The ultimate multi-platform workstation

[Dan Korneff]

I'm sure you guys know the situation... creating software for different platforms requires multiple computers. Not only do you need a Mac and PC, but you need multiple versions to test different operating systems and software updates. A few years back, I got tired of switching between multiple computers to get the job done, so I created triple boot PC/Hack/Linux machine. It works well. No complaints. Then I decided to upgrade my GPU to an RTX3090 for faster 3D rendering. It's quite a beast! The issue is MacOS does not work with Nvidia chips, so every time I wanted to boot up macos, I had to unplug my GPU. I also started to get annoyed by not being able to use multiple OS at one time. Powering down MacOS to use Windows can quickly get old.
Since I'm relying heavily on virtualization to run my mini datacenter, I took a shot at creating a virtualized workstation. The result?

One computer that simultaneously runs Monterey, BigSur, Win10, Win11, Linux desktop and Ubuntu server!
I'm still in the testing stages, but it's working wonderfully. I've successfully exported plugins from HISE on each platform.
The system is running on Proxmox. Not to be confused with things like VirtualBox or Parallels (which are type 2 hypervisors that run on top of an existing OS), Proxmox is a type 1 hypervisor. That means that your computer's actual hardware is divided up and given to each virtual machine.
Since the allocation of hardware is sectioned off and given to a Virtual Machine, that means you need a computer with a bit of horsepower to use multiple operating systems at the same time, but you may already have what you need. Or worst case, You only run 1 OS at a time with full resources.
By using some utilities like VirtualHere (share usb over ethernet) and Barriers (use one mouse/keyboard to control multiple computers) I'm able to use one set of hardware resources (usb sound card, dongles, etc) and share them with each computer. Each system sees the devices as if they are actually attached to the computer. No layer in between. The only downfall is since it's "directly attached", you can't share your sound card with multiple machines simultaneously.... I'm mean, that sounds like a nightmare anyway! hahahh
Right now, the Mac virtual machines feel like they have a little bit of lag, so I'm going to have to install a GPU for those machines to use.
If you guys are interested, I can post some details on building a machine like this.

[trillbilly]

@dustbro Yooooo, this is super dope man! I honestly had no idea this was really even an option. I have Win + Mac to test but both only have 1 OS. Congrats brother, seems like a real time saver!

When you do this, do files need to be saved individually to each OS/section in order to view/use them or can you use a single ExternalHD for all?

[Christoph Hart]

@dustbro Does it work with iLok dongles for AAX signing? The last time I fiddled around with virtualization for a build servers the guys from PACE threw a stick between my legs with their non-virtualisable iLok drivers.

[ulrik]

@dustbro Fantastic! Well done!

[Dan Korneff]

@trillbilly said in The ultimate multi-platform workstation:

do files need to be saved individually

All of my project data is shared on a single network drive :) It cuts down on redundancy, but can get you intro trouble if you access the same file at the same time on multiple machines. It work, but you have be aware.

@christoph-hart said in The ultimate multi-platform workstation:

Does it work with iLok dongles for AAX signing?

It does! I just signed and wrapped a binary on my VM. Check out https://www.virtualhere.com/
This USB server solution is perfect for allowing USB devices to be used remotely over a LAN network, over the Internet, or in the Cloud without the USB device needing to be physically attached to remote client machine. The USB device appears as if it was directly attached even though it is plugged in to a remote server, therefore all existing drivers and software work, no special changes required.
I've been using VirtualHere to share iLok dongles between different rooms at my studio for about a year now. It's pretty stable. I've had one dongle connected to a DAW via virtualhere for months. Not a single interruption.

@ulrik said in The ultimate multi-platform workstation:

Fantastic! Well done!

Thank you!

[ulrik]

@dustbro said in The ultimate multi-platform workstation:

Check out https://www.virtualhere.com/

Yes I've used that for a couple of years and it works nicely, sharing dongles between the computers via network

[orange]

@dustbro Congrats! It is so great and so exciting!

Although I tend to use the dedicated computers individually at the same time with a KVM switch, I also want to try this ASAP

[d.healey]

Yes I started using VirtualBox when I got my new (Intel) Mac Mini. I'm running Windows with bootcamp and GNU/Linux on a virtual machine, but I think I'll move Windows to a virtual machine as well.