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Davewolfs
Contributor
Contributor

VMWare Use Case - Outputting Video Directly From Host

I'm currently researching replacing a desktop with an ESXI server.  Currently I am running multiple VM's on the Desktop and require Jumbo Packet Support.  ESXI seems to be a good fit over your standard VMWare workstation.

From what I have read there are two options used to connect to a guest within the host hardware, either VMWare View or Remote Desktop.  I am fine using this for most of my VM's but for the guest which will be my desktop replacement I'd like to output video directly from my video card.

With that said, would it be possible to passthrough to give the physical video card to one of the guest OS's in this case my standard windows guest OS?  Second, my video card supports multiple monitors.  Will I still have this ability?  I've search the hardware compatibility list but there doesn't appear to be anything listed for graphics.

Please advise.

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mcowger
Immortal
Immortal

Using ESXi as a machine you interact with directly isn't possible.  It runs everything virtually (including the video), and you would need to connect over some sort of IP-based protocol.

--Matt VCDX #52 blog.cowger.us
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Davewolfs
Contributor
Contributor

We couldn't use direct path in this case?

Otherwise any recommendations on bare bones systems that can display to multiple monitors from the VM?

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eeg3
Commander
Commander

It sounds like VMware Workstation would be a good fit, but if you'd prefer to go with ESXi and access it remotely then I'd recommend utilizing VMware View on top for the best experience with PCoIP. That latter would be more complicated than VMware Workstation, though. View will not use the server's graphics card, but it can do 3D rendering and will support multiple monitors well.

Blog: http://blog.eeg3.net
Davewolfs
Contributor
Contributor

Seems like PCOIP combined with a zero client does exactly what I need.

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