Best Storage Setup for Proxmox VE on a Dedicated Server? (Performance Question)

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Luciano Godoy

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Apr 4, 2025
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Hello everyone,

I’m about to rent a dedicated server to host Proxmox VE and deploy several critical company applications. Since performance is key, I want to make sure I choose the best possible storage setup.

I have two possible configurations in mind, assuming NVMe SSDs are significantly faster than SATA SSDs:

Option 1:​

  • VM Storage: 3x SATA SSDs in RAID 5
  • Proxmox OS: 2x NVMe SSDs in RAID 1

Option 2:​

  • VM Storage: 3x NVMe SSDs in RAID 5
  • Proxmox OS: 2x SATA SSDs in RAID 1

Main Question:​


Which setup would provide better overall performance for my VMs? Should I prioritize NVMe for the OS or for the VM storage?

I’d love to hear your insights, especially if you’ve tested similar setups!

Thanks in advance!
 
Last edited:
Without going into models, types, etc - SSD for OS is sufficient.

As for the "raid war" - there are many articles and opinions about this. You just have to pick the one that makes you more comfortable.
https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatabackup/tip/RAID-1-vs-RAID-5
https://www.raid-recovery-guide.com/raid5-write-hole.aspx

You mentioned "critical business applications" and "performance is key" - are you planning for HA configuration? Are you renting the entire hardware rig? VPS usually means the instance is Virtual. Are you accounting for the quorum needs if planning a cluster?

Regardless of RAID composition, if NVMe is used - storage is unlikely to be your bottleneck. You should pay more attention to the CPU/Memory layout. And if HA is required - shared storage.

Best of luck with your project.

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
 
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bbgeek17 said:
Without going into models, types, etc - SSD for OS is sufficient.

As for the "raid war" - there are many articles and opinions about this. You just have to pick the one that makes you more comfortable.
https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatabackup/tip/RAID-1-vs-RAID-5
https://www.raid-recovery-guide.com/raid5-write-hole.aspx

You mentioned "critical business applications" and "performance is key" - are you planning for HA configuration? Are you renting the entire hardware rig? VPS usually means the instance is Virtual. Are you accounting for the quorum needs if planning a cluster?

Regardless of RAID composition, if NVMe is used - storage is unlikely to be your bottleneck. You should pay more attention to the CPU/Memory layout. And if HA is required - shared storage.

Best of luck with your project.

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
Click to expand...

Thank you! this is very useful information.

I will go with SSD for OS then as that option allows me to have smaller storage for it, and increase capacity for the VM's (because of provider's stock).

In terms of CPU and Memory layout we went with the highest they had available. And we might do a cluster for HA with an already deployed on-premise node in case the dedicated server fails.

I will do some research into shared storage and clusters once the dedicated server is up and running as i'm relatively new to proxmox.

Again thank you so much for your answer!
 
Luciano Godoy said:
In terms of CPU and Memory layout we went with the highest they had available
Click to expand...
Note that the "highest" is not always the best. A single CPU configuration can be more efficient than dual.
You may want to review our KB article here: https://kb.blockbridge.com/technote/proxmox-tuning-low-latency-storage/index.html

Luciano Godoy said:
And we might do a cluster for HA with an already deployed on-premise node in case the dedicated server fails.
Click to expand...
You have not specified what the connectivity/latency is between on-prem and hosted. However, it is almost always the case that this is not a great plan. The PVE HA requires very low latency for inter-cluster communication. It is unlikely that your current setup meets those requirements.

Luciano Godoy said:
I will do some research into shared storage and clusters once the dedicated server is up and running
Click to expand...
Hopefully, you have not committed to a long term subscription at that point. You may find your HA/shared storage options limited within a generic hosting provider. Perhaps even disappointing.

You could start with an internal nested PVE cluster on whatever your current on-prem hypervisor is, and sample the functionality in a controlled environment.

Another option for you is to reach out to Proxmox consultant for some advice.

Cheers

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
 
Luciano Godoy said:
Which setup would provide better overall performance for my VMs?
Click to expand...
There would probably be negligible performance advantage for nvme. adding a drive and configuring in raid10 would result in substantial performance increase while retaining the same capacity a 3 drive r5 regardless of host bus technology.

Luciano Godoy said:
performance is key
Click to expand...
This is meaningless. Define the minimum criteria you must accomplish in order to properly design a solution.
 
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