⚙️ Proxmox Virtual Environment (PVE)¶

Proxmox VE is an open‑source virtualization platform that combines KVM (Kernel‑based Virtual Machine) and LXC (Linux Containers) into a single management interface. It provides clustering, high availability, storage integration, and a powerful web‑based UI—making it ideal for both enterprise and homelab deployments.

🖥️ Proxmox Cluster¶

The lab runs a three‑node Proxmox cluster, providing redundancy and high availability:

• pve‑0 → https://192.168.2.200:8006/
• pve‑1 → https://192.168.2.201:8006/
• pve‑2 → https://192.168.2.202:8006/

The cluster can be managed from any of these URLs, with quorum maintained across all three nodes.
Installation follows the official Proxmox instructions.

🖧 Host Details¶

Each node uses the same hardware platform: ACEMAGIC S1 Mini PC.

The secondary drive is a Western Digital Red SA500 NAS SSD. These SSDs are dedicated to the Ceph distributed storage cluster, providing resilient, high‑performance storage for VMs and containers.

📦 Ceph Storage¶

Ceph is tightly integrated with Proxmox and provides the cluster’s primary shared storage backend.

Why Ceph?¶

• High Availability: VM disks are replicated across nodes, eliminating single points of failure.
• Scalability: Storage pools can grow seamlessly by adding more disks or nodes.
• Unified Storage: Supports block storage (RBD), object storage, and filesystem storage.
• Self‑Healing: Automatically rebalances and recovers data when nodes or drives fail.

Lab Setup¶

• Each Proxmox node contributes its secondary SSD as a Ceph OSD (Object Storage Daemon).
• Ceph monitors (MONs) run on all three nodes to maintain cluster state.
• A replicated Ceph pool is used for VM disks, ensuring redundancy (e.g., 3‑way replication).
• VM disks stored on Ceph can be live‑migrated between nodes without downtime.

Storage Flow (Text Diagram)¶

[ VM Disk ] → stored in → [ Ceph Pool ]
                 ↑
   replicated across → [ OSDs on pve-0, pve-1, pve-2 ]
                 ↑
   managed by → [ Ceph MONs on all nodes ]

This mirrors enterprise‑grade storage practices while remaining lightweight enough for homelab hardware.

💡 Proxmox Tips & Hints¶

ISO Images¶

Store ISO images in the following directory on each node:

/var/lib/vz/template/iso/

CT Templates¶

Container templates are stored here:

/var/lib/vz/template/cache/

Handy Notes¶

• Keep ISOs and templates synchronized across nodes for consistency.
• Use Proxmox Backup Server alongside Ceph for snapshotting and deduplication.
• Monitor Ceph health with ceph -s to ensure replication and recovery are functioning correctly.

🚀 Why This Matters¶

By combining Proxmox clustering with Ceph distributed storage, the lab achieves:

• High availability for workloads
• Seamless VM migration across nodes
• Enterprise‑style storage resiliency
• Hands‑on experience with production‑grade virtualization and storage technologies

This makes the homelab not just a sandbox, but a true mirror of modern infrastructure practices.