Proxmox and Dell MD3400 SAS SAN

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Jaques

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May 20, 2025
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Hi everyone, I've been using VMware for many (many) years are in the process of trying to setup a small lab with one Lenovo server and a Dell MD3400 SAS SAN.

Proxmox is installed on the Lenovo server and sees my SAS cards.

When I run lsscsi I get the following:

[2:0:0:31] disk DELL Universal Xport 0825 -
[2:0:1:31] disk DELL Universal Xport 0825 -

Not quite sure what to do at this point and have mapped everything correctly in the SAN.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
 
Hello @Jaques , welcome to the forum.

Jaques said:
When I run lsscsi I get the following:

[2:0:0:31] disk DELL Universal Xport 0825 -
[2:0:1:31] disk DELL Universal Xport 0825 -
Click to expand...
This indicates that the host is successfully detecting the Enclosure Services component of the SAS device, which is a good start.
Jaques said:
have mapped everything correctly in the SAN.
Click to expand...
The fact that no LUNs are visible on the host strongly suggests that something is not mapped correctly on the SAN side.

Keep in mind that PVE is based on Debian Linux with an Ubuntu-derived kernel. Block device handling is managed by standard Linux kernel modules, used and validated across millions of systems worldwide.

I recommend carefully reviewing all SAN configuration settings for possible omissions or misconfigurations. Also, make sure to consult the Dell Linux Connectivity Guide specific to your device model.

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
 
Last edited:
I rebooted Proxmox and it sees the storage.
Perhaps there was a service I could have restarted or command the refresh in lieu of restarting?

It now sees the storage twice, likely due to the multipath -- how can I resolve that issue?

Also what type of storage should I create it as? It will be shares storage and ideally I'd like to create snapshots.

Thanks in advance!
 
Can I use LVM? I setup the SAN as LVM for now and it seems to work, although if I tried snapshots it says :

The current guest configuration does not support taking new snapshots
 
Jaques said:
Can I use LVM? I setup the SAN as LVM for now and it seems to work, although if I tried snapshots it says :

The current guest configuration does not support taking new snapshots
Click to expand...
The article referenced earlier addresses your question here: Key Limitations https://kb.blockbridge.com/technote...#key-limitations-of-lvm-shared-storage-in-pve

You should also reference : https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Storage
The table explains which storage types are officially supported by PVE and what feature-set each one comes with.

Since you have a single server, i.e. no clustering, you can use thin LVM to get snapshots. If you plan to expand to cluster in the future - you should not use thin-LVM.

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
 
Our lab is just one server, but I'm going to add another for testing.

Which file system would you recommended? Ceph seems like the right choice, but from what I've read it's like a SAN on top of a SAN.

Thank you
 
Jaques said:
Ceph seems like the right choice
Click to expand...
Ceph is not the right choice to run on top of the SAN. It was created as a way to avoid SAN, i.e. to run on locally attached disks. Ceph is a distributed storage vs SAN being centralized.

Jaques said:
Which file system would you recommended
Click to expand...
There is officially Proxmox endorsed option and "yes it sort of works" option. The former - LVM, the latter OCFS2.

There is no PVE built-in equivalent of VMFS.

Plug OCFS2 or VMFS into the search field of the forum. You will find many spirited and detailed discussions. As you can imagine, this topic has been brought up many times.

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
 
I'm very surprised there is no FS built-in to support this type of basic configuration.

How are enterprises even considering Proxmox as a viable VMware alternative?

Perhaps I'm missing something, or is OCFS2 the answer?

Thanks!
 
In addition it looks like OCFS2 isn't officially supported by Proxmox. So if there's an issue a customer could be on their own.

Looks like we may have to go with LVM and give up snapshots. What are most enterprise customers doing?

Thanks for all your help!
 
Jaques said:
I'm very surprised there is no FS built-in to support this type of basic configuration.
Click to expand...
It takes considerable engineering effort and investment, often in the tens or hundreds of millions, to develop a robust, production-grade, cluster-aware file system like VMFS or NTFS with CSV. These systems are the result of years of proprietary development by large vendors like VMware and Microsoft.

Proxmox VE, being open-source, takes a different approach by leveraging well-established Linux filesystems and storage technologies, rather than reinventing a proprietary clustered FS layer. It prioritizes modularity and openness over tightly integrated vertical stacks.

Jaques said:
How are enterprises even considering Proxmox as a viable VMware alternative?
Click to expand...
Many enterprises are re-evaluating their infrastructure strategies as part of a broader modernization effort. Instead of replicating legacy setups, they’re using this opportunity to move away from expensive, tightly coupled architectures and toward simpler, more flexible designs that avoid carrying forward technological debt.
Jaques said:
>What are most enterprise customers doing?
Click to expand...
There’s no universal answer. Architectural choices depend heavily on:
  • Budget
  • High availability requirements
  • Performance expectations
  • Scaling needs
  • Existing hardware and skillsets

For small clusters (3–4 nodes), shared SAS may suffice. For larger deployments (10+ nodes) a different storage type is needed.

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
 
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Jaques said:
Looks like we may have to go with LVM and give up snapshots.
Click to expand...

You may be able to run a backup every 15 minutes or so - they are technically cheap nowadays as "dirty bitmaps" are used for running VMs. Together with "live restore" that may be an option - of course ymmv.

Note that I am talking about a Proxmox-Backup-Server with "recommended hardware".
 
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