The Proxmox VE Thread

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Patrick

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Dec 21, 2010
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Starting a thread to discuss Proxmox VE. Proxmox VE is a KVM based open source server virtualization platform. It manages virtual machines, physical storage, virtualized networks, and HA Clustering. Proxmox VE also has the capability to create backups and snapshots in the environment. This is certainly not a replacement for OpenStack but it is very easy to get working.

How to get Proxmox VE: Go to the official site here.

Important - if you are using Proxmox VE for a web hosting environment, remember to have your VMs turn on on boot.



If you do not do this, your server may boot the Proxmox VE environment, but the virtual machines will not boot unless started manually.
 

Biren78

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Jan 16, 2013
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Looks easy to use. How hard is setting up HA and backups?

Why the start at boot pic?
 

PigLover

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Jan 26, 2011
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I've been toying with Proxmox VE as my likely choice to consolidate & manage the part of my setup I depend on day to day - for my 'production' system (to the extent you can call a home toys shop 'production').

I plan to run with ZFS on Linux as an 'all in one', in the spirit of what Gea did with ESXi (but without his cool web-based management interface). I've got a test system running as AIO now with ZoL on an HP DL180. It was dead easy to set up. It's been running for a couple of weeks with all my must-be-online storage, MythTV, cameras on BlueIris, FreePBX, hMailserver and a small hackish web server I use to manage a few things when remote.

Only real caution mixing ZoL with Proxmox VE is that you need to set a limit on the amount of memory the ARC is allowed to consume or it will suck up all the ram and cause your VMs to start trashing to swap space.

Just have a few quirks to work out with how it handles clustering before I am completely satisfied and make it permanent.
 

Patrick

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Great note PigLover. ServeTheHome is currently using it as the virtualization solution. Works fairly well.

The picture above is actually from the main installation. You can see four C6100 nodes in two chassis (two others are being used for pfsense.) I do like the easy web interface though.
 

uberguru

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Jun 7, 2013
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I just started to test out proxmox 2 days ago...it is one powerful monster...to be sincere i pick it over cloudstack and openstack without even blinking. Yes i havent tried cloudstack or openstack yet but proxmox is just the simplest and fastest to setup...can not believe there is anything faster at the moment. And did i say this thing is enterprise ready? saying it is production ready is not even enough!
 

PigLover

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To be fair, Uberguru, Proxmox VE is attempting to solve a somewhat different problem than Cloudstack/Openstack. If you are trying to do basic server virtualization, including some clustering and HA features, Proxmox VE is an excellent choice - right up there in many respects with VMware, Xen and Hyper-V. In many ways its basic features and the speed you get right out of the box even beat all of those.

Its when you try to do more that these other choices start to be superior. VMware comes with much more developed and refined management tools (at least the higher license levels do...). Hyper-V plays much nicer with Window based guests and has better support for windows storage options. Etc. They all start to show where they are better when you push the envelope.

Cloudstack/Openstack are really trying to support a full cloud service, including things Proxmox doesn't address at all, like management of Virtual Network Services and Virtual Storage Services, including geographic distribution of your bare metal. In fact, these "cloud" options are actually tools built on top of the hypervisor layer provided by ESXi, Xen and/or KVM (with Proxmox VE being little more than a really well developed packaging and management layer for KVM)

I think the reason you find it so powerful and preferable over those other options is because you've hit the sweet spot of your application, which is great. If it fits it really is a powerful choice. And the price is pretty cool too :)
 
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uberguru

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Jun 7, 2013
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And the price is pretty cool too :)
What price?

I understand what you mean which is true cloudstack/openstack offer more complex features which ofcourse make them more complex to setup. To be sincere i will not be running a web hosting company and i really will not need majority of the features cloudstack/openstack provide. Proxmox so far meets my requirement and even surpasses it. Only thing i am trying out cloudstack/openstack now is probably just for name sake or just to boast i use them which isn't a bad thing.
 

Patrick

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What price?

