Beginner Proxmox setup

[Rael]

Hi there.

I recently ordered the parts for my first homelab server and wanted to build it specifically as a virtualization server running on Proxmox.

I only ordered a 1TB NVME and I am not sure what else I need. My plan is to run several VMs for different services (primarily for learning) and to use a hard disk for my backups (about 1TB).

What else do you think I need in terms of hard drives and should I use a separate SSD as a cache?

 

[oguz]

hi,

welcome!

for a starting homelab setup 1TB nvme is quite okay. if you use the default ext4 setup it should be fine for the beginning.
you can always add another disk on your host later on and create whichever filesystem you like (can be easily done on the web GUI)

My plan is to run several VMs for different services (primarily for learning) and to use a hard disk for my backups (about 1TB).

What else do you think I need in terms of hard drives and should I use a separate SSD as a cache?

not only drives are important. for stability of your VMs you will need enough RAM and CPU cores. depends completely on your needs but a good starting point is 8-16G of RAM (for non-ZFS filesystem, as ZFS uses quite a bit of RAM). the more the better. also keep in mind that you will need a certain amount of memory for your host, not allocated to the VMs, to keep the PVE software running properly.

2+ CPU cores, the more the better again.

also look into LXC containers, they are an easier way of setting up linux systems without much overhead. good for running services like webservers, dns servers, all kinds of stuff.

 

[Rael]

hi,

welcome!

for a starting homelab setup 1TB nvme is quite okay. if you use the default ext4 setup it should be fine for the beginning.
you can always add another disk on your host later on and create whichever filesystem you like (can be easily done on the web GUI)


not only drives are important. for stability of your VMs you will need enough RAM and CPU cores. depends completely on your needs but a good starting point is 8-16G of RAM (for non-ZFS filesystem, as ZFS uses quite a bit of RAM). the more the better. also keep in mind that you will need a certain amount of memory for your host, not allocated to the VMs, to keep the PVE software running properly.

2+ CPU cores, the more the better again.

also look into LXC containers, they are an easier way of setting up linux systems without much overhead. good for running services like webservers, dns servers, all kinds of stuff.

Thank you for your warm welcome!

I've ordered a Super Micro board with an Epyc 3251 CPU on it (8 Cores) and 64 GB reg ECC Memory.
Than I will stick with it for the beginning and expand it in the future after getting comfortable with the system and such.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Rael]

Just wondering, do you think it was the right decision to buy this board as a start?

https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/motherboard/M11SDV-8C-LN4F

 

[oguz]

Just wondering, do you think it was the right decision to buy this board as a start?

https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/motherboard/M11SDV-8C-LN4F

there's no "right decision" as it all depends on your use-case, but it seems like a pretty good board and supermicro boards usually work pretty well with PVE

 

[Rael]

there's no "right decision" as it all depends on your use-case, but it seems like a pretty good board and supermicro boards usually work pretty well with PVE

Thanks for your feedback.