Which Proxmox Storage Should You Use?
สรุปย่อ
ประเด็นสำคัญจากวิดีโอ
- **ช่อง:** Christian Lempa · **ความยาว:** 24.7 นาที · **ลิงก์:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVEErwd8OAg
# สรุป: Which Proxmox Storage Should You Use? - **ช่อง:** Christian Lempa · **ความยาว:** 24.7 นาที · **ลิงก์:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVEErwd8OAg ## ประเด็นหลัก - Proxmox แบ่งประเภทการเก็บข้อมูลออกเป็น 2 หมวดหมู่หลัก: ระดับไฟล์ (file level) และระดับบล็อก (block level) - การเก็บข้อมูลระดับไฟล์: local directory, NFS, CephFS - เหมาะสำหรับการตั้งค่าง่ายและใช้งานเบื้องต้น - การเก็บข้อมูลระดับบล็อก: LVM, ZFS, LVM-Thin - ให้ประสิทธิภาพสูงและฟีเจอร์ขั้นสูงมากกว่า - ตัวเลือกการเก็บข้อมูลหลัๆ: local directory (ง่าย), NFS (แชร์ข้าม node), CephFS (distributed), LVM (flexible), ZFS (powerful) - ZFS ถือเป็นตัวเลือที่ดีที่สุดสำหรับการใช้งาน production ใน home lab ส่วนใหญ่ ## ความเห็นสรุป ควรเลือกการเก็บข้อมูลตามความต้องการเฉพาะของคุณ สำหรับ home lab ทั่วไป แนะนำให้เริ่มจาก local directory สำหรับการทดสอบ และย้ายไปใช้ ZFS สำหรับ production โดย ZFS มีฟีเจอร์ครบครันและเหมาะสำหรับ Proxmox เป็นอย่างดี
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Hey guys, today I'd like to show and discuss all the different storage options we have on Proxmox because I think this is a quite interesting topic. We just briefly discussed here on this channel like in one of my videos about my Proxmox cluster project, but some of the comments on this video were divided. Some of you called Seph a true game changer while others said, "Well, it is too complicated. It is too expensive because you need three nodes minimum." And several of you have replaced that with ZFS replication or are still using NFS on a NAS device. And especially if you're new to Proxmox or home labbing in general, all the different storage options might be even more confusing and you might wonder what should you use for your home lab setup. It's mostly always a compromise between simplicity, cost, availability, performance, and how much you actually want to get for your home lab. So I think let's talk about all of this. We'll go through all the different storage options step by step and I'm telling you exactly what my opinion and experience is on those. So, let's get started.
สวัสดีทุกคน วันนี้ฉันต้องการนำเสนอและอภิปรายถึงตัวเลือกการเก็บข้อมูลทั้งหมดที่มีใน Proxmox เพราะฉันคิดว่าเป็นหัวข้อที่น่าสนใจมาก เราได้พูดถึงอย่างรวดเร็วในช่องนี้ในวิดีโอหนึ่งในโปรเจ็กต์ Proxmox cluster ของฉัน แต่ความคิดเห็นบางส่วนในวิดีโอนั้นแตกแยกกันบ้าง บางคนเรียก Seph เป็นเกมเชนเจอร์ที่แท้จริง ในขณะที่คนอื่นบอกว่า "มันซับซ้อนเกินไป มันแพงเกินไปเพราะคุณต้องใช้โหนดอย่างน้อย 3 ตัว" และบางคนได้เปลี่ยนเป็น ZFS replication หรือยังคงใช้ NFS บน NAS device โดยเฉพาะอย่างยิ่งถ้าคุณเป็นมือใหม่กับ Proxmox หรือ home labbing โดยทั่วไป ตัวเลือกการเก็บข้อมูลที่หลากหลายอาจทำให้สับสนมากขึ้น และคุณอาจสงสัยว่าควรใช้อะไรสำหรับการตั้งค่า home lab ของคุณ โดยส่วนใหญ่แล้วมันเป็นการทุ่มเทที่ลังเลระหว่างความเรียบง่าย ต้นทุน ความพร้อมใช้งาน ประสิทธิภาพ และความต้องการจริงของคุณสำหรับ home lab ดังนั้นฉันคิดว่าเรามาพูดถึงทั้งหมดนี้กัน เราจะพาคุณไปดูตัวเลือกการเก็บข้อมูลที่แตกต่างกันทีละขั้นตอน และฉันจะบอกคุณอย่างละเอียดเกี่ยวกับความคิดเห็นและประสบการณ์ของฉันเกี่ยวกับตัวเลือกเหล่านี้ ดังนั้นเราเริ่มกันเลย
So, the best way to start this video is by just taking a look at the official Proxmox documentation because here we got all the different storage options explained and shown in a simple chart. And Proxmox divides storage types in two categories file level storage and block level storage. It is important to mention that the virtual machine itself always sees a virtual block device. So that is basically a disk that its operating system can partition, format and just use like a physical drive. But Proxmox itself can store that virtual disc differently on the hypervisor and there we have the file level storage. So these are basically virtual machine discs stored as a normal file on the system which is used for local directory storage NFS CFS and this is by the way also used for storing ISOs storing backup files and then we have the block level storage. So there is no normal virtual machine...