I understand what you mean which is true cloudstack/openstack offer more complex features which ofcourse make them more complex to setup. To be sincere i will not be running a web hosting company and i really will not need majority of the features cloudstack/openstack provide. Proxmox so far meets my requirement and even surpasses it. Only thing i am trying out cloudstack/openstack now is probably just for name sake or just to boast i use them which isn't a bad thing.
If I was going to be a not-so-huge web host (e.g. less than a 42U rack) I would either look at OnApp I have also been working a bit with Piston Cloud Computing | The Enterprise OpenStack Company | Cloud Computer but that is built to scale much higher.
 

uberguru

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Jun 7, 2013
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If I was going to be a not-so-huge web host (e.g. less than a 42U rack) I would either look at OnApp I have also been working a bit with Piston Cloud Computing | The Enterprise OpenStack Company | Cloud Computer but that is built to scale much higher.
Then you would have killed the open source nature of things....working and sticking with opensource is just a fun challenge that get you the most profit at the end of the day...reducing your costs.

Anyways anyone heard of openQRM | Leading Open Source Data Center and Cloud Computing Plattform - Screenshots ? What about Products | ISPsystem.com ?

They aren't really open-source but just curious is people here have tried or heard of those
 
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TangoWhiskey9

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Jun 28, 2013
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Age old saying "open source is not free."

When you are the one maintaining infrastructure, you have limited time and resources. Paying to have support to quickly fix problems with deep expertise is usually cheaper than just hiring a generalist.
 

uberguru

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Jun 7, 2013
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Age old saying "open source is not free."

When you are the one maintaining infrastructure, you have limited time and resources. Paying to have support to quickly fix problems with deep expertise is usually cheaper than just hiring a generalist.
Are you referring to my question "What price?"
Otherwise not sure what you mean by support...support for what?
 

uberguru

Member
Jun 7, 2013
319
18
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Starting a thread to discuss Proxmox VE. Proxmox VE is a KVM based open source server virtualization platform. It manages virtual machines, physical storage, virtualized networks, and HA Clustering. Proxmox VE also has the capability to create backups and snapshots in the environment. This is certainly not a replacement for OpenStack but it is very easy to get working.

How to get Proxmox VE: Go to the official site here.

Important - if you are using Proxmox VE for a web hosting environment, remember to have your VMs turn on on boot.



If you do not do this, your server may boot the Proxmox VE environment, but the virtual machines will not boot unless started manually.

Are you using a NAS with your setup? Also what about hardware RAID card? Are you using RAID at all? software? or hardware?
Judging from your screenshot..i cannot seem to see a NAS setup and not sure if you using RAID.

Thanks.
 

TangoWhiskey9

Active Member
Jun 28, 2013
402
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Are you using a NAS with your setup? Also what about hardware RAID card? Are you using RAID at all? software? or hardware?
Judging from your screenshot..i cannot seem to see a NAS setup and not sure if you using RAID.

Thanks.
Read the thread. I don't see a NAS mentioned anywhere.
 

LeoS

New Member
Jun 19, 2013
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Are you referring to my question "What price?"
Otherwise not sure what you mean by support...support for what?
The question that you should be asking is "how much are you paying yourself" out of this whole deal.
Is it a business (money making operation) or just a hobby?

When you're starting out maybe from your parent's basement, not having a family to support, mortgages to pay, etc.. then some ppl are ok just to break even. But be aware that if your 'income' from the services is just enough to cover your costs, then you're essentially giving your time for free.
 

BThunderW

Active Member
Jul 8, 2013
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Canada, eh?
www.copyerror.com
Is anyone running VE 3.0? Does the host still require rebooting on network changes? That was one of my biggest pet-peeves as I often add/remove VLANs when creating vm pools.

I'll be ordering a couple of C6100's this week. I'm planning to give ProxMox another go, it's been a while since i last tried it.
 

churnd

New Member
Apr 16, 2011
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Is anyone running VE 3.0? Does the host still require rebooting on network changes? That was one of my biggest pet-peeves as I often add/remove VLANs when creating vm pools.

I'll be ordering a couple of C6100's this week. I'm planning to give ProxMox another go, it's been a while since i last tried it.
You can always break down into the command line shell & just restart the network with "/etc/init.d/networking restart"