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Hosting virtualbox for my students (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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I am looking for a solution for my students who all have Chromebooks (which are locked down).

Their opportunities will be greatly expanded if they had access to Windows-based software (Blender, Unreal Engine, 3D slicing software, etc.,).

I have access to a couple desktop machines that I could host virtual boxes on if there was some way for them to remote into them through a web browser.

Is that something that is possible, and where would I get the information to get started hosting something like that?

If not, are there any alternative solutions that do not require a paid subscription?

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[–] 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

The apps you list need decent gpu and gpu doesn’t virtualize well. You also don’t run into licensing issues with Windows.

You can create individual accounts on the desktops so they get their own workspace.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    The apps you list need decent gpu and gpu doesn’t virtualize well.

    That's not really true any more. To actually get it working, especially sharing a GPU between multiple VMs, is finicky, especially if you're not using the very narrow supported configuration and expensive enterprise hypervisor features. But it is possible, and you can find plenty of articles from people who have gotten it working.

    But I still wouldn't recommend it. I'd give one whole GPU to one VM with PCI passthrough, and let multiple users remote in. Hopefully the apps support that.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    But I still wouldn't recommend it. I'd give one whole GPU to one VM with PCI passthrough, and let multiple users remote in.

    Which is why I’ve made the recommendation I did. Skip virtualization and go straight to remote access.

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