r/kvm

I'm building an Ansible role for setting up KVM hypervisors, and it lets users configure storage pools in three ways: qcow2 (dir pool), LVM, and LVM-thin.

A colleague argues that qcow2 is slow and unfit for production, and that we should only support LVM.

My take is that it's not really qcow2 vs LVM, it's which backend fits which workload. qcow2 gives you easier snapshots and backups, better Cockpit support, and portability since images are just files. LVM wins on raw I/O for heavy workloads like databases, but you lose file-level convenience and most backup/restore work moves to the command line.

Is qcow2 genuinely a problem in production these days, or is that reputation left over from older qemu? Curious what people are actually running these days?

Hi everyone,

I’m considering buying a JetKVM, but I have a few questions before I do.

My situation is the following:

I have an HP Windows 11 laptop provided by my employer. I can’t install any software on it (no RustDesk, TeamViewer, Chrome Remote Desktop, etc.), and I also can’t enable Remote Desktop because of company policies.

The laptop will stay powered on in another city, and I’d like to control it from my personal MacBook.

My main questions are:

• Is the mouse and keyboard experience smooth enough for everyday work? I’m not expecting gaming performance, but I do need low enough latency to comfortably write code, edit files, browse, and use Windows all day.
• Can I use my MacBook’s built-in keyboard and trackpad naturally to control the Windows laptop?
• How is the overall responsiveness? Does it feel reasonably close to using the laptop locally?

The biggest question is about Microsoft Teams.

I’d like to join Teams meetings running on the Windows laptop, but use my MacBook for audio. Is it possible to:

• hear the meeting through my MacBook speakers or headphones connected to the MacBook;
• speak using either the MacBook’s built-in microphone or my headset connected to the MacBook?

Or does Teams running on the Windows laptop only have access to audio devices physically connected to that Windows machine?

If anyone is using JetKVM in a similar setup, especially for full-time remote work, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience.

Thanks!