[pve-devel] backup

Tue Oct 21 07:34:25 CEST 2014

>the attraction of a NAS is the built in  features - web gui, sync to external disk, notification of results via email etc.
PVE have many of these features (sync to external disk can run automatically with a script created by you and using crontab), but i don't know why you want to have this feature?.

> With a PVE server I'd have to script and test it all myself.
For a side, with a NAS, ¿how can you test the backups of VMs and without any kind of human interaction? ... and remember that the backups are created in a vzdump format, so i am insecure that your NAS can read this format kind of file.

Of other hand:
In my setup, the Backups are programmed daily by the GUI PVE of the real Servers, obviously there is no human interaction for do these tasks, and remember also that PVE send the mails automatically making his reports.
The idea of do a restore and starting the VM in the Backup PC manually is only for do a check manually and be sure that there was no some sort of strange problem.

Making a comparison with the commercial leader product of Backups of hypervisors (for VMware and Hyper-V):
"Veeam Backup" do this tasks automatically in chronological order:
A) Make a backups automatically of the VMs assigned
B) Restore automatically the VMs in a isolated environment
C) Check automatically that the VMs can booting and starting
D) Removes automatically all traces of actions for declaration
E) Send by email automatically a complete report of his actions

So, as the Backup system of PVE don't have the task of tests of backups performed, i believe that it i can do manually when i want and with the VMs that i want (only using the Backup PC obviously).

Personally, i don't believe that if the email of PVE tell us that backup are OK, in the practice occur otherwise, but as people say .... "one  never know until test it"

>Why two bonded nics for the management connection?
Again, for four reasons:
1) It is only for caution, if a cable, or a NIC, or a physical port of the Switch, or the same Switch break down, I will always have redundancy, and i will be able to maintain always the network connection live, remember that my Switches are in Stack mode (ie i have "HA" in all the Switches), so each NIC of my PC Backup and my real Servers will be connected to different Switches that also are in "HA".

2) By other hand, for the Backup Servers and his connection to the LAN of the company, Intel have NICs of 1 Gb/s cheap by amazon.com (model I-210), the model is in this link:
http://ark.intel.com/es/products/68668/Intel-Ethernet-Server-Adapter-I210-T1

Or more cheap with this model (Intel Gigabit CT Desktop Adapter), that also support many kinds of network bondings:
http://ark.intel.com/es/products/50395/Intel-Gigabit-CT-Desktop-Adapter

And as i don't need performance for this kind of connection, any network card that work well will be good,  inclusive, speed of 100 Mb/s will work well, these PCs will not be in the PVE cluster.

3) The driver version of these Intel NICs are updated periodically in the kernel by PVE team (a preoccupation less for me)

4) By other hand, for production enviroments, i have the good habit of install all the network connections with some type of bonding mode, as applicable, setup the most convenient (i always think that if i have "HA" in my servers, why not have redundancy in his network connections?).

Waiting that these advices have been helpful, i say see you soon

Best regards
Cesar Peschiera
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Lindsay Mathieson 
  To: Cesar Peschiera 
  Cc: pve-devel at pve.proxmox.com 
  Sent: Monday, October 20, 2014 11:59 PM
  Subject: Re: [pve-devel] backup

  On 20 October 2014 14:15, Cesar Peschiera <brain at click.com.py> wrote:

    Hi Lindsay

    Maybe you'd better have a PVE on a PC as Backup Server instead of a NAS.
    Why i believe that it will be better?
    For four reasons:
    1) You will can manually restore the backups that were completed successfully on this same PC that also is running PVE and test it for be sure that your files of backups are in perfect status for his restauration.
    2)  You will not need to use your real servers doing such tests, and you will avoid performance degradation.
    3) If a hardware component is decomposed, you only will need change the part that is decomposed.
    4) If a PVE real server decomposes, and you don't have "HA" enabled, your PC of backup will can help you starting the VMs that are necessary in this same computer.

  Thats an interesting thought Cesar, I'll look into that. Would be very useful to have a test server.

  OTOH, the attraction of a NAS is the built in  features - web gui, sync to external disk, notification of results via email etc. With a PVE server I'd have to script and test it all myself.

    By other hand, for a company, i will be testing this scenery:

    2 PC of Backup
    -----------------
    - The two PC of Backups will have the same configuration
    - Mainboard Asus "P8H77 m pro" (workstation)
    - 16 GB RAM
    - OS = PVE (from his ISO installer)
    - NFS service for use in the Backups
    - 1 NIC Intel dual port 10 Gb/s with bonding "active-backup" (for use
    exclusive of the backups) connected to the LAN of the backups
    - 2 NICs Intel single port with bonding "LACP" connected to the LAN company (for his management)

  Why two bonded nics for the management connection?

  thanks,

  -- 
  Lindsay 
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