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So this is about having access to a "Gaming PC" without having to buy a Gaming PC. Why would anyone want that? Because there is quite a lot of VR software (games and other) that will not natively run on a Oculus Quest 1 or 2 and that do not actually have high demands in terms of graphics power or even latency.
Disclaimer: this will not get you a Gaming PC for playing games that require low latency. Unless maybe you have a low latency line to Azure :- )
Warning: latency when moving your head may lead to motion sickness, so be careful.
Links that helped mehttps://medium.com/azure-cloud/a-killer-guide-for-cloud-gaming-on-azure-march-2020-1aa56d13fba3
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/n-series-driver-setup
https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/comments/jhdu9u/updated_oct_2020_step_by_step_to_play_wireless/
Other optionsDepending on what you want to do, you might not need this and may be better off with a "Cloud Gaming Service" such as Google Strada. Check their libraries of games, maybe all you need is already there.
Gaming PC As A ServiceThere is such as thing as a Gaming PC As A Service services. Their benefits are fixed costs and ease of use. If you want to do only very little, they will cost you more, though.
After some research, my initial idea was to sigh up with Shadow for a month, but then I found that the provisioning time to get a Shadow Cloud Gaming PC is currently about five (!) months (!).
You should check, of course, if that is still the case when you read this or if any new companies started such a service.
Gaming PC in AzureWhy use Microsoft Azure? Because I already had an account from other tests and documentation I found (see above) says that it can be done. You probably know more than I do about graphics cards and so you could also check other cloud providers and what they have to offer.
With Azure, the most complicated action for me was to find a data center with (available) NV6 systems, which have the right graphics card. At first I thought any NV system with GPU would work, but for example a NV4 does not seem to work.
How to select a Azure Data CenterUnfortunately, you can not (to my knowledge, if you know how, please write a comment) first select the desired size and then check in which data center it is available.
So you have to select "the best" data center first and then check, if a NV6 system is available in it. Select the data center, select Windows 10 Pro image and then click on "See all sizes":
Now you can use the search function to look for NV6. Please be aware that NV6 is only available with HDD, not SSD, so it will show up unter non-premium, if available.
This is how success looks like :- )
Next, make sure that the Nvidia drivers are installed:
Assign DNS name to the VM, use this in RDP so that you do not have to reserve the IP. Azure will assign a new IP every time the VM is started, but the DNS will be updated so that can use that all the time.
Wait until system has been built. Login with RDP using the hostname and the credentials you defined in Azure.
Check if the Nvidia drivers have been installed. Disable the generic driver in Device Manager.
Buy and install VR Desktop on the Quest, from the Quest store.
Connect the Quest to your PC/Mac, start SideQuest and install the VR Desktop patch (free). If you do not know how to use SideQuest find one of the many good tutorials.
Tasks to do on the Gaming PC VMDownload (from VR Desktop Website) and install VR Desktop Streamer App on the VM.
Start the VR Desktop Streamer App for Windows (which is the server), enter your Oculus account name and save. The VR Desktop App on the Oculus (which is the client) will use the Oculus account name to find it.
Now you should now be able to connect to the VM from within VR Desktop on the Quest.
You do have to have a RDP session open while you use VR Desktop because the VR Desktop helper app starts in user context (or maybe because otherwise the display does not exist).
Download and install the Oculus Windows App.
If the Oculus App does not work correctly, find and start the following Oculus executable from
"C:\Program Files\Oculus\Support\oculus-runtime\OVRServer_x64.exe"before you start the Oculus App.
I recommend that you create a shortcut on your desktop.
Now go through the set up of the Oculus App. Login to Oculus.
Skip the selection of an Oculus headset.
Download/install your VR games/apps in the Oculus App. Start with free apps/demos to test.
Do not start Oculus apps/games from the Oculus app on the VM.
Start apps from VR Desktop running on the Quest using the menu button on the left controller.
Your screen should look like this when you press the menu button on your left controller:
You can see that there are statistics from your WLAN and your Quest etc.
On the left, you see the partial screen of the Azure VM.
When you select "GAMES" in the VR Desktop menu, you will see the list of apps/games you can start on the Azure VM. Here is an example:
In Games you will find all games/apps from the "Library" of the Oculus App installed on the VM.
You do have to have a RDP session open while you use VR Desktop because the VR Desktop helper app starts in user context (or maybe because otherwise the display does not exist).
Do not forget to turn off the VM in Azure! You are billed by the hour!
Easy start and stopInstall the Microsoft Azure and RDP apps on your smartphone to be able to quickly start/stop the VM and create a RDP session.
Other r unning costsFor me, storage costs are 0, 16 EUR/day which is a little under 5 EUR/month.
Do not forget to turn off the VM in Azure! You are billed by the hour!
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