you have to recreate part of the questioner's environment, which is not so easy to do without virtualization. By the way, paravirtualization is not suitable, because you have to deploy a variety of OSes;

5. The complexity of redistributing disk space. Currently, on the server is not configured with LVM, so there are situations in which the content should logically be placed on /media/home_storage, and there is only space on /media/work_resources, which is not correct

Obvious solutions that do not suit
1. VMWare ESXi + Horizon View. A powerful handy tool that provides everything you need. Memory reallocation, dynamic management of storage and VM file sizes, a great implementation of PCoIP that allows you to watch HDTV on the client. There are two drawbacks - the price (adequate for an enterprise, but too high for the home use considered here) and the need to keep a server under Windows (it's not that I don't like Microsoft's OS, but I just don't need it for anything other than running View ); 2. KVM

based solutions (such as Proxmox). Here the cost is much more acceptable, but there is no PCoIP. For virtualization of desktops on the Web, it is recommended to use VNC, but (I don’t know, maybe I just don’t know how to use it) it seems to me too slow and not without unpleasant small bugs (I understand that “bugs” are implementation features, not protocol , but I've never seen an implementation free of them);

3. MS Hyper-V + Windows 7/8 + RDP. The main disadvantage of this option is that it is supposed to use Windows as the OS for virtualized workstations (otherwise, this option is equivalent to the previous one, since you will have to use VNC again). I don't want to breed holivar Windows vs. Linux, it’s just that both Linux users have already formed a circle of used software, developed habits that they don’t want to change, etc. Pure taste, but because. we are talking about home infrastructure, I would like to take it into account.

Question
Is it possible to realize all the Wishlist, if not, which ones should be abandoned? If yes, how to do it? I will be glad and ready-made recipes, and keywords for further information search.

If a solution can be found that does not require the use ofachievements of modern pharmacology , I will write an article.

Answer 1

Why don't you look at VirtualBox? For desktop virtualization - it's the most.
In addition, KVM is not only in the form of Proxmox. virt-manager is also available along with libvirt, also for the desktop - not bad.

Answer 2

Have you considered the possibility of installing 2 video cards in the server, which will be forwarded to virtual machines along with USB?
For example, I now have 2 W7 workstations virtualized under the Xen Cloud Platform, one of which is 10 meters from the other (in the next room). The advantages of forwarding a separate video card to the guest OS, I think, are obvious.
Perhaps this is an option for you too.
Look at habrahabr.ru/qa/42616/ - there is additional information ( and my comment ).

Answer 3

I have not tried it myself, but I have been looking at ncomputing solutions for a long time. Maybe this is what you need.