[PVE-User] Proxmox cluster: request for user feedback on prospective hardware

[Gilles Mocellin]

Le 31/10/2013 17:08, Philippe Andersson a écrit :
> Hello,
>
> We're in the process of selecting the hardware to host a new Proxmox
> cluster, and we would welcome any feedback you might have on the listed
> components, specifically in terms of compatibility, performance and
> reliability under Proxmox.
>
>
> Proxmox cluster nodes:
> ----------------------
> HP C7000 enclosure +  BL460c Gen8 blades

I used BL460c G6 and 7 with proxmox 1.x.
DL360 G8 with Proxmox 2.x and 3.X, No real problems with theses machines.
Apart for non-free firmware for the embedded NIC (Broadcom).

> Networking interconnect on the enclosure backplane:
> ---------------------------------------------------
> HP BLc VC FlexFabric 10Gb/24-port
> -or-
> HP BLc VC Flex-10/10D Module
>
> - does Proxmox support NICs with non-standard bandwidth (e.g. 3.5 Gbps) ?
> - would the kernel detect it if a NIC had its bandwidth modified "live"
> and adapt ?
> - can Proxmox use a dedicated Flex NIC to perform live migrations ?

Here you can have a problem. I don't know if Proxmox kernel supports 
theses Flex NICs.

> SmartArray controller to SAS SAN:
> ---------------------------------
> HP Smart Array P721m/2G FBWC Ctrlr
> HP Smart Array P220i Controller
> HP 6Gb SAS BL Switch
> HP P2000 G3 SAS MSA Dual Cntrl SFF Array

No problems with Smart Array controllers.
You can install tools from HP to configure it (hpacucli).

> - does Proxmox support dual-pathing over SAS to the SAN ?

See below.

> Flex10 to LeftHand VSA (through iSCSI):
> ---------------------------------------
> HP BLc VC Flex-10/10D Module
> HP D2200sb PCIe/StoreVirtual VSA
> HP BL460c Gen8 E5-v2 10Gb FLB CTO Blade
>
> - does Proxmox support iSCSI dual-pathing ?
> - can Proxmox use iSCSI over a dedicated Flex NIC ?
>
> FlexFabric to 3PAR 7200 SAN (over FC):
> --------------------------------------
> HP BLc VC FlexFabric 10Gb/24-port
> HP 3PAR StoreServ 7200 2-N Storage Base
>
> - does Proxmox support FC dual-pathing over FlexFabric ?

All dual/multi pathing concerns is not handeled by Proxmox.
But, you can handle it with the operating system (Debian Wheezy), with 
mutipath-tools.

I was using e mutipathed FC SAN storage on EVA.
The multiple block devices created by different paths (it will be the 
same with iSCSI) where unified in on device in /dev/mapper/...
You should managed /etc/multipath.conf on all your nodes (I used puppet 
for that).

> I guess that the answer to most of these question rely in the end on
> this one: is it possible to install the HP PSP (Proliant Support Pack,
> also called Smart Update Manager now) on Proxmox ?

Packages for Debian where available here : 
http://downloads.linux.hp.com/SDR/psp/Debian/dists/
I don't see wheezy on which Proxmox is built.
One useful tool was hpasm, for power/fan management.


> Any feedback welcome.
>
> Cheers. Bye.
>
> Ph. A.

Hope it can help.