Running PlayoutONE on a virtual machine
Virtualized setups are becoming increasingly common as stations look to reduce their on-prem hardware infrastructure.
While PlayoutONE Pro can run on a virtual machine, we have some requirements and recommendations to ensure your automation system continues to perform to the expected standard.
On this page, we'll outline the requirements to run PlayoutONE Pro in a virtual environment.
Minimum requirements
Hypervisor/host
The physical server hosting your virtual machines must meet the following specifications:
|
|
1-3 stations (same database) | 4-6 stations (same database) |
| Processor | Intel Xeon with 8+ performance cores (produced in the last three years, excluding efficient core processors like Xeon Bronze) | Intel Xeon with 16+ performance cores (produced in the last three years, excluding efficient core processors like Xeon Bronze) |
| RAM | 32GB | 64GB |
| Storage |
Host operating system running on an SSD with at least 100GB of free space. Traditional hard drives can be used to store audio, but must be connected to the same host and not on a separate NAS drive. |
Host operating system running on an SSD with at least 100GB of free space. Traditional hard drives can be used to store audio, but must be connected to the same host and not on a separate NAS drive. |
| Network | 1Gbps connection | 1Gbps connection |
Running more than six PlayoutONE stations in the same virtualized environment is not recommended.
PlayoutONE virtual machines
Virtual machines running PlayoutONE Pro must meet the following specifications:
| Equivalent number of CPU cores, RAM, disk and network | See PlayoutONE's general hardware requirements |
| Operating environment |
Windows 11 Pro, Windows Server 2022/2025 (Windows 11 Home or IoT editions are not supported) |
| Access | Do not use Windows Remote Desktop to access your VMs. It takes control of audio devices and can re-route your station audio. |
In addition, the VM host must not be overpopulated with other resource-intensive virtual machines, as this could impact the performance of your PlayoutONE virtual machine(s).
Traditionally, PlayoutONE required dedicated physical hardware to run. This was so we could thoroughly test various setups to ensure PlayoutONE would run well, provided the PC met the hardware specifications we provided.
Virtual machines introduce many additional variables that your IT support team or service provider must carefully manage.
Aiir's support team will happily assist with any issues relating to the PlayoutONE suite of applications, but cannot provide support for the virtual machine itself - unless it is one we manage as part of a PlayoutONE Cloud subscription. Stations and their service providers are responsible for:
- Ensuring virtual machine hosts are not over-populated, putting individual VMs at risk of underperforming
- Managing network adapters and VLANs
- Managing disk performance - read/write times will often be slower than on dedicated hardware
- Issues with hypervisor system management
Recommendations
Systems running Hyper-V are known to work well (if other requirements are met) as the Windows host and Windows VM running PlayoutONE.
PlayoutONE licenses are associated with the machine's GUID. If your hypervisor configuration changes your virtual machine's GUID, PlayoutONE may need to be re-licensed. As such, we advise against making any adjustments to your PlayoutONE virtual machines that could affect the GUID outside of our regular support hours.