[SOLVED] 2 Virtual Machines running off of one host OS?

[MatthewD]

Hi, all! I'm very new to networking/OS stuff so please bear with me.

I've been tasked with building a PC for my father's business and he specifically wants to run three systems off of one rig. I've never used virtual machines but I understand their function. He wants the tower to be in the media room, which is separate from the three offices that need their own OS.

So my question is: What's the best way for me to have three monitors and keyboards/mice interfacing with their own unique virtual machine off of one host PC? Is this possible?

 

[Deleted member 14196]

to use a vm they still need a client pc to connect.
we use Ryzen 2700X with 64GB RAM and SSDs to be our workstations that host multiple vms, still need a client, even a cheapo $250 laptop

otherwise, any other way is way too expensive, might as well just lease a server from DELL and some workstations.

you will need VMware, not the cheap crappy vms like oracle (so horrible) and MS are junk by comparison. and VMware Workstation is not cheap.

 

[Wolfshadw]

If I'm understanding you correctly, what you're talking about is a Thin Client setup. Each office connects to an OS running on a single machine (in your media room). As stated above, each office would need it's own, simple computer in order to connect to the Virtual Machine OS. A quick Google on the subject suggests using Raspberry Pi systems for each office to connect to the Virtual Machine OSes.

So start with a system with sufficient resources (like the one suggested above), plus three client systems. Personally, I'd start out cheap with a set up like this and get it working. Let your father KNOW that this is an ADHOC solution akin to tin-cans, string, and duct tape, but it should work. If he wants reliability, he needs more budget (and you need a steady paying job - hint, hint).

I'd also ask WHY he wants this type of set up. There may be more reasonable solutions than this.

-Wolf sends

 

[MatthewD]

If I'm understanding you correctly, what you're talking about is a Thin Client setup. Each office connects to an OS running on a single machine (in your media room). As stated above, each office would need it's own, simple computer in order to connect to the Virtual Machine OS. A quick Google on the subject suggests using Raspberry Pi systems for each office to connect to the Virtual Machine OSes.

So start with a system with sufficient resources (like the one suggested above), plus three client systems. Personally, I'd start out cheap with a set up like this and get it working. Let your father KNOW that this is an ADHOC solution akin to tin-cans, string, and duct tape, but it should work. If he wants reliability, he needs more budget (and you need a steady paying job - hint, hint).

I'd also ask WHY he wants this type of set up. There may be more reasonable solutions than this.

-Wolf sends

Thank you! Your response was very helpful. After some reading on Thin Clients, I realized that would work best for our office. I've used them at previous jobs and they seem to be an industry standard. Would you happen to know what the main PC's hardware should look like? If not, could you point me in the right direction?
Thanks again,
MD

 

[Wolfshadw]

Just like what Mandark stated. You will want a decent processor and more than typical amount of RAM.

The Ryzen 2700X processor give you eight cores and sixteen threads. You could do four threads per VM and still have two cores/four threads for the main system (which is still probably overkill).
Memory, you could probably get by with 32GB of RAM (8GB per VM + 8GB remaining for the host).
Storage is going to depend on how much each client is going to need, but I'd think a 240GB to 500GB SSD for the host and a 3TB drive, partitioned into three 1TB drives for each VM.

Still don't understand why your father wants to go this route as it introduces a lot more possible points for failure as opposed to each client running it's own system. If the host system fails for whatever reason, all three clients are down until it gets fixed.

-Wolf sends

 

[Deleted member 14196]

I give my build vms 2 gb and two threads running server 2016 and the are really fast. I tend to be conservative with resources unless they really need it