Mastodawn

Proxmox HDMI output for one VM-container

https://feddit.it/post/913318

Proxmox HDMI output for one VM-container - Feddit.it

Hi everyone, I’m planning to experiment with my first home server (jellyfin,nextcloud,bitwarden etc) running on a “old” Thinkcentre i5-7th. I’m thinking using proxmox in order to experiment with different configuration and I was wondering if it’s possible to have a single container/vr (with Libreelec) output HDMI to my TV, and keep other VM’s headless and controlled from another PC when needed. Are there some particular setting or nwebie suggestion that could help me achieve that? Also, do you think proxmox is a good choice, or it’s better stick to a single debian/ubuntu server OS?

Rand0mA Jul 31, 2023

I did this with proxmox. However I’m using a Nvidia gpu for passthrough. Was awhile ago I set it all up. I remember it being fairly complex. Here is a super basic instruction for it. Possibly incomplete.

Check you have iommu enabled in efi/bios. (For Intel - enable vt-d)

Install drivers if necessary (again nvidia)

Blacklist device on proxmox host

Setup GPU passthrough (vfio) - assign the card video and audio to the guest vm.

Start vm and test

If you are using onboard card, you can probably blacklist it and use it for your vm… I’m not entirely sure how proxmox deals with losing its primary display… I expect it’ll cope ok. SSH for everything. Probably need to use virtio drivers. Install within guest…

Really… prob best hosting a media server and having a client on the TV end.

Sethayy Jul 31, 2023

Random question, but proxmox has a display usually? what’s it even look like lol, the website has everything you could ever need

Taasz/Woof Jul 31, 2023

It’s the CLI.

Sethayy Jul 31, 2023

Yk shoulda guessed, thanks!

rudy Jul 31, 2023

Hi I did that for Kodi, still using it and running in parallel other LXCs on the same machine. Scripts: github.com/mrrudy/proxmoxHelper Hope it helps.

GitHub - mrrudy/proxmoxHelper

Contribute to mrrudy/proxmoxHelper development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub

rmean Jul 31, 2023

Nice! Is Ubuntu mandatory?

snekerpimp Jul 31, 2023

What you are looking for is gpu pass through. You can do it with integrated graphics as well as dedicated. There is a lot of good documentation out there for proxmox to do this.

I would totally start with a hypervisor. The ability to spin up a new VM for an experiment or project far outweighs any downside. I use proxmox, but that’s mainly because it was the thing to do when I was starting out. There are a few options out there, including installing Debian and running kvm/qemu, which is basically what proxmox is. They all have the same functionality, just different UI/features. Lxc containers in proxmox help a lot as well, when you have a small service you want to run but don’t want to take up a VMs worth or resources. These also helped a lot.

Good luck

Proxmox VE Helper-Scripts

Scripts for Streamlining Your Homelab with Proxmox VE

stown Jul 31, 2023

It’s important to note that you will need 2 GPUs ( 2 PCIE or 1 integrated and 1 PCIE). One GPU is needed for Proxmox and the other can be passed through to the VM.

Sethayy Jul 31, 2023

Surprisingly this isnt actually needed. It makes it easier to setup, but isnt required beyond that (and some bios need one plugged in to boot but that won’t be an issue).

My current setup is 2 nvidias both passed through to separate VMS, then I just use another PC to access the web console. My ideal setup would be a VM that launches itself when none else are running, to allow a graphical output even with the host headless

dragnet Jul 31, 2023

Just gonna add a bit here. I haven't used proxmox, but I do have a GPU I assign to QEMU/KVM virtual machines. The arch wiki has an article that helps a lot, for anyone who wishes to try this. I have also found that the virgl drivers allow for sufficient graphical performance for video decoding at high resolution, so that is another potential option to explore here that doesn't involve allocating the GPU to a VM.

SafetyGoggles Jul 31, 2023

The main reason why OP need GPU passthrough is so that Jellyfin can do hardware-accelerated transcoding, I think.

I presume virgl doesn’t provide hardware-acceleration for encoding (and probable decoding too)?

WeirdGoesPro Jul 31, 2023

What are you trying to display on the TV? I feel like most media can be handled better with something like PLEX rather than directly displaying it with an HDMI cord. Much easier to browse with a remote anyway.

tburkhol Jul 31, 2023

If you want to see anything on a ‘dumb’ TV, at some point there’s going to be an HDMI cord involved. Sounds like OP wants his old computer to be both a home server and an HTPC. Personally, I’d just run qemu or docker on the HTPC, but there’s no reason he can’t run both plex and libreelec/kodi as vms or containers on the same machine.

WeirdGoesPro Jul 31, 2023

I get all that, and I wasn’t trying to suggest HDMI cords are useless. I just got the feeling that there was a cleaner way to accomplish what OP was trying to do since there were scant details about the end result in the post.

I ran a computer directly to the television for years before switching to PLEX and an Apple TV, hence the suggestion—the user experience increased so significantly that I would never go back.

stooovie Jul 31, 2023

VM or container? VM is easier and can be usually configured even via Proxmox GUI (Hardware - Add PCI). Various OSes need various levels of effort. Some Linux distros don’t need any more config, Windows on the other hand required a custom GPU ROM on my system to work.

This can be done even with a single GPU, even the built in iGPU.

Faceman🇦🇺Aug 1, 2023

Yes and quite simple if your equipment supports it, the other VMS will not have access to the GPU if you do that.