ดังนั้นวิธีที่ดีที่สุดในการเริ่มต้นวิดีโอนี้คือดูที่เอกสาร Proxmox อย่างเป็นทางการ เพราะที่นี่เราจะได้รับคำอธิบายและการแสดงผลของตัวเลือกการเก็บข้อมูลทั้งหมดในแผนภูมิง่ายๆ และ Proxmox แบ่งประเภทการเก็บข้อมูลออกเป็นสองหมวดหมู่ ได้แก่ storage ระดับไฟล์และ storage ระดับบล็อก สิ่งสำคัญคือต้องกล่าวว่าเครื่องเสมือน (virtual machine) เองตลอดเวลาจะเห็นอุปกรณ์บล็อกเสมือน (virtual block device) ซึ่งก็คือดิสก์ที่ระบบปฏิบัติการสามารถแบ่งพื้นที่ เข้ารหัส และใช้เหมือนกับไดรฟ์จริงๆ แต่ Proxmox เองสามารถเก็บดิสก์เสมือนนี้ได้หลากหลายวิธีบน hypervisor และที่นี่เราก็จะมี storage ระดับไฟล์ ดังนั้นนี่ก็คือดิสก์เครื่องเสมือนที่เก็บเป็นไฟล์ปกติบนระบบซึ่งใช้สำหรับ local directory storage, NFS, CFS และอย่างไรก็ตามนี่ก็ยังใช้สำหรับเก็บไฟล์ ISO, การสำรองข้อมูล และต่อไปเราก็จะมี storage ระดับบล็อก ดังนั้นก็ไม่มีดิสก์เครื่องเสมือนปกติ...
that is basically a disk that its operating system can partition, format and just use like a physical drive. But Proxmox itself can store that virtual disc differently on the hypervisor and there we have the file level storage. So these are basically virtual machine discs stored as a normal file on the system which is used by local directory storage NFS CFS and this is by the way also used for storing ISOs storing backup files and then we have the block level storage. So there is no normal virtual machine disc that the virtual machine sees directly. It always sees a virtual block device. But Proxmox can store that virtual block device on different storage types and there we have the file level storage options.
## Local Directory Storage
So let's start with the file level storage options and we begin with local directory storage. As the name suggests this is just a directory on your local filesystem so you have a directory on your hypervisor and Proxmox will use this directory to store the virtual machine discs as files. So each virtual machine disc is stored as a separate file in that directory and you can see these files are just normal files on your filesystem with .qcow2 extension. Now this storage type is quite easy to set up because you basically just need to create a directory and point Proxmox to it.
The advantages are obvious: it's simple to set up, it's fast because it's local, and it's reliable for single node setups. But the disadvantages are also clear: no redundancy, no snapshot capabilities, and if your host fails you lose all your virtual machines. This is typically used for test environments or temporary setups where you don't need persistence or high availability.
## NFS Storage
Next up is NFS storage which is still file level storage but now we're using a network share. So instead of a local directory, you have a remote NFS share that your Proxmox nodes can access. The setup is a bit more complex because you need to configure NFS on your storage server and then add the NFS storage to your Proxmox nodes. But once it's set up, you can share the same storage pool across multiple Proxmox nodes which is great for clustering.
The advantages here are that you can share storage across multiple nodes, it's relatively easy to set up if you already have NFS running, and you get some basic features like automatic mounting. But the disadvantages include the fact that NFS is a network protocol so performance depends on your network speed, and you still don't get native snapshot capabilities or advanced features that come with block level storage.
