Proxmox Guide
20 parts · read in order
- 1 Why I Chose Proxmox (and How to Install It the Boring, Correct Way) Proxmox VE installation done right. Covers disk layout decisions, ZFS vs LVM vs ext4, network configuration, repository setup, and why the boring install is the one that survives upgrades.
- 2 Post-Install Baseline: Users, SSH, Firewall, Updates, and Hardening Essential Proxmox security hardening after installation. Covers user management, SSH key-only access, host firewall configuration, automatic updates, and why security is easier to implement now than later.
- 3 Storage 101: Local, ZFS, LVM-thin — What I Actually Use and Why Practical guide to Proxmox storage options. Covers local directory, LVM-thin, ZFS pools, when to use each, snapshot limitations, and why fast storage is often fragile storage.
- 4 Networking Baseline: Bridges, VLANs, Bonding — and the Mistakes I Made Proxmox networking fundamentals and common pitfalls. Covers Linux bridges, VLAN configuration, bonding modes, network isolation, and why 99% of virtualization network problems are inconsistent Layer 2.
- 5 Templates & Cloud-Init: Faster VMs Without Chaos Creating and using VM templates with cloud-init on Proxmox. Covers template creation workflow, cloud-init configuration, customization, and why a template is a contract that must stay stable.
- 6 LXC vs VM: When Containers Are a Gift (and When They Bite) Practical guide to choosing between LXC containers and VMs on Proxmox. Covers performance differences, security boundaries, use cases, and why containers offer speed but not always isolation.
- 7 Cluster Setup: Joining Nodes, Quorum, and Corosync Realities Building a Proxmox cluster correctly. Covers node joining, quorum mechanics, split-brain prevention, Corosync networking, and why clustering is network discipline, not just a button.
- 8 Backups Done Right: Proxmox Backup Server, Schedules, Retention, and Restore Drills Complete guide to Proxmox Backup Server. Covers installation, incremental backups, deduplication, retention policies, verification, and why a backup only exists after a successful restore test.
- 9 Snapshots vs Backups vs Replication: What Saved Me and What Didn't Understanding data protection layers in Proxmox. Covers snapshots, backups, and replication with real failure scenarios, RPO/RTO planning, and why replication is not a replacement for backups.
- 10 High Availability: HA Groups, Fencing Mindset, and Failure Testing Proxmox HA done right. Covers HA manager configuration, fencing requirements, groups and priorities, maintenance procedures, failure testing, and why HA without tests is just a checkbox.
- 11 Ceph on Proxmox: Honest Guide (When It's Worth It, When It's Pain) Real talk about Ceph on Proxmox. Covers minimum requirements, network design, OSD configuration, recovery behavior, performance expectations, and why Ceph is great when you accept its costs.
- 12 Security & Multi-Tenancy: Roles, Pools, API Tokens, and Isolation Building secure multi-tenant Proxmox environments. Covers RBAC configuration, resource pools, API token management, audit logging, and why access control is a product that requires design.
- 13 Infrastructure as Code: Terraform Proxmox Provider — Patterns That Won't Rot Terraform with Proxmox done right. Covers provider configuration, module structure, state management, safe changes, and why IaC is about predictability, not faster clicking.
- 14 Golden Images Pipeline: Building Templates Like a Factory Automated VM template creation for Proxmox. Covers Packer integration, cloud-init pipelines, image versioning, testing, and why images must be reproducible or they become unique snowflakes.
- 15 IP Management: Getting VM IPs Reliably (DHCP, MAC Mapping, Integrations) Reliable IP address management for Proxmox VMs. Covers DHCP strategies, MAC-to-IP mapping, router integrations, inventory collection, and why IP addresses are data that must be collected automatically.
- 16 Observability: Metrics, Logs, Alerts — What I Monitor on Proxmox Complete Proxmox monitoring setup. Covers node metrics, storage health, ZFS/Ceph monitoring, log aggregation, alerting rules, and why you cannot manage what you cannot see.
- 17 Performance Clinic: CPU Pinning, Hugepages, VirtIO, and Storage Tuning Proxmox performance optimization guide. Covers VirtIO drivers, cache modes, IO threads, NUMA awareness, hugepages, and why optimization starts with measurement, not tweaking.
- 18 GPU / PCI Passthrough: The Path That Works (and What Breaks It) Complete guide to GPU and PCI passthrough on Proxmox. Covers IOMMU setup, ACS override, VFIO configuration, driver binding, common issues, and why passthrough is hardware compatibility plus attention to detail.
- 19 Proxmox SDN: Zones, VNets, and EVPN in the Hypervisor Proxmox SDN turns scattered Linux bridges and hand-managed VLANs into a declarative, cluster-wide network model. Zones, VNets, and subnets explained, plus an EVPN zone that gives VMs routed overlays across nodes.
- 20 No-Downtime Proxmox Upgrades: Cluster, Kernel, and Ceph Upgrading a Proxmox cluster without dropping a VM. The rolling node-at-a-time procedure, live migration to drain a host, the correct Ceph upgrade order with noout, and the corosync rules that keep quorum intact throughout.