How would I install Proxmox on a new Server with 3 Raid Arrays of local storage?

G

greavette

Renowned Member
Apr 13, 2012
163
9
83
Hello,

I'm buying a new Server that will have No O/S on it but will have 3 Raid Arrays (this is a hardware Raid controller) configured (Raid 1, Raid 10, Raid 1). I know how Raid Arrays are presented to a Windows O/S...I have no idea how these will be presented to Proxmox? I haven't received the Server yet so I'm asking ahead in this forum so I can prepare for what I'll need to learn/do. What will proxmox see? I want to put Proxmox on the first Raid 1 and store my VM's on the other 2 Raid arrays. Do you think this will work? If so, how do I do this.

Thank you.
 
Last edited:
The RAID controller will just present three disks to the OS (Proxmox). The OS has no visibility of the underlying physical disk system, it just sees three disks.

I'm not sure how to select a specific installation drive. Perhaps there are some boot options?
Alternatively you could disable two of the RAID virtual disks so the installation will only see the disk you want to install to.
 
the installer will prompt you for the selection. you can choose one of the three raid arrays.
 
Thank you for the replies...that make sense.

So once Proxmox is installed, would I be able to create datastores on each array? While using VMware Server, I created my SQL Server (Windows 2008) VM for the C: drive on the first Raid Array, my D: drive for the Database on my second Raid array and my E: drive for my logfiles on my third raid array. Essentially I have on the Second and Third Raid Arrays in those datastores a single .vmdk file for each drive.

Can I do this using Proxmox? Is there documentation I can follow on how to setup Proxmox for this?

Thank you.
 
Last edited:
Hi-
consider purchasing this: http://raphaelhertzog.com/2012/05/10/the-debian-administrators-handbook-is-available/ . It is a great book for anyone using Debian. It is great for beginners and experienced users.

After you do the install, you'll need to use command line to set up your other two disks. From the operating system you'll have 3 disks - /dev/sda /dev/sdb and /dev/sdc .

What size will /dev/sdb and /dev/sdc be?

Will each be used for just one KVM?
 
Last edited:
Thank you for the suggestion of this Book. I will definitely look at buying that!

If I do this correctly, my array drive sizes will be:

/dev/sda - 600 GB (Raid 1)
/dev/sdb - 1200 GB (Raid 10)
/dev/sdc - 600 GB (Raid 1)

All disks are 15K SAS.

My plan is to run 10-15 VM's on this Host Server using Proxmox. VM's can be run from any Drive...with the exception of my Windows 2008 VM running SQL Server where I need to run the VM on sda and split my database and logfiles onto sdb and sdc.

My Host has 2 physical CPU's (16 Virtual cores in total) and 96 GB of Ram. I'll be using Link Aggregation for two gigabit nics on the host to my switch.

What do you think...can I do what I'm planning? I'm coming from a VMware way of thinking where I have datastores and put VM's in whatever datastore I need. Does Proxmox run this way as well? I'm hoping Proxmox can handle my 10-15 VM's based on the Host Server requirements I've given.

Thanks.
 
first I am not an expert at all things linux.

If you are doing this for a company , it would be worth it to purchase dedicated advice from Proxmox . Then you'd have the experts work with you to set up the system the first try in an ideal way.

It is not necessary to pay for support , with this forum. However it does sound like your company is new to linux .

Once the system is set up you should have very few issues that are not solved by reading the Proxmox wiki and forum, or posting for help.

That said the system will work at least as good as vmware . So if you are certain the hardware is good for vmware then the hardware will have no issue with proxmox.
sdb and sdc should be formatted as lvm . then added as lvm storage in the proxmox gui. you'll create the kvms on the lvm storage you choose to do so on.
Once you've added a kvm or two you'll see it is easier to do then describe.
 
Last edited:
Hello Rob...thank you for the advice. We are buying a support contract from Proxmox to assist with our setup. I just wanted to clear up some questions first on this forum in hopes that I won't buy a support contract and then find out Proxmox can't do what we need. I'm very happy to save money on licensing using an open source product so that I may pay for support to ensure we have our system setup correctly...this model works very well for us.

I very much appreciate your reply...it's been very helpful. The Server we own was from ZAReason which comes preinstalled with Ubuntu on it so I have no concerns with Proxmox not working.
 
If it comes preinstalled with Ubuntu it will work with Proxmox.

As others already have mentioned the important part is installation. After that point, give and take a few, the administration and configuration further resembles VmWare to a great extend. So if you have knowledge in VmWare your life after initial installation will be like a nice home coming:)
 
Sweet! Thanks very much for the assistance. I look forward to moving ahead and begin using Proxmox (KVM) as our new virtual platform.
 
greavette said:
Sweet! Thanks very much for the assistance. I look forward to moving ahead and begin using Proxmox (KVM) as our new virtual platform.
Click to expand...
Forgot to mention. An Android app for Proxmox is under heavy delopment here: http://code.google.com/p/quadprox-mobile/
Ideas and suggestions is taken place in this thread: http://forum.proxmox.com/threads/9476-Proxmox-Android-client-UPDATE-Version-BETA-released

Personally I am about to finish the feature in the app which allows to migrate VM's from the app.
 
Outstanding! I've been using VMDroid from my Android Phone to manage a few VM's (VMware). Nice to know I'll be able to do the same for our Proxmox VM's now!
 
greavette said:
Outstanding! I've been using VMDroid from my Android Phone to manage a few VM's (VMware). Nice to know I'll be able to do the same for our Proxmox VM's now!
Click to expand...
I have finished the migrate feature and later this evening I will mail the, rather large, patch upstream:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

About

The Proxmox community has been around for many years and offers help and support for Proxmox VE, Proxmox Backup Server, and Proxmox Mail Gateway.
We think our community is one of the best thanks to people like you!

Quick Navigation

Home Get Subscription Wiki Downloads Proxmox Customer Portal About

Get your subscription!

The Proxmox team works very hard to make sure you are running the best software and getting stable updates and security enhancements, as well as quick enterprise support. Tens of thousands of happy customers have a Proxmox subscription. Get yours easily in our online shop.

Buy now!
Community platform by XenForo® © 2010-2024 XenForo Ltd.
Top Bottom
Back