Proxmox Cluster | Free Virtualization with HA Feature | Step by Step
- Cluster Configuration:
- Nodes: A Proxmox cluster consists of multiple nodes, which are physical servers running Proxmox VE.
- Networking: Nodes in a Proxmox cluster should be connected to a common network. A private network for internal communication and a public network for client access are typically configured.
- Shared Storage: Shared storage is crucial for a Proxmox cluster to enable features like live migration and high availability. This can be achieved through technologies like NFS, iSCSI, or Ceph.
- High Availability (HA):
- Proxmox VE includes a feature called HA, which ensures that critical VMs are automatically restarted on another node in the event of a node failure.
- HA relies on fencing mechanisms to isolate a failed node from the cluster and prevent split-brain scenarios. This can be achieved through power fencing (e.g., IPMI, iLO, iDRAC) or network fencing (e.g., switch port blocking).
- When a node fails, the HA manager on the remaining nodes detects the failure and initiates the restart of the affected VMs on healthy nodes.
- Corosync and Pacemaker:
- Proxmox VE uses Corosync as the messaging layer and Pacemaker as the cluster resource manager. These components ensure that cluster nodes can communicate effectively and coordinate resource management.
- Corosync provides a reliable communication channel between nodes, while Pacemaker manages the resources (VMs, containers, services) in the cluster and ensures they are highly available.
- Resource Management:
- Proxmox clusters allow for dynamic resource allocation, allowing VMs and containers to use resources based on demand.
- Memory and CPU resources can be allocated and adjusted for each VM or container, and live migration allows these resources to be moved between nodes without downtime.
- Backup and Restore:
- Proxmox includes backup and restore functionality, allowing administrators to create scheduled backups of VMs and containers.
- Backups can be stored locally or on remote storage, providing flexibility in backup storage options.
- Monitoring and Logging:
- Proxmox provides monitoring and logging capabilities to help administrators track the performance and health of the cluster.
- The web interface includes dashboards and graphs for monitoring resource usage, as well as logs for tracking cluster events.
- Updates and Maintenance:
- Proxmox clusters can be updated and maintained using the web interface or command-line tools. Updates can be applied to individual nodes or the entire cluster.