Creating a Seamless Windows VM Experience on Arch Linux with GPU Passthrough

Virtualization on Linux has become incredibly powerful, allowing users to run a Windows virtual machine (VM) with near-native performance using GPU passthrough. This guide will walk you through setting up an Arch Linux environment with libvirt, configuring a Windows 11 VM, and optimizing it with GPU passthrough for a seamless experience. For optimal results, this setup utilizes two GPUs, which offers a smoother user experience by dedicating one GPU to the host and another to the VM. Key Components

  1. Two GPUs – While this can technically be done with one GPU, using two makes the process easier and delivers a more seamless user experience.
  2. 32 GB of RAM – While 16 GB is sufficient, 32 GB ensures that both the host and VM have plenty of memory to handle demanding tasks without bottlenecks.
  3. Optional: SSD for Windows Installation – For faster boot and load times, consider adding a separate SSD for the Windows VM.

Step 1: Setting up Arch Linux and Hyperland

First, set up Arch Linux and install Hyperland for your window manager. Once done, proceed with setting up libvirt.

Step 2: Installing Necessary Packages

To enable virtualization, install the following packages on your Arch Linux host:

sudo pacman -S qemu libvirt edk2-ovmf virt-manager ebtables dnsmasq

Step 3: Enabling and Starting libvirt Network

Activate and set the libvirt network to start automatically on boot with the following commands:

sudo virsh net-autostart default
sudo virsh net-start default

Step 4: Configuring libvirtd

Edit the libvirtd.conf file to adjust permissions and enable logging.

sudo nano /etc/libvirt/libvirtd.conf

Uncomment the following lines (between lines 80 and 105):

unix_sock_group = "libvirt"
unix_sock_rw_perms = "0770"

Add these lines to the end of the file to enable logging:

log_filters="3:qemu 1:libvirt"
log_outputs="2:file:/var/log/libvirt/libvirtd.log"

Step 5: Adding User to Groups and Enabling libvirtd

Run these commands to add your user to the necessary groups and enable the libvirt daemon:

sudo usermod -a -G kvm,libvirt $(whoami)
sudo systemctl enable libvirtd
sudo groups $(whoami)

Then reboot or log out and log back in to apply the group changes.

Step 6: Configuring qemu.conf

Edit “/etc/libvirt/qemu.conf” to ensure that the correct user has permissions. Replace root with your username:

user = "your_username"
group = "your_username"

Restart the libvirtd service to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart libvirtd

Step 7: Setting Up the Windows 11 VM

  1. Download the Windows 11 ISO file and open Virt-Manager.
  2. Create a new VM with the following configurations:
    • Firmware: OVMF_CODE.secboot.fd
    • TPM:
      • Type: Emulated
      • Model: TIS
      • Version: 2.0
  3. Proceed with the Windows 11 installation and set up networking.
  4. After installation, install an RDP client (e.g., RustDesk) on both your Linux host and the Windows VM for easy access.
  5. Install the necessary Virtio drivers on Windows and reboot to enable optimal performance.

Step 8: GPU Passthrough Setup

To enable GPU passthrough, use the following steps:

  1. Run the QuickPassthrough script from this GitHub project to assist with configuration.
  2. Reboot your system.
  3. In Virt-Manager, assign the entire secondary GPU to the Windows VM, and set the VM’s video to None.

Step 9: Configuring Looking Glass for a Seamless Display Experience

Looking Glass is a tool that allows you to display your VM’s output on your host machine. Here’s how to set it up:

  1. Install Looking Glass on both the host and VM.

  2. Add the following line to the VM’s XML configuration to allocate shared memory for Looking Glass:

<shmem name='looking-glass'>
  <model type='ivshmem-plain'/>
  <size unit='M'>32</size>
</shmem>
  1. Edit the Looking Glass configuration file to set the appropriate user permissions:
sudo nvim /etc/tmpfiles.d/10-looking-glass.conf

  1. In Virt-Manager, change the “” device to “”.

  2. Add necessary peripherals such as a keyboard and mouse to the VM for direct control.

  3. Enable audio by adding this line under in the VM configuration:

<sound model="ich9">
  <address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x00" slot="0x1b" function="0x0"/>
</sound>
<audio id="1" type="spice"/>

Ensure that there is only one audio device with the ID of 1 to avoid errors.

  1. Remove the “memballoon” device line if it exists:
<memballoon model="none"/>

Step 10: Launching the VM with Looking Glass

After setting up Looking Glass, start the VM and wait about a minute before executing the following command on your host:

looking-glass -f

Once you have Looking Glass running, you can disable the VGA output in Virt-Manager under the video settings to improve performance.

With this setup, you now have a Windows 11 VM running on Arch Linux with GPU passthrough, managed through libvirt, and accessible via Looking Glass for a near-native experience. This setup allows you to take full advantage of both systems’ power without rebooting between operating systems.