Vpro Vt-x Vt-d for Virtualization

[idata]

Hi all,

As a profession I am developer .

I have been through the virtulization,vpro site of intel . I want to get a new desktop which i would like to use for running multiple OS. I have the following queries.

Q) Virtual PC or windows 2008 R2 server Hyper V will benifit from the VT-d ?

The boards I have short listed are Q57 (DQ57TML) / Processor (Core i5-660). The Processor supports Vt-d and Vt-x and the board supports Vt-d and vpro

I have read thru some forums and other sites vpro is not essential for home user machince virtualization. Its for the Organisation who ships virtual os to employees.

As i evaluate new technology and software solutions I need multiple OS so i do not have to reformat the host again and again. In short I want to use the power of virtualization at its peak.

So please help me to decide what would be ideal technology for me in my hardware. Also the hardware technology should be suported by software (like VPC 2007 SP1 or Hyper V role in windows 2008 r2).

Please correct me if my understanding is incorrect.

Best Regards,

veenit.

[Matt_P_Intel]

Hi Veenit,

To answer your question about Virtual PC or Windows 2008 R2 and VT-d, neither currently take advantage of VT-d (Direct I/O assignement). With the release of RemoteFX in SP1 for Windows 2008 R2, VT-d will be supported and you'll be able to have Hyper-V take advantage of a GPU in the system for DX9 and DX10 workloads. For Virtual PC, I'm unsure if or when it will support VT-d. VT-x (processor virtualization) is supported by both products.

It sounds to me like you are looking for a single platform where you can run multiple operating systems at the same time without having to worry about reimaging your host OS each time you need to change OSes. I've done this type of setup before and I think you will find that a single desktop OS with a type 2 hypervisor software will meet your needs better than running a Hyper-V server. Hyper-V is more built around the idea of multiple users connecting into the Hyper-V server on remote terminals rather than working directly on the server. As an alternative, there are other type 2 hypervisor solutions available that do take advantage of VT-d. Virtual Box (free), VMWare Workstation, and Parallels Workstation Extreme all support VT-d and are built around the usages of a single user running multiple VMs at the same time.

If I've missed the core of what you are trying to do, then feel free to respond with additional details around what you are looking to accomplish.

Thanks,

Matt