[PVE-User] info.

[Philippe Dhont]

Hi All,

I have some questions regarding Proxmox VE.
For the moment we use vmware 3.5 and I am looking to implement 1 or 2 new servers for virtualization.
Maybe, I would like to use proxmox (with maintenance contract) but I am new and I have some questions.

1) Is Proxmox for the moment stable enough to use in production environment ?
I would install proxmox on the servers and run all our servers on it (about 15 - 20 servers mixed environment -W2003/W2008/Linux).
Are there users who use proxmox fully operational with more than 15 servers ?

2) How does backup works with databases ?
We are using exchange, can I make a safe backup when the VM is running or do I have to stop the exchange services or is it better to use a database backup program in windows ?
(this is not specially for exchange but for every database).

3) How much resources does openVZ  uses compared with a fully virtual linux installation ?
Is OpenVZ totally safe ? Is it possible that if there is a problem with the host (proxmox) that this reflects the openvz container ?

4) If we buy only one server, how does upgrading works in proxmox to a new version ?
Do you have to stop all virtual machines, update & reboot ?
What if you reboot & you face problems with booting ? Is it best to make a backup of all virtual servers first ?

5) If you upgrade 2 servers, can you live migrate all servers to the other server (also exchange server) ? or is this just too much work to do ?

6) Is proxmox (enterprise) working fine without shared storage or is it the best practice to use shared storage for live migration (and high availability in the future).
What shared storage products are compatible with proxmox ?

7) Can you schedule automatic backup during night ?

8) If you have a maintenance contract with proxmox, how do they connect ? via teamviewer on a computer and then ssh ? 

9) I have no experience with KVM, how is it (speed, resources) compared with concurrent products as vmware, xenserver, hyper-v ?

10) This is the configuration we would maybe buy, is it compatible with proxmox ?
- PowerEdge R715 Rack Chassis for Up to 6x 2.5" HDDs 
- 2x AMD Opteron 6128 (2.0GHz, 8x512K L2 Cache, 115W TDP, 8C) 
- R715 EMEA1 Ship Docs No Power Cord
- (English/Slovenian/Slovakian/Polish/Czech/Hungarian/Greek/Arabic)
- 2U Rack Bezel (R715/R810/R815) 
- 32GB Memory for 2CPU (16x2GB Dual Rank RDIMMs) 1333MHz 
- 600GB SAS 6Gbps 10k 2.5" HD Hot Plug  -- 5 disks
- PERC H700 Integrated RAID Controller, 512MB Cache 
- 16X DVD-ROM Drive SATA 
- 2M Rack Power Cord C13/C14 12A 
- Redundant Power Supply (2 PSU) 750W 
- Intel Gigabit ET Quad Port Server Adapter, Cu, PCIe x4 
- Two Dual Port Embedded Broadcom NetXtreme II 5709 Gigabit Ethernet NIC with TOE & iSCSI
- iDRAC6 Express 
- No Operating System 
- Dell Management Console DVD 
- You have chosen not to take the Dell PowerEdge installation service 
- Sliding Ready Rack Rails with Cable Management Arm 
- C4 - R5 for PERC H700, Min. 3 Max. 6 Drives 
- PowerEdge Order - Belgium 
- Base Warranty 
- 3Yr Basic Warranty - Next Business Day - Minimum Warranty 
- 5Yr ProSupport for End Users and Next Business Day On-Site Service 


Thank you.
Philippe Dhont.