From da2d89a507be233d4816e4828c049bb75f0fcf1b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Cyd Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:45:29 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] Phase 0: hypervisor decision guidance - Stack A (VMware on Home) vs Stack B (Pro+Hyper-V infra, physical game clients); Pro upgrade optional Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 --- docs/PHASE0-PLAN.md | 31 ++++++++++++++++++++++--------- 1 file changed, 22 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/PHASE0-PLAN.md b/docs/PHASE0-PLAN.md index c947216..13ac82c 100644 --- a/docs/PHASE0-PLAN.md +++ b/docs/PHASE0-PLAN.md @@ -87,16 +87,29 @@ enough for experiments E1–E3 and E6; grow toward the full set as experiments d ## 4. VM management recommendations -**Hypervisor.** The dev box runs **Windows 11 Home — Hyper-V is not available**. -Recommendation: +**Hypervisor.** The dev box runs Windows 11 Home (no Hyper-V); a Pro upgrade is +*available but not required* — it buys a second valid stack, not a better version of +the first. **Pick exactly one stack; don't mix** (enabling Hyper-V forces VMware +through the Windows Hypervisor Platform with a performance penalty). -- **First pass: VMware Workstation Pro 17** on the dev box — free for personal use - since 2024, best-in-class old-DirectX 3D acceleration among desktop hypervisors - (matters for MW4 in a VM), proper snapshot trees, **linked clones** (one Windows - gold image, thin per-VM deltas), and per-VMnet host-only networks that map exactly - to the topology above (VMnet2 = site A, VMnet3 = site B, VMnet4 = hub LAN, - VMnet5 = WAN transit; **DHCP off** on all of them — static IPs per the plan, which - also mirrors the bays' air-gapped discipline). +- **Stack A — VMware Workstation Pro 17 on Home (default, no upgrade needed):** free + for personal use since 2024, and the **best old-DirectX 3D path of any desktop + hypervisor** — the only stack with a real shot at MW4 rendering *inside* a VM. + Proper snapshot trees, **linked clones** (one Windows gold image, thin per-VM + deltas), per-VMnet host-only networks mapping exactly to the topology above + (VMnet2 = site A, VMnet3 = site B, VMnet4 = hub LAN, VMnet5 = WAN transit; + **DHCP off** everywhere — static IPs per plan, mirroring the bays' air-gapped + discipline). +- **Stack B — Win11 Pro + Hyper-V for infrastructure, physical boxes for game + clients:** Hyper-V is hopeless for 1999 DirectDraw guests (RemoteFX vGPU removed; + GPU-P targets modern DX12), but it is *excellent* for everything that isn't the + game — gateways, consoles, vPODs: native internal switches, PowerShell + automation, checkpoints, VMs auto-start as a service, zero third-party installs. + Since "games on physical hosts" is already this plan's fallback (§7), Stack B is + simply that fallback embraced from day one. Choose it if an all-Microsoft, + scriptable lab appeals more than the chance of games-in-VMs. +- Pro perk either way: the lab host becomes an **RDP host** — handy for remote + lab access. Not a reason to upgrade by itself. - **Persistent lab (recommended once Phase 0 proves out): Proxmox VE on a spare box.** Pod operators tend to have spare hardware; a single Proxmox host gives the lab a permanent home with a web UI, scheduled snapshots/backups, Linux bridges