Rolling Release VM/ZFS Host? TRX40

Software & Operating Systems Linux
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Gearing up to build a 3960X system and been doing a lot of research around taking the plunge into VMs/VFIO/etc.

I see a lot of guys here are running Manjaro or another Arch flavor as their host and figure it’s mostly because of TR quirks/bugs and the quicker updates vs something like proxmox.

On the other end, I’ve seen a lot of hesitation for running an Arch/rolling release OS, especially when it’ll be running a ZFS storage array.

How does everyone manage? I had Proxmox and gpu passthrough 90% of the way there on my 1950X rig before the mobo shorted and killed itself - huge bummer. But on the other hand it’s given me a lot of time to read L1. :grinning:

If it helps here is my current hardware plan [* have already] & usage scenario:

  • 3960X
  • TRX40 Aorus Master
  • 64gb 3600mhz Ram*
  • WX4100 - Host GPU*
  • 1070 - Passthrough GPU*
  • LSi 9300-8e w/ SAS Box*

Host OS - ZFS storage array / VM manager
Win10 VM - Gaming / Daily usage
VM - K8s Host
VM - Multiplayer gaming host

Thanks for the read/any feedback, L1 rules.

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Probably best to try out a few to see what works best for you.

… b/c asking what distro someone recommends will likely result in 40 different answers.

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If you want virtualization and ZFS, I would at least try Proxmox and see if it’s working reliably with TR yet. If it’s stable on the platform, it will get out of your way and let you work or game or whatever. Granted, it’s not rolling, but major releases are relatively infrequent.

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yeah, I get everyone has a favorite flavor - this was more of a question about the confidence level many have here running a rolling release. It seems a lot more common here than elsewhere, especially those that use ZFS [that I’ve seen]

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thanks for the reply, Proxmox will most likely be the first route I go, unless there are specific fixes baked into a more up-to-date distro as many early adopter TR3 users seem to be on arch

I also added ZFS to the title as it might better describe why I’m questioning.

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I haven’t rebooted my TR host in months. Keep the host simple! Don’t use the host as a workstation, install a VM for that. Should be very few reasons to reboot the host or worry about updating it.

I’m running Fedora which updates on a roughly six month schedule, that’s a good time to do some rebooting.

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I basically have the same config as you but not ZFS. I am running Siduction which is essentially Debian Sid with a few goodies.

That said I have a GTX 1080 for the host which I try to do most of my gaming. A 970 to a windows VM where I can’t run the game in Linux.

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+1 to keeping the host simple. Do what you can to avoid “needing” to roll and roll and roll along on the host os. Its much better to just give it a nudge every now and then than to have to constantly keep it up to date. Heck - if all else fails, chroot into a nice new thing and do your stuff there, from a slowly moving base.

I personally went with Gentoo after getting impatient with Alpine.

Feels great to be back to Gentoo after a 10+ year hiatus. It conveniently lets me chase the latest and greatest if/when needed and otherwise doesn’t bug me. Oh and it lets me do without systemd entirely, which is super-awesome.

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