Proxmox 8 and HP MSA2050 SAS Array

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m3a2r1

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Feb 23, 2020
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I would like to buy a HP MSA2050 SAS Array. Is there any simple solution to attach it to 4 nodes Proxmox cluster without any issues?
 
m3a2r1 said:
I would like to buy a HP MSA2050 SAS Array. Is there any simple solution to attach it to 4 nodes Proxmox cluster without any issues?
Click to expand...
Hi @m3a2r1 , if you remove "Proxmox" from your question, then it becomes "Is there any simple solution to attach MSA to 4 Debian Linux hosts". The answer in general is "yes". The array seems to support up to 4 hosts (presumably via SAS), perhaps more via iSCSI/FC.
So the physical connection is as straightforward as any other host. Provided, of course, that HP officially supports Debian and/or specific PVE Kernel versions. They may not care beyond "Linux host is ok". You'd have to check with them.

The next layer is how to use the attached storage. The simplest way is to layer LVM on top of it.
Whether in the end you are satisfied with all the features provided (or missing), really depends on your requirements.

There are no guarantees expressed or implied that the solution will be suitable for you :-)

Good luck

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
 
Only feature I need is one shared volume for qcow/raw images. And simple configuration
 
m3a2r1 said:
Only feature I need is one shared volume for qcow/raw images.
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The MSA is a block storage solution that is served to your host as raw blocks.

If you want to store qcow files (or raw image _files_), you will need to add an extra layer - file system.
There is no "simple" native file system solution for shared storage built into Proxmox.

The _native_ way of storing data on MSA/LVM would be direct raw blocks.

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
 
m3a2r1 said:
So I can create lvm and attach it to 4 nodes?
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You'd create a LUN, attach it to 4 hosts, then create an LVM on one of them and it should be visible on all hosts.

Note, that once the LUN/Disk appears on your host, the rest of the steps are not MSA specific. You may also need to configure Multipath.

There are more than a few threads specifically about MSA on the forum, I would recommend reading those and surrounding discussions, before making the purchase.

https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/proxmox-and-msa-sas.137704/
https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/proxmox-with-hp-msa-2040-storage.38955/
https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/playing-arround-with-proxmox-and-hp-msa-p2000.102893/
https://forum.proxmox.com/tags/msa/

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
 
Ok, thanks. Indeed, I have to read about SAS. I thought it's simple as NFS attaching
 
I need shared storage but network independent. That's why I have chosen sas array.
 
m3a2r1 said:
I need shared storage but network independent. That's why I have chosen sas array.
Click to expand...
iSCSI, similar to NFS, works over IP. Specifically TCP/IP.

SAS (serially attached SCSI) needs appropriate cables to connect to SCSI cards in your host. The protocol is Point-to-Point, i.e. from one end of the cable to another. It is simple to connect, like plugging an electric cord extension.
What you have to do inside the array to arrange the disks into RAID, and carve them up into LUNs, depends on the vendor. I am sure HP has had enough time to make it somewhat bulletproof.

But you are not getting same functionality as with NFS.

Good luck with your research.

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