Running Windows x86 32 bit VMs under X64: Ubuntu 64 or Windows XP Pro x64?

[ascreek]

Anyone of you uses Ubuntu 64 bit host with VmWare Workstation in order to run faster Windows XP Pro x86 32 bit guests?

I meant whether (or in which circumstances) running a XP Pro 32 bit guests under Ubuntu 64 (host) could be faster than running it over a XP Pro x64 (host).

The hypotetical reason is whether using a Linux-based OS that efficiently offers a write-back caching technique could be much more efficient than Windows XP Pro 64 bit or - giving enough memory - under the 64 bit environment they are equivalent in order to provide the 32 bit Windows XP guests the best performance.

[Gerrit_Lehr]

I can't really see how it would make a significant difference regarding performance since you are using the same virtualization product on the same hardware plattform. Using Ubunt x64 or Xp x64 won't be a big difference.

Kind Regards,

Gerrit Lehr

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[TobiasKracht]

You will notice no difference at all, because you are using the same hardware, while changing only software. If you would like to see difference try compare 3 OSs - Ububtu, Win 7 and XP. You will see, that main competition will be between Win7 and Ubuntu (if you have enought new hardware). XP is good but old OS. If you would tell us what is your config we would consider possible advantages of this hype.

StarWind Software R&D

[kingneutron]

I do. Ubuntu 8.04LTS--64 Linux host with 4GB RAM, dual-core 2.7GHz ( Intel ) processor.

--Tweaking / speed tips: ( 2GB RAM+ on the Host is recommended for 64-bit )

o Use JFS filesystem for VM directories on the Host.

o If using RAID, use RAID10 -- *not* RAID5. JBOD is OK. Personally I would not recommend having more than (3) simultaneously-running VMs located per single physical disk on the Host, for speed reasons. (This only becomes a factor if you have a lot of simultaneous disk writes in-VM however, or when doing in-guest Defrags or the like.)

o Use " noatime " filesystem option in /etc/fstab.

o Mount Vmware guests on a separate physical disk from " / " ( root filesystem. )

o Vmware Edit \ Preferences \ Memory -- Fit all virtual machine memory into reserved Host RAM. Save at least 200-300MB physical memory for Host usage, and don't run a lot of Services on the Host. SSH, VSFTPD, Squid, and Nomachine NX are pretty much all I run at the host-level.

o Use the lightest Windowmanager available to save on resources. Personally I can recommend Fluxbox or IceWM, there are others. **DON'T** use KDE or Gnome on a VM server -- they are resource hogs!

oo Guest settings:

Options tab - Disable Memory page trimming

o Limit guest RAM to reasonable limits. Use 384MB instead of 512MB if possible for light-usage VMs, 768 MB instead of 1GB.

o Use only (1) vCPU per Guest unless you have >2 Cores on the Host.

o Use " fsutil behavior set disablelastaccess 1 " in-guest ( equivalent of " noatime " for Windows XP. )

--Visit continuum's website for common tweaks for the VM .vmx file:

[[

1. Added 2008.0723 for performance -- /tmp filling up

sched.mem.pshare.enable = "FALSE"

prefvmx.useRecommendedLockedMemSize = "TRUE"

prefvmx.minVmMemPct = "100"

#priority.grabbed = "normal"

#priority.ungrabbed = "normal"

mainMem.partialLazySave = "FALSE"

mainMem.partialLazyRestore = "FALSE"

mainMem.useNamedFile = "FALSE"

]]

--Your best bet is to compare speed tests with both host Operating Systems if possible; but if you use the above simple tweaks, 64-bit Linux ++ Dualcore is very responsive. And you don't have to worry about Virus-scanning on the Host.

--Oh, one more thing - if you have an Nvidia video card, I highly recommend downloading and installing the Nvidia 64-bit binary driver.

./. If you have appreciated my response, please remember to apply Helpful/Correct points. TIA

Message was edited by: kingneutron

[ascreek]

The hardware running the host would be an Intel i940 CPU with 8 Gb RAM, 10K rpm SATA hard disk. Each of the 2 VMs guests running XP Pro x86 would use 2 Gb RAM. The 2 VMs would run on a separate 10K rpm SATA HD.

[TobiasKracht]

In case of such configuration I would recommend you to run Windows 7 RTM. In default configuration you will see no differnce at all, but after a little tricks your Win7 will has a smaller footprint and faster running.

StarWind Software R&D

[TobiasKracht]

If you have such powerfull hardware you will see no difference, but in anyway I would recommend you to use a Win7 - after a little tricks it will has a smaller footprint and running faster.

StarWind Software R&D

[TobiasKracht]

In case of using such powerfull and modern hardware I would you to use a Windows 7 as a host OS to use all potential of your hardware platform. Or, if you still want Ubuntu - take 9.04, but I would ou recommend Win7.

StarWind Software R&D