Using a backup server in a 2 node cluster for quorum

Mr.Embedded

Well-Known Member
Jul 8, 2008
58
3
48
Has there been any thought of allowing the backup server to join a cluster as a node for quorum purposes only? I currently have a 2 node lab and am using an RPI as an arbiter but I also have a Truenas server for backups in the mix for that cluster. I have thought about replacing with a Proxmox Backup server and had that idea. It would eliminate the RPI completely while still allowing testing of HA/replication type scenarios. It would just work out of the box. I didn't find any documentation about this and figured I would ask here.

Thoughts?
 
Has there been any thought of allowing the backup server to join a cluster as a node for quorum purposes only? I currently have a 2 node lab and am using an RPI as an arbiter but I also have a Truenas server for backups in the mix for that cluster. I have thought about replacing with a Proxmox Backup server and had that idea. It would eliminate the RPI completely while still allowing testing of HA/replication type scenarios. It would just work out of the box. I didn't find any documentation about this and figured I would ask here.

Thoughts?
qdevice: https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Cluster_Manager#_corosync_external_vote_support

And you don't even need a qdevice. PVE and PBS can be installed bare metal on the same server and run in parallel. That way you would get 3 PVE nodes. Keep in mind that you should test your backups regularily. You usually do that by restoring them to a PVE host using a different VMID, attach the virtual NIC to a isolated subnet, boot that guest and then check if everything is still working. Here it would be handy to have a PVE, that doesn't run any productive guests, on the same server as the PBS, so you could do a fast local restore.
https://pbs.proxmox.com/docs/installation.html#install-proxmox-backup-server-on-proxmox-ve
 
Last edited:
I am using the qdevice method with the RPI.

Good to know this idea is sound. I think I'll start taking the steps to refactor my Trunas box to be a PVE+PBS solution. I'll need to verify some of the other workloads the Trunas server are portable before doing that. The other thing I could do is also run a K8s master node on that backup host. Great option if it works as expected.
 

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!

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!