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Proxmox

Nodes

PVE1 (Primary)

Hardware

Component Details
CPU Intel Core i3-4005U @ 1.70GHz (2 cores, 4 threads)
RAM 16GB
Boot Disk Kingston SA400S37 240GB SSD
Kernel 6.17.2-2-pve

Storage

Pool Type Size Purpose
rpool ZFS 222GB Main storage pool
local Directory 183GB ISO images, backups
local-zfs ZFS Pool 174GB VM/CT disks

Network

flowchart LR
    subgraph Bridge[vmbr0 - 192.168.1.199/22]
        eno1[eno1<br/>Internal LAN]
        usb[enx3c18a0d4eddd<br/>USB Adapter]
    end
    Bridge --> GW[Gateway<br/>192.168.1.254]

PVE2 (Secondary)

  • IP: 192.168.1.151
  • URL: pve2.mdhmedia.uk
  • Role: Secondary hypervisor, heavy workloads

Hardware

Component Details
CPU 2x Intel Xeon X5670 @ 2.93GHz (12 cores, 24 threads)
RAM 72GB
Boot Disk PNY CS900 120GB SSD
Kernel 6.17.2-2-pve

Storage

Pool Type Size Purpose
rpool ZFS 110GB Main storage pool
local Directory 93GB ISO images, backups
local-zfs-pve2 ZFS Pool 107GB VM/CT disks

Network

flowchart LR
    subgraph vmbr0[vmbr0 - 192.168.1.151/22]
        eno1[eno1]
    end
    subgraph vmbr1[vmbr1 - 192.168.1.152/22]
        enp4s0f0[enp4s0f0]
    end
    subgraph vmbr2[vmbr2 - 192.168.1.153/22]
        enp4s0f1[enp4s0f1]
    end
    vmbr0 --> GW[Gateway<br/>192.168.1.254]

LXC Containers

VMID Name Node Status Purpose
101 portainer pve1 running Container management
102 teleport pve1 stopped Remote access
103 docker0X pve1 stopped Docker host
104 pihole pve1 stopped DNS filtering (inactive)
105 ubuntu pve1 stopped General purpose
106 adguard pve1 stopped DNS filtering
108 plex pve2 stopped Media server
111 librenms pve1 stopped Network monitoring
112 caddy pve1 running Reverse proxy
113 homepage pve1 running Dashboard
114 mariadb pve1 running Database server
115 alpine-vaultwarden pve1 stopped Password manager
116 alpine-wireguard pve1 running VPN server
117 scanopy pve2 running Document scanning
118 grafana pve2 running Monitoring dashboards
119 n8n pve2 running Workflow automation

Virtual Machines

VMID Name Node Status RAM Disk Purpose
100 zabbix pve1 stopped 4GB 32GB Monitoring
107 apiscp-dev pve1 stopped 4GB 50GB Development
109 PMS pve2 stopped 512MB 32GB Plex Media Server
110 unraid pve2 running 48GB - Unraid NAS (passthrough)

Backups

Backup Strategy

Backup Best Practices

Regular backups are critical for disaster recovery. Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) or built-in vzdump can be used for VM/CT backups.

Backup Type Frequency Retention Time
Full Backup (Critical VMs/CTs) Daily 7 days 02:00
Full Backup (Non-critical) Weekly 4 weeks Sunday 03:00
Configuration Backup Daily 30 days 01:00

Priority Containers for Backup

Based on the running services, prioritize backups for:

VMID Name Priority Reason
112 caddy High Reverse proxy - critical for all services
113 homepage Medium Dashboard configuration
114 mariadb High Database - contains application data
116 alpine-wireguard High VPN access - contains peer configurations
110 unraid High NAS VM - backup config only (data on array)

Storage Locations

Location Type Purpose
local Directory Short-term backup storage
[NFS_SHARE] NFS Mount Off-node backup storage (recommended)
[PBS_SERVER] Proxmox Backup Server Deduplicated long-term storage

Off-site Backups

Consider configuring off-site backups to a remote location or cloud storage for disaster recovery. Options include:

  • Proxmox Backup Server with remote sync
  • Rclone to cloud storage (Backblaze B2, Wasabi, etc.)
  • NFS mount to separate physical location

Backup Configuration

To configure scheduled backups via the Proxmox UI:

  1. Navigate to Datacenter > Backup
  2. Click Add to create a new backup job
  3. Configure the following settings:
Storage: [YOUR_BACKUP_STORAGE]
Schedule: [CRON_EXPRESSION]
Selection Mode: Include selected VMs
Mode: Snapshot (recommended for running VMs)
Compression: ZSTD (best compression/speed ratio)

Restore Testing

Test Your Backups

Schedule quarterly restore tests to verify backup integrity:

  1. Select a non-production time window
  2. Restore a backup to a temporary VM/CT
  3. Verify the restored system functions correctly
  4. Document any issues and adjust backup strategy