Setting up Linux VM on hard wired Optane memory

[Paul S]

Hello,
I am a biochemist and need a straightforward solution on how to set up a Linux VM that takes advantage of the the full 24Gb of memory on a computer I just bought so that I can get on with a genetic analysis that is RAM intensive.

I got a HP laptop with 24Gb of RAM by having hardwired Intel Core i5-8250U 8 Gb of standard RAM and 16 Gb of Optane memory. When I installed the Oracle VirtualBox 6.04 Linux system with either Centos6 or Centos7 on it the package bombed with an error message complaining that:

"VT-x/AMD-V hardware acceleration is not available on your system. Your 64-bit guest will fail to detect a 64-bit CPU and will not be able to boot."​

I have seen a STH page describing how to do a pass-through to a Microsoft 2012 VM server with Proxmox VE5.0.

https://www.servethehome.com/intel-optane-memory-pass-vm-full-performance/

Is there a way to do the same with the Oracle package? Other alternatives for getting access to a straight forward Linux VM with full use of the RAM without having to spend a bundle? I an open to suggestions.

 

[ttabbal]

Sounds like virtualization is turned off in the BIOS.

Passthrough usually involves PCI devices like drive controllers. RAM is just allocated to the VM based on the amount you set in the program. You will not be able to use all the system RAM in a VM. The host OS uses some.

The Optane device might be able to be passed into a VM. I don't think VirtualBox can do it though. KVM in Linux can, ESXI can, and it sounds like Windows Server can, though I've never tried it.

If you need the full system resources, you are probably better off dual booting and installing Linux on the machine directly. There could be missing drivers though. If your simulation is not I/O heavy, a USB stick might be a good option.