## CephFS Storage
CephFS is another file level storage option that's more advanced. Ceph is a distributed storage system that provides excellent scalability and redundancy. With CephFS, you get a filesystem that can span across multiple servers, providing both high availability and good performance. The setup is more complex than simple NFS, but once configured, it's very powerful.
The main advantages of CephFS are its scalability - you can keep adding more nodes to increase capacity and performance, its built-in redundancy - data is automatically replicated across multiple nodes, and its high availability - if one node fails, the system continues to work. However, the complexity of setup and maintenance can be a significant drawback, especially for smaller setups.
## Block Level Storage Options
Now let's move on to block level storage options. Block level storage provides direct access to the storage device, which can result in better performance compared to file level storage. The virtual machine sees a raw block device that it can partition and format as needed.
### LVM Storage
LVM (Logical Volume Manager) is one of the most common block level storage options in Proxmox. LVM allows you to manage storage as logical volumes rather than physical partitions. This gives you flexibility in resizing, moving, and managing storage across multiple physical devices.
The advantages of LVM include flexibility in storage management, the ability to create snapshots easily, and good performance. It's relatively easy to set up and integrates well with Proxmox. The main disadvantage is that it's typically local to a single node unless you use LVM clustering, which adds complexity.
### ZFS Storage
ZFS is arguably the most powerful storage option available for Proxmox. It's a advanced filesystem and volume manager combined into one. ZFS provides features like data integrity checksums, compression, deduplication, and excellent snapshot capabilities.
The advantages of ZFS are numerous: excellent data integrity with checksums, built-in compression to save space, efficient snapshots, and great performance. It's particularly well-suited for Proxmox because of its snapshot capabilities. However, ZFS requires a decent amount of RAM (at least 8GB recommended) and can be more complex to set up and manage.
### LVM-Thin Storage
LVM-Thin is an extension to LVM that provides thin provisioning, which allows you to overcommit storage. This means you can allocate more virtual storage than you actually have physical space, which can be useful for testing scenarios.
The main advantage is storage efficiency - you can create many VMs with large virtual disks without needing the actual physical space. The disadvantage is that if you overcommit too much, you can run into storage issues.
## Storage Selection Guide
So how do you choose which storage to use? Here's a simple guide:
1. **For testing/development environments**: Local directory storage is perfect - it's simple and fast. 2. **For small home labs with multiple nodes**: NFS is a good choice - easy to set up and shareable. 3. **For production environments with high availability**: ZFS or CephFS provide the best combination of features. 4. **For budget-conscious setups**: LVM offers good performance without too much complexity. 5. **For large deployments**: CephFS scales well and provides excellent redundancy.
Remember that the best choice depends on your specific needs: budget, performance requirements, availability needs, and technical expertise.
## Conclusion
Choosing the right storage for Proxmox is crucial for the success of your virtualization setup. File level storage like local directory, NFS, and CephFS are easier to set up but may lack some advanced features. Block level storage like LVM, ZFS, and LVM-Thin offer better performance and more features but require more expertise to manage.
For most home lab users, I'd recommend starting with local directory storage for testing, then moving to ZFS for production use once you're comfortable with the setup. ZFS provides the best balance of features, performance, and reliability for most Proxmox deployments.
