Virtual Machines (SE)

Seda's Enhancements 2024 Logo
Released	2024
Latest Version	20240309 (09 March 2024)
Support Status	Supported
History
Predecessor(s)	SE2023

Virtual Machines (SE)

This is the table set of features available in the current Virtual Machine (VM) configurations that are available to those interested with SE2024. All are highly specialised QEMU configuration scripts.

CPU

All are Kernel Virtual Machine (KVM) accelerated for the ultimate CPU performance. In many cases, CPU-bound Windows features will run faster in these VMs than if you installed Windows on the actual hardware.

Performance

As much as possible is configured with Virtio - this is a paravirtualisation interface. If the chosen Operating System (OS) uses a lot of that, it will perform faster.

Graphics

These do not use passthrough configurations yet, so performance is limited. OS that use the VirtioVGA driver will be faster than those that use QXL or older methods. Graphical performance for Windows 2000 and XP guests will likely exceed the gaming performance of any real hardware those operating systems could run on. For Vista and 7, it will depend on what you are trying to do. For Windows 10 and later, productivity applications and basic games should work well.

Audio

All audio is currently emulated but this is being researched for change. Windows 10 & 11 will transition to a VirtioAudio device in 2025, further increasing performance.

Security

Security is provided by the last working versions of Microsoft Security Essentials & a current version of ClamAV. While these operating systems are never going to be fully secure, they are pretty well protected behind your Debian system firewall and a limited amount of security hardening.

TPM

For Windows Vista and later, a TPM device is available. This allows you to use BitLocker, should you desire to encrypt your Windows installations. As the files for the TPM will be stored on your encrypted Debian filesystem, it is in all likelihood more secure than Windows on an actual real TPM. Older OS will be limited to TPM1.2; although Windows 7 had a hotpatch for TPM2.0 support, it does not work here.

Table

Known issues :
- Windows 7 did have a patch to allow a TPM2.0 to be used but it is not working.
- Windows Vista & 7 cannot currently use Windows Aero.

Operating System	Architecture	Acceleration	RNG	Storage	Network	Graphics	Audio	TPM
Windows NT	x86-32	KVM	Emulated	Emulated	PCNET	STD	Emulated SB16 Audio	NotPresent
Windows 2000	x86-32	KVM	Emulated	Emulated	RTL8139	VMWare	Emulated AC97 Audio	NotPresent
Windows XP	x86-32	KVM	Emulated	VirtioSCSI	VirtioNET	QXL VGA	Emulated AC97 Audio	NotPresent
Windows XP	x86-64	KVM	Emulated	VirtioSCSI	VirtioNET	QXL VGA	Emulated AC97 Audio	NotPresent
Windows 2003	x86-64	KVM	Emulated	VirtioSCSI	VirtioNET	QXL VGA	Emulated AC97 Audio	NotPresent
Windows Vista	x86-64	KVM	VirtIORNG	VirtioSCSI	VirtioNET	QXL VGA	Emulated USB2 Audio	TPM 1.2
Windows 7	x86-64	KVM	VirtIORNG	VirtioSCSI	VirtioNET	QXL VGA	Emulated HDA Audio	TPM 1.2
Windows 10	x86-64	KVM	VirtIORNG	VirtioSCSI	VirtioNET	VirtioVGA	Emulated HDA Audio	TPM 2.0
Windows 11	x86-64	KVM	VirtIORNG	VirtioSCSI	VirtioNET	VirtioVGA	Emulated HDA Audio	TPM 2.0