[warning - long post!]
i need some advice about an infrastructure we are developping for one of our customer.
the idea is to build a proxmox VE 2.2 system, with 2 nodes in HA configuration both connected via FC host adapter to SAN machine where VM will reside and operate.
what i need is to have compatibility guaranteed with HP new servers, Proliant ML350p Gen8 or DL380 Gen8 and their hardware so not to have any surprise when deploying the whole thing.
new hardware comes out every 3 months more or less so i cant always find licterature about compatibility issues.
other than that i need also to know if the hardware of the selected server will support the VM the customer needs and if the backup system is compatybible with Proxmox VE 2.2 (suggestions about backup softwares well accepted).
so let's go. here you are the hardware list.
2 Hp servers built like below: (PN included for reference, link to hp sites)
so a 112GB ram Server, 2 8-cores cpu, raid 1 15krpm hard disk rfor the host to run proxmox, dual power supply 4+4 gigabit eth port to dedicate to the VM
the questions are:
- will SmartArray P420i controller work with Proxmox 2.2 without any flaws?
- will Hp 331T eth controller (Broadcom BCM5719 chipset, both for internal eth and for the pci-ex card) work with Proxmox 2.2 without any flaws?
SAN Area and HBAs, FC Switch
1 adapters for every server, 2 8Gbs port
the SAN sports 2 FC controllers (plus iscsi eth ports but wont be used), both controller has two 8Gbs ports (and dual power suply too)
the questions are:
- HP StorageWorks 82Q HBAs (Qlogic QLE2562 chipset) is 100% Proxmox 2.2 compatible?
- HP P2000 is a well know SAN, any other suggestions of other HP products?
- can 8Gbs ports be aggregated so to obtain a 16gbs trunk towards the SAN?
| AM868B |
HP 8/24 Base (16) Full Fabric Ports Enabled SAN Switch - Switch - 16 x 8Gb Fibre Channel SFP+ |
1 |
http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/sanswitch824/specs.html |
| AJ716A |
HP 8Gb Shortwave B-series FC SFP+ 1 Pack |
9 |
http://h30094.www3.hp.com/product/sk..._partno/AJ716B |
these is a FC switch we plan to add if we will use a FC tape library (16 port enabled, 4 used to link server, 4 to link san, 1 to link the tape lubrary with the all needed sfp and cables
the questions are:
- if we dont add FC tape library, is it correct to state that NO FC switch is needed? i just link the FC HBAs to the FC controller in the SAN with 4 cables and everything will work?
- will the switch need some software to work with the SAN, or proxmox? i mean is it just a plug and work device as a eth card or need to be installaled? (sorry if this is a dumb question)
the Backup:
two different system:
an external sas tape with a controller installed in both the server and FC tape libraries (one with 8 1.5TB tape, one with 24)
the questions are:
- if we use SAS tape directly attached to the server, will the Smartarray P212 work with proxmox?
- if we will use FC tape libraries, will they work with proxmox?
- is it correct to make snapshots of the VM in the SAN and then move them to tape?
- has proxmox a built in software to do this or we should use a third party one? (bacula has been suggested to us)
more or less this is all i need to know about hardware.. :)
about VMs, we want to use
1 Windows Server 2012 Domain controller with file server task for 20 local user (16GB or 32GB ram allocated)
1 Windows Server 2012 with Windows Remote Desktop Services for 10 remote users (16GB ram allocated)
1 Windows Server 2012 with Exchange 2013 for 20 local users and 40 accessing trough webmail, notebook, tablet or smarthphone (16GB or 32GB ram allocated)
2 Windows Server 2012 with SQL management software for 20 local user and 10 on the terminal server (8GB ram allocated for each of them)
1 debian server with an asterisk server for backup purposes to a physical one (2GB ram allocated)
the last questions are:
- will the cpu support this load?
- will i be able so use both nodes to share work load and if one fails to pass all the load to the working one? (HA concept obvioulsy)
ok, that's all.
i know it's a long post and there are a lot of questions but we would really like to improve our skills in proxmox and proxmox hardware design instead of always using vsphere. we really like the proxmox concept and if the project will be accepted by our customers (2 of them interested) we will buy the proxmox support so to support the authours of this wonderful piece of software and to have all the security and warranties needed in a project like this.
i hope my english is quite readable (anyway we are italian so if yuo want to respond in our native language .. :)
thanks in advance to everyone who will read and comment this post.
Francesco Simonetto
francesco@moltiplika.com
Moltiplika s.r.l.