Enabling Hyper-V on a Ubuntu Guest for GPUs Passthrough

Enabling Hyper-V and Ubuntu Guest GPU Passthrough: A Comprehensive Guide

Hyper-V is a native hypervisor that can create virtual machines on x86-64 systems. Developed by Microsoft, Hyper-V enables users to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single hardware system. This article focuses on enabling Hyper-V and Ubuntu guest GPU passthrough, providing a detailed explanation of the key concepts involved.

What is Hyper-V and GPU Passthrough?

Hyper-V is a native hypervisor that can create virtual machines on x86-64 systems. It enables users to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single hardware system. GPU passthrough is a technology that allows a virtual machine to access the physical GPU directly, providing better graphics performance.

Enabling Hyper-V

To enable Hyper-V, you need to have a 64-bit processor with SLAT (Second Level Address Translation) capability. You can check if your system supports Hyper-V by running the following command in PowerShell:

If your system supports Hyper-V, you can enable it by following these steps:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Go to Programs.
3. Click on Turn Windows features on or off.
4. Check the box next to Hyper-V and click OK.
5. Restart your computer.

Enabling GPU Passthrough for Ubuntu Guest

To enable GPU passthrough for Ubuntu guest, you need to have a compatible GPU that supports IOMMU (Input/Output Memory Management Unit). You can check if your system supports IOMMU by running the following command in PowerShell:

If your system supports IOMMU, you can enable it by following these steps:

1. Open the BIOS settings.
2. Enable IOMMU.
3. Save and exit the BIOS settings.

Once IOMMU is enabled, you can create a new VM with Hyper-V GPU passthrough by following these steps:

1. Open Hyper-V Manager.
2. Click on New and select Virtual Machine.
3. Follow the prompts to configure the VM settings, including the amount of memory, number of processors, and network settings.
4. In the Add Hardware section, select PCIe Device and select the GPU that you want to passthrough to the VM.
5. Complete the VM creation process and start the VM.

Enabling Hyper-V and Ubuntu guest GPU passthrough can provide better graphics performance for virtual machines. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can enable Hyper-V and GPU passthrough for Ubuntu guest, enabling better graphics performance for your virtual machines.

References

• Enable Hyper-V on Windows 10
• Prerequisites for running virtual machines on Hyper-V
• Nested virtualization in Hyper-V on Windows 10