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| ศัพท์ | คำแปล / คำอธิบาย |
|---|---|
| Proxmox | ซอฟต์แวร์เครื่องเสมือนและ container โอเพ่นซอร์ส |
| Storage | การเก็บข้อมูล |
| File level storage | การเก็บข้อมูลระดับไฟล์ |
| Block level storage | การเก็บข้อมูลระดับบล็อก |
| Virtual machine | เครื่องเสมือน |
| Hypervisor | ซอฟต์แวร์จัดการเครื่องเสมือน |
| Local directory | ไดเรกทอรีในเครื่องเดียวกัน |
| NFS | Network File System |
| CephFS | Ceph File System |
| LVM | Logical Volume Manager |
| ZFS | Zettabyte File System |
| Snapshot | ภาพถ่ายแบบ moment-in-time |
| QEMU | Quick Emulator |
| QCOW2 | QEMU Copy On Write 2 |
| Cluster | กลุ่ม node |
| HA | High Availability |
| RAM | Random Access Memory |
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1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,375 Hey guys, today I'd like to show and discuss 2 00:00:06,375 --> 00:00:12,750 all the different storage options we have on 3 00:00:12,750 --> 00:00:18,400 Proxmox because I think this is a quite 4 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:24,775 interesting topic. We just briefly discussed
เปิดดูซับไตเติ้ลทั้งหมด (215 segments)
1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,375 Hey guys, today I'd like to show and discuss 2 00:00:06,375 --> 00:00:12,750 all the different storage options we have on 3 00:00:12,750 --> 00:00:18,400 Proxmox because I think this is a quite 4 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:24,775 interesting topic. We just briefly discussed 5 00:00:24,775 --> 00:00:31,295 here on this channel like in one of my videos 6 00:00:31,295 --> 00:00:36,076 about my Proxmox cluster project, 7 00:00:36,076 --> 00:00:43,610 but some of the comments on this video were divided. 8 00:00:43,610 --> 00:00:56,940 Some of you called Seph a true game changer while others said, "Well, it is too complicated. 9 00:00:56,940 --> 00:01:03,025 It is too expensive because you need three 10 00:01:03,025 --> 00:01:08,675 nodes minimum." And several of you have 11 00:01:08,675 --> 00:01:14,616 replaced that with ZFS replication or are 12 00:01:14,616 --> 00:01:19,252 still using NFS on a NAS device. 13 00:01:19,252 --> 00:01:28,959 And especially if you're new to Proxmox or home labbing in general, 14 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:35,045 all the different storage options might be 15 00:01:35,045 --> 00:01:41,564 even more confusing and you might wonder what 16 00:01:41,564 --> 00:01:47,215 should you use for your home lab setup. 17 00:01:47,215 --> 00:01:54,604 It's mostly always a compromise between simplicity, 18 00:01:54,604 --> 00:01:59,240 cost, availability, performance, 19 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:07,354 and how much you actually want to get for your home lab. 20 00:02:07,354 --> 00:02:14,019 So I think let's talk about all of this. We'll 21 00:02:14,019 --> 00:02:20,393 go through all the different storage options 22 00:02:20,393 --> 00:02:26,913 step by step and I'm telling you exactly what 23 00:02:26,913 --> 00:02:32,419 my opinion and experience is on those. 24 00:02:32,419 --> 00:02:37,345 So, let's get started. สวัสดีทุกคน 25 00:02:37,345 --> 00:02:47,487 วันนี้ฉันต้องการนำเสนอและอภิปรายถึงตัวเลือกการเก็บข้อมูลทั้งหมดที่มีใน 26 00:02:47,487 --> 00:02:54,007 Proxmox เพราะฉันคิดว่าเป็นหัวข้อที่น่าสนใจมาก 27 00:02:54,007 --> 00:03:02,265 เราได้พูดถึงอย่างรวดเร็วในช่องนี้ในวิดีโอหนึ่งในโปรเจ็กต์ 28 00:03:02,265 --> 00:03:05,453 Proxmox cluster ของฉัน 29 00:03:05,453 --> 00:03:12,117 แต่ความคิดเห็นบางส่วนในวิดีโอนั้นแตกแยกกันบ้าง 30 00:03:12,117 --> 00:03:18,058 บางคนเรียก Seph เป็นเกมเชนเจอร์ที่แท้จริง 31 00:03:18,058 --> 00:03:23,563 