[SOLVED] new home build based on Debian 8

[jim.bond.9862]

I am closing this thread as I have already build out the server as discussed here and it seams to be working well.
I have a Proxmox running on Debian 8 with BTRFS .
I still have to figure out what to do with other storage to be shared between VMs and real PC on network, but that is a topic for another thread.


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Hi. I have been running an OpenSuse File server with Samba shares for a while but now want to have a VM server as well as file server so I can run a couple of service VMs like pfSence or SOPHOS UTM,
a Ubuntu based VM for downloads with coach potato/subnzb/blue beard and deluge or transmission.
VM for media server like Plex or a like. (I have an HTPC with Kodi as a client and maybe a tablet or two) maybe a mythTV with network tuner (no tuner currently but really thinking about it.)
I only have one(1) hardware server. it supports 24 hard drives (an old super-micro enclosure with an AMD FX8230 CPU and 16Gb RAM)
I am building out on Debian because I want to use BTRFS file system.
don't like ZFS much so please just deal with me and do not suggest ZFS. I already read all ZFS related post here, but I do not think I will change my mind about it.


the main build is : as said above an AMD FX8230 8 core CPU + 16Gb RAM. main system drive is WD 400GB (at the moment)
have 2 1TB drives with BTRFS system on them to be used for system related storage (preferably if I can use them for all ISO and VM image storage instead of Proxmox default locations)

as Debian 8 setup to use separate partitions for "/" "/home" "/var" "/tmp" where "/tmp" is default ext4 and all others are btrfs.

I do have a number of 2TB and 3TB drives with BTRFS pools on them
and full of data just waiting to be plugged in into system and mounted.


so far I like what I am seeing based on my VM trial.
I had tried to setup cloudmin server and oVirt server in VMs and on the same hardware with no luck.



I had some issues with Debian network and repo setup so I did not install Proxmox yet. if all goes well will do it tonight/tomorrow. (have tried the full setup on Hyper-V VM. looks nice and simple but brought some questions hence here I am)




My Questions are :

1. right now I keep my /home /var partitions on main drive, should I move them to one of the 1TB drives? the 400GB drive is not very new so it can fail. on the other hand I might be getting my hands on an 120GB SSD in a month or so, thus I might just copy the system onto it.

2. what is the best way to use/manage storage on the host server.
NFS or Samba or both. I would like the main hardware to pull a double duty as a VM server (proxmox managed) and a file server for both the Proxmox(it is already on it) and all the clients on network the VMs AND real PCs like my main PC and HTPC.

3. do I need/want a webmin on the host alongside with Proxmox to make managing host easier. I do not like to use a lot of CLS and had used webmin before. I know it works alongside Proxmox.
or does Proxmox have all management tools with in the web gui to manage underlying hardware properly and webmin is not needed.


4. is it possible to move the Proxmox default storage locations to another drive or should I simply do an NFS shares of those locations and use that to download images and stuff there from other PCs.


5. what is the best way to setup networking for this install.
bridge/no bridge? openswitch?
this is a home lan
I have a 16 port switch (got it cheap on ebay)
connected to an optimum router going into optimum cable modem


3 NIC in the server which was planed to be used to eliminate the optimum router with a pfSence or SOPHOS vm to be a router/DNS/Firewall (not sure if this is wise or not) also not sure if I can PCI passthrough the PCIe nic into the vm for this. on proxmox
maybe maybe not.


Any suggestions corrections are welcome. please be gentle as I am not a seasoned Linux user.

 

[manu]

Hi jim
Maybe you should split your questions in differents posts, if you ask so much in one post it is difficult to quickly answer.
Some hints:
1. I don't think it matters. I would personally use ext4 or xfs instead of Btrfs, since no Linux distribution finds it stable enough to use it as as default. You've been warned.
2. 3. I would rather create a VM with FreeNAS or OpenMediaVault, and share the storage from there. The performance downside if quite small if follow the hints of the pve wiki, and you get a much much more easier setup a admin.
4. don't understand what you mean
5. this does not matter: if you're inside a lan you can use the bridge mode, it will be the easiest of all the modes since all your guest will appear to all your lan devices

PCI passthrough works fine for ethernet card IIRC.

To keep your setup simple I would advise you not to virtualisize the firewall, but to put it on a small external box.

 

[jim.bond.9862]

thanks manu,
speed is not an issue here. this is a generic type of question, asked only to get the feel of the things over all, and to maybe gather some opinions and option from different people.
when/if I get a specific issue at hand I will post it in it's own thread of course.

as an FYI I had pull the trigger last night and build out the new setup as described in OP.
A basic Debian 8 install separate partitions for "/" , "/home" , "/var" and "/tmp"
all except "/tmp" are btrfs. I figure "/tmp" is not important to use btrfs on as I will not need the back up of it or raid setup for it. so an ext4 will work well.
installed ProxMox on it, worked like a charm. after all was installed, updated and configured. did a webmin install as well. now have a fully configured server with a web interfaces fro VM and server management.

now, Q/A 1 : you might be right about ext4 or xfs that is older and proven tech, but btrfs is gaining momentum on many distros as we speak. OpenSuse, ubuntu, mint and several others already have full support for it and even use it for main install.
I have been running several machines including this very same server on btrfs for the last 2 years. and I want to stick with it. but thanks for the warning anyway.


Q/A 2 : I have been thinking about it as well. however still have the same issue. how do I share the storage from host with in a VM? I have to give VM an access to the file system(s) to be shared anyway. what do you think my best options are, create a special user i.e. "NFSAdmin" and do an NFS share on main host(the proxmox machine) pointed all storage FS , than create a VM for FreeNAS or OpenMediaVault
mount the shares from there, create all the users I need/want for access and use samba? NFS? to distribute the shares as needed? isn't it too much overhead?


Q/A 4 : by default ProxMox setup the local storage in "/var/lib/vz" on the main install drive. I was wondering if I can use different location for those files. I have 2 1TB harddrives that I want to use specifically to keep all Host/VM related things on. like ISO used to setup VMs all VM files the VM configs, VM hard drives, snapshots etc.
still not sure if I can point the proxmox to new location, but since I use separate partitions for all major locations ("/var" psecifically) and use btrfs for it, I can just expand the "/var" to the extra drives in RAID-1 mode and be done with it. it will give me the space and redundancy I want.

Q/A 5 : I am a bit rusty on networking, never worked on anything but very basic setup. thus this VM things gives me a headache. but I think I will set up a bridge and use that. out of the options I have do you think I should use basic Linux bridge or OVS brdige, that are options I get in Proxmox. or I should set up a bridge in Debian side and connect Proxmox to it instead?

thanks