Correct way to implement NFS share in VM

[alve89]

Hi guys,

I am new to Proxmox an I just successfully achieved:

1. Created a VM with TrueNAS
2. Created a ZFS dataset as NFS share in TrueNAS
3. Added the NFS to Proxmox (see screenshot)

After adding the NFS in PVE some directories are created by Proxmox (screenshot from within TrueNAS-Shell):



I also added the storage to my VM.


From here I'm confused and struggling: Since the disk is only listed as

lsblk:

sda      8:0    0   32G  0 disk
sdb      8:16   0 1000G  0 disk

and therefore without any filesystem and not mounted yet, I think I need to partition and mount it. But my expectations were I would see the equal content of the NFS as I see it in the NAS...?

It seems that I miss something probably obvious but I have no idea what I am doing wrong. How can I achieve to have a NFS share to share data over all VMs?

Thanks in advance and best regards!

 

[bbgeek17]

and therefore without any filesystem and not mounted yet, I think I need to partition and mount it. But my expectations were I would see the equal content of the NFS as I see it in the NAS...?

It seems that I miss something probably obvious but I have no idea what I am doing wrong. How can I achieve to have a NFS share to share data over all VMs?

Think of NFS as a large pool of space. This pool is shared across all the VMs you have, however, each VM has its lane in the pool - Disk (image in PVE speak). This disk must have a certain format to be suitable for VM use. In most cases, this format will be QCOW. The QCOW is a file on your NFS storage. It emulates a real disk, so VM is "fooled" into thinking it has a real disk.

As the disk is "real" from VM perspective, you have to treat it as a real disk. Partition and Format it with a filesystem. This disk is dedicated to the VM, other VMs will not see the disk or the disk's context. This is what allows the VM to place OS on the disk and boot.

Once you have an OS inside your VM, you can now do more interesting things. For example, you can create a new NFS share on your NAS and then mount it directly in the VM. NFS will allow you to share the same data across multiple VMs, or physical computers.

Hope this makes sense.

Good luck

---

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

 

[alve89]

Think of NFS as a large pool of space. This pool is shared across all the VMs you have, however, each VM has its lane in the pool - Disk (image in PVE speak). This disk must have a certain format to be suitable for VM use. In most cases, this format will be QCOW. The QCOW is a file on your NFS storage. It emulates a real disk, so VM is "fooled" into thinking it has a real disk.

As the disk is "real" from VM perspective, you have to treat it as a real disk. Partition and Format it with a filesystem. This disk is dedicated to the VM, other VMs will not see the disk or the disk's context. This is what allows the VM to place OS on the disk and boot.

Once you have an OS inside your VM, you can now do more interesting things. For example, you can create a new NFS share on your NAS and then mount it directly in the VM. NFS will allow you to share the same data across multiple VMs, or physical computers.

Hope this makes sense.

Good luck

---

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

Thank you very much, I understand this now.

What I need to share the data on the NFS across multiple VMs is to mount this NFS directly into each VM, not through PVE.
So following this guide would solve my issue. I'd still have my VM OS on a virtual SCSI disk and all data (e. g. for backups) directly on the NFS share. Therefore I don't need to add the NFS to my PVE at all.

Is this correct?

 

[bbgeek17]

What I need to share the data on the NFS across multiple VMs is to mount this NFS directly into each VM, not through PVE.

correct

'd still have my VM OS on a virtual SCSI disk and all data (e. g. for backups) directly on the NFS share.

no, for this you need to use PVE NFS storage pool

Therefore I don't need to add the NFS to my PVE at all.

You should have it in PVE for storing VM images/disks, snippets, backups, etc.
You should create another NFS export dedicated to in-VM sharing.

---

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

 

[alve89]

correct

no, for this you need to use PVE NFS storage pool

You should have it in PVE for storing VM images/disks, snippets, backups, etc.
You should create another NFS export dedicated to in-VM sharing.

---

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

Understood - to also ensure that PVE backups are also on the NFS share. Thank you!