[PVE-User] info.

Mon Oct 11 14:44:26 CEST 2010

Hi,

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Philippe Dhont [mailto:Philippe.Dhont at gems-group.com]
> Sent: Montag, 11. Oktober 2010 14:27
> To: Martin Maurer; pve-user at pve.proxmox.com
> Subject: RE: info.
> 
> 
> Thanks for the reply.
> - So i do need shared storage for the live migration.
>   Can I connect 2 proxmox servers without shared storage into an enterprise
> cluster ? If so, is there any advantage in doing so if you don't use shared
> storage ?

The main idea of the current cluster is centralized configuration. And just in the case if you do not know it, OpenVZ live migration does not need shared storage - but this works only with the 2.6.18 kernel branch.

> 
> - Since shared storage (san) is much more expensive, I have no budget for it.
>   So this makes my configuration with 2 servers less interesting, is this correct
> or can I backup from one proxmox server to the other one ?
> 
> - Maybe it is outside the scope of this mailing list but is DRDB a solution for
> me in this case ? (I have no experience with DRDB).

DRBD is a special case. Setup is not straight forward, you will  some deeper Linux knowhow or you should consider going for a DRBD support subscription (from www.linbit.com, the DRBD creators).

If you have limited budget, I recommend just 2 reliable servers  and  start without SAN. And do regular backups.  

>   Is there some kind of default DRDB setup with proxmox or is it something
> you have to configure manually in proxmox via the CLI ?

CLI only, for a basic howto, see: http://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/DRBD

> 
> Thanks,
> Philippe.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Martin Maurer [mailto:martin at proxmox.com]
> Sent: maandag 11 oktober 2010 14:11
> To: Philippe Dhont; pve-user at pve.proxmox.com
> Subject: RE: info.
> 
> Hi,
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: pve-user-bounces at pve.proxmox.com [mailto:pve-user-
> > bounces at pve.proxmox.com] On Behalf Of Philippe Dhont
> > Sent: Montag, 11. Oktober 2010 13:18
> > To: pve-user at pve.proxmox.com
> > Subject: [PVE-User] info.
> >
> > 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?
> 
> Yes. We have several kernel branches, depending on your needs (see
> http://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Proxmox_VE_Kernel)
> 
> > 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).
> 
> Vzdump is using LVM snapshots, issues with consistent data in database
> should be handled by the database (there are some threads in our forum
> about this topic, just read there).
> 
> On our site, we do weekly backups with vzdump (GUI integrated) and we so
> daily Backups with a windows based and exchange aware backup tool.
> In the case of disaster, we have a fast restore with the image backup, for the
> rest we have the backup tool on windows.
> 
> >
> > 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 ?
> 
> Depends on the usage but if possible, I always recommend to use OpenVZ.
> 
> >
> > 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 ?
> 
> If you got a new kernel, you need to reboot.
> 
> > What if you reboot & you face problems with booting ? Is it best to
> > make a backup of all virtual servers first ?
> 
> A backup is always a good idea but this is a global answer, applies to all
> solutions.
> 
> >
> > 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 ?
> 
> If you have the virtual disks on shared storage you can use live migrate.
> 
> >
> > 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).
> 
> You need shared storage (or DRBD), otherwise you cannot live migrate.
> 
> > What shared storage products are compatible with proxmox ?
> 
> See http://www.proxmox.com/products/proxmox-ve/system-
> requirements-proxmox-ve
> 
> >
> > 7) Can you schedule automatic backup during night ?
> 
> Yes.
> 
> >
> > 8) If you have a maintenance contract with proxmox, how do they connect
> ?
> > via teamviewer on a computer and then ssh ?
> 
> Standard support is via email trouble ticket system, if needed ssh access. We
> are also preparing a customer portal, available next year.
> 
> >
> > 9) I have no experience with KVM, how is it (speed, resources)
> > compared with concurrent products as vmware, xenserver, hyper-v ?
> 
> There are a lot of performance benchmarks around, redhat says KVM is the
> fastest, vmware say vshpere is the fastest, same xen and microsoft. As
> VMware does not allow to publish benchmarks there is not much available
> here.
> 
> My personal opinion is that there is not that much difference, KVM improved
> a lot since last year, especially the latest kernels and KVM version are quite
> nice. If this development speed is kept, the future of KVM is  brilliant.
> 
> For running Linux, in almost all end to end cases OpenVZ is unbeatable due to
> the container technology.
> 
> >
> > 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.
> >
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> > pve-user at pve.proxmox.com
> > http://pve.proxmox.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pve-user
> 
> 