5 ms·

Creating a Proxmox or QEMU ChromeOS Flex VM

78 points by goodburb 2y ago

dijit 2y ago
At the risk of sounding negative… Is there a value to do this? I mean, its interesting that you can, but I’m working the opposite way, I run Proxmox so that I can run ChromeOS as my main working OS.
- hei-lima 2y ago
  Testing. Installing ChromeOS on a bare-metal machine and then switching back if you dislike it can be a bit of a hassle.
- binkHN 2y ago
  Why can you not install ChromeOS Flex directly on your hardware?
  - dijit 2y ago
    What I mean is that I run proxmox predominantly so I don’t have to run Windows on my hardware.
    - mbreese 2y ago
      Isn't that what this post is about? Creating a ChromeOS Flex VM that can then run in Proxmox?
      - yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago
        Proxmox is generally run in a client-server arrangement where Proxmox and its VMs are on a server somewhere and users connect from a lightweight (probably browser) client. So the idea is that the device you use directly is a Chromebook acting as essentially a thin client, and then your real work happens in VMs on proxmox. Notably, those VMs can include Windows while containing it and not having to deal with Windows on hardware. (And I mean yes you could have a Chromebook thin client connecting to a server running a different instance of ChromeOS... and I can see ways for that to be useful, even... but that's not the idea being espoused here.)
    - hattmall 2y ago
      How do you run Proxmox on ChromeOS?
      - dijit 2y ago
        I don’t. I run proxmox on my other laptop so I can use chromeos and manage vms via the http interface. :)
binkHN 2y ago
This is great! ChromeOS Flex doesn't get enough credit. While I recently migrated from Windows to Linux on my production machine, ChromeOS Flex is my OS of choice for a simple Push Here Dummy (PHD) machine. There is zero maintenance from an OS standpoint and the ChromeOS Flex Certified models list allows me to pick from a variety of quality hardware, not just some cheap Chromebook. I have more than one of these lying around the house and I often take one on personal trips as well.
- circularfoyers 2y ago
  It's a shame then that Google are moving away from ChromeOS in favor of Android. This also explains the improvements to desktop mode in the latest Android betas.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago
    First, a disclaimer: I also overwhelmingly prefer ChromeOS over Android for a bunch of reasons and wish that if they had to merge them the result was a thin Android compatibility layer on the much more robust bones of ChromeOS. That said... if Google wants to fold ChromeOS into Android, I think they'll have to make Android fully supported on x86 as a first-class platform (because most Chromebooks are x86). And if they do that, they should have little problem making a... Android Flex or whatever you'd call it that boots on normal PC hardware just like ChromeOS Flex does today and fills the same role.
    - pjmlp 2y ago
      Asus and other OEMs have had Android tablets on x86 for quite some time. In any case, except for shared objects written with the NDK, the actual CPU hardly matters, even across ARM there is enough variation.
  - faust201 2y ago
    Manythings like network/Bluetooth/Display server stack are better optimised in android. Low power long battery life. If similar to ChromeOS it is directly updated by Google then it will be a huge win for all computer users. No pain from OEM. I mean some Gemini crap from Google but that is tolerable.
moondev 2y ago
Has anyone tried gpu passthrough to a ChromeOS flex vm
aaronius 2y ago
In case the author reads this: instead of `losetup` you could have imported the image with `qm disk import VMID path/to/source TARGET_STORAGE` It would then show up as unused disk in the VM config to be further configured :-)
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

78 points by goodburb 2y ago

At the risk of sounding negative… Is there a value to do this? I mean, its interesting that you can, but I’m working the opposite way, I run Proxmox so that I can run ChromeOS as my main working OS.

hei-lima 2y ago
Testing. Installing ChromeOS on a bare-metal machine and then switching back if you dislike it can be a bit of a hassle.
binkHN 2y ago
Why can you not install ChromeOS Flex directly on your hardware?
- dijit 2y ago
  What I mean is that I run proxmox predominantly so I don’t have to run Windows on my hardware.
  - mbreese 2y ago
    Isn't that what this post is about? Creating a ChromeOS Flex VM that can then run in Proxmox?
    - yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago
      Proxmox is generally run in a client-server arrangement where Proxmox and its VMs are on a server somewhere and users connect from a lightweight (probably browser) client. So the idea is that the device you use directly is a Chromebook acting as essentially a thin client, and then your real work happens in VMs on proxmox. Notably, those VMs can include Windows while containing it and not having to deal with Windows on hardware. (And I mean yes you could have a Chromebook thin client connecting to a server running a different instance of ChromeOS... and I can see ways for that to be useful, even... but that's not the idea being espoused here.)
  - hattmall 2y ago
    How do you run Proxmox on ChromeOS?
    - dijit 2y ago
      I don’t. I run proxmox on my other laptop so I can use chromeos and manage vms via the http interface. :)

binkHN 2y ago

This is great! ChromeOS Flex doesn't get enough credit. While I recently migrated from Windows to Linux on my production machine, ChromeOS Flex is my OS of choice for a simple Push Here Dummy (PHD) machine. There is zero maintenance from an OS standpoint and the ChromeOS Flex Certified models list allows me to pick from a variety of quality hardware, not just some cheap Chromebook. I have more than one of these lying around the house and I often take one on personal trips as well.

circularfoyers 2y ago
It's a shame then that Google are moving away from ChromeOS in favor of Android. This also explains the improvements to desktop mode in the latest Android betas.
- yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago
  First, a disclaimer: I also overwhelmingly prefer ChromeOS over Android for a bunch of reasons and wish that if they had to merge them the result was a thin Android compatibility layer on the much more robust bones of ChromeOS. That said... if Google wants to fold ChromeOS into Android, I think they'll have to make Android fully supported on x86 as a first-class platform (because most Chromebooks are x86). And if they do that, they should have little problem making a... Android Flex or whatever you'd call it that boots on normal PC hardware just like ChromeOS Flex does today and fills the same role.
  - pjmlp 2y ago
    Asus and other OEMs have had Android tablets on x86 for quite some time. In any case, except for shared objects written with the NDK, the actual CPU hardly matters, even across ARM there is enough variation.
- faust201 2y ago
  Manythings like network/Bluetooth/Display server stack are better optimised in android. Low power long battery life. If similar to ChromeOS it is directly updated by Google then it will be a huge win for all computer users. No pain from OEM. I mean some Gemini crap from Google but that is tolerable.

moondev 2y ago

Has anyone tried gpu passthrough to a ChromeOS flex vm

aaronius 2y ago

In case the author reads this: instead of `losetup` you could have imported the image with `qm disk import VMID path/to/source TARGET_STORAGE` It would then show up as unused disk in the VM config to be further configured :-)

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]