Gaming on a server hosted virtual machine
Manninen, Samuli (2023)
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202305027194
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202305027194
Tiivistelmä
The idea for this thesis emerged from interest in the three main components of the study, virtualization gaming and networking. The thesis combined all these to test and evaluate the deployment of a self-hosted, virtualized gaming system.
The objective of the thesis was to test and evaluate the possibilities of running a server for hosting virtual machines to play video games. The idea was to utilize the resources of one powerful computer to run two or more instances of Windows gaming systems. The clients each worked independent from each other, while sharing hardware resources on the server. To test remote and cloud gaming possibilities more generally, commercial providers with similar approaches to the self-hosted system were also evaluated. This was not to strictly compare the two, but to experiment with commercially available solutions and how they behave.
The thesis project was conducted as production-based research as the result was to test a working system. The final deployed gaming environment was the culmination of the thesis work. The thesis used qualitative research in many places as the main criteria was to evaluate the overall gaming experience on the system. While making some measurements was possible, many key aspects are only experienced by the end user. For example, image quality is perceived by each individual and cannot be measured objectively. The thesis project followed a cycle of; idea - pre-research – deployment - research. First, after coming up with an idea, background information was researched. This made it possible to test the idea in practice on the server system. Then, after experimentation, details about the subject were researched and added to the thesis. At this stage the key areas were further explored and alternative methods were also evaluated.
The thesis project proved virtualized gaming system to be possible to be deployed, even for individuals at home. The practicality of this was still debatable. The concept holds true, but the final deployment didn’t seem practical. Testing the commercial solutions gave good impressions and showed what the technology was capable of when deployed by a company with a lot of resources. However, it seemed that the full potential of the technology was still not fully utilized.
The objective of the thesis was to test and evaluate the possibilities of running a server for hosting virtual machines to play video games. The idea was to utilize the resources of one powerful computer to run two or more instances of Windows gaming systems. The clients each worked independent from each other, while sharing hardware resources on the server. To test remote and cloud gaming possibilities more generally, commercial providers with similar approaches to the self-hosted system were also evaluated. This was not to strictly compare the two, but to experiment with commercially available solutions and how they behave.
The thesis project was conducted as production-based research as the result was to test a working system. The final deployed gaming environment was the culmination of the thesis work. The thesis used qualitative research in many places as the main criteria was to evaluate the overall gaming experience on the system. While making some measurements was possible, many key aspects are only experienced by the end user. For example, image quality is perceived by each individual and cannot be measured objectively. The thesis project followed a cycle of; idea - pre-research – deployment - research. First, after coming up with an idea, background information was researched. This made it possible to test the idea in practice on the server system. Then, after experimentation, details about the subject were researched and added to the thesis. At this stage the key areas were further explored and alternative methods were also evaluated.
The thesis project proved virtualized gaming system to be possible to be deployed, even for individuals at home. The practicality of this was still debatable. The concept holds true, but the final deployment didn’t seem practical. Testing the commercial solutions gave good impressions and showed what the technology was capable of when deployed by a company with a lot of resources. However, it seemed that the full potential of the technology was still not fully utilized.