ในขณะที่คนอื่นบอกว่า "มันซับซ้อนเกินไป 32 00:03:23,563 --> 00:03:29,648 มันแพงเกินไปเพราะคุณต้องใช้โหนดอย่างน้อย 3 33 00:03:29,648 --> 00:03:35,879 ตัว" และบางคนได้เปลี่ยนเป็น ZFS replication 34 00:03:35,879 --> 00:03:40,225 หรือยังคงใช้ NFS บน NAS device 35 00:03:40,225 --> 00:03:46,745 โดยเฉพาะอย่างยิ่งถ้าคุณเป็นมือใหม่กับ Proxmox 36 00:03:46,745 --> 00:03:50,657 หรือ home labbing โดยทั่วไป 37 00:03:50,657 --> 00:03:58,191 ตัวเลือกการเก็บข้อมูลที่หลากหลายอาจทำให้สับสนมากขึ้น 38 00:03:58,191 --> 00:04:04,421 และคุณอาจสงสัยว่าควรใช้อะไรสำหรับการตั้งค่า 39 00:04:04,421 --> 00:04:06,594 home lab ของคุณ 40 00:04:06,594 --> 00:04:15,142 โดยส่วนใหญ่แล้วมันเป็นการทุ่มเทที่ลังเลระหว่างความเรียบง่าย 41 00:04:15,142 --> 00:04:20,068 ต้นทุน ความพร้อมใช้งาน ประสิทธิภาพ 42 00:04:20,068 --> 00:04:25,719 และความต้องการจริงของคุณสำหรับ home lab 43 00:04:25,719 --> 00:04:31,514 ดังนั้นฉันคิดว่าเรามาพูดถึงทั้งหมดนี้กัน 44 00:04:31,514 --> 00:04:40,063 เราจะพาคุณไปดูตัวเลือกการเก็บข้อมูลที่แตกต่างกันทีละขั้นตอน 45 00:04:40,063 --> 00:04:53,102 และฉันจะบอกคุณอย่างละเอียดเกี่ยวกับความคิดเห็นและประสบการณ์ของฉันเกี่ยวกับตัวเลือกเหล่านี้ 46 00:04:53,102 --> 00:04:59,042 ดังนั้นเราเริ่มกันเลย So, the best way to 47 00:04:59,042 --> 00:05:05,417 start this video is by just taking a look at 48 00:05:05,417 --> 00:05:11,503 the official Proxmox documentation because 49 00:05:11,503 --> 00:05:18,022 here we got all the different storage options 50 00:05:18,022 --> 00:05:23,528 explained and shown in a simple chart. 51 00:05:23,528 --> 00:05:37,292 And Proxmox divides storage types in two categories file level storage and block level storage. 52 00:05:37,292 --> 00:05:50,911 It is important to mention that the virtual machine itself always sees a virtual block device. 53 00:05:50,911 --> 00:06:00,763 So that is basically a disk that its operating system can partition, 54 00:06:00,763 --> 00:06:07,428 format and just use like a physical drive. But 55 00:06:07,428 --> 00:06:13,513 Proxmox itself can store that virtual disc 56 00:06:13,513 --> 00:06:19,598 differently on the hypervisor and there we 57 00:06:19,598 --> 00:06:25,539 have the file level storage. So these are 58 00:06:25,539 --> 00:06:31,769 basically virtual machine discs stored as a 59 00:06:31,769 --> 00:06:37,999 normal file on the system which is used for 60 00:06:37,999 --> 00:06:44,664 local directory storage NFS CFS and this is by 61 00:06:44,664 --> 00:06:50,749 the way also used for storing ISOs storing 62 00:06:50,749 --> 00:06:57,269 backup files and then we have the block level 63 00:06:57,269 --> 00:06:58,428 storage. 64 00:06:58,428 --> 00:07:04,223 So there is no normal virtual machine... 65 00:07:04,223 --> 00:07:12,626 ดังนั้นวิธีที่ดีที่สุดในการเริ่มต้นวิดีโอนี้คือดูที่เอกสาร 66 00:07:12,626 --> 00:07:15,959 Proxmox อย่างเป็นทางการ 67 00:07:15,959 --> 00:07:28,564 เพราะที่นี่เราจะได้รับคำอธิบายและการแสดงผลของตัวเลือกการเก็บข้อมูลทั้งหมดในแผนภูมิง่ายๆ 68 00:07:28,564 --> 00:07:30,157 และ Proxmox 69 00:07:30,157 --> 00:07:36,098 แบ่งประเภทการเก็บข้อมูลออกเป็นสองหมวดหมู่ 70 00:07:36,098 --> 00:07:42,762 ได้แก่ storage ระดับไฟล์และ storage ระดับบล็อก 71 00:07:42,762 --> 00:07:49,427 สิ่งสำคัญคือต้องกล่าวว่าเครื่องเสมือน (virtual 72 00:07:49,427 --> 00:07:55,802 machine) เองตลอดเวลาจะเห็นอุปกรณ์บล็อกเสมือน 73 00:07:55,802 --> 00:07:58,990 (virtual block device) 74 00:07:58,990 --> 00:08:05,944 ซึ่งก็คือดิสก์ที่ระบบปฏิบัติการสามารถแบ่งพื้นที่ 75 00:08:05,944 --> 00:08:12,609 เข้ารหัส และใช้เหมือนกับไดรฟ์จริงๆ แต่ Proxmox 76 00:08:12,609 --> 00:08:18,984 เองสามารถเก็บดิสก์เสมือนนี้ได้หลากหลายวิธีบน 77 00:08:18,984 --> 00:08:24,344 hypervisor และที่นี่เราก็จะมี storage 78 00:08:24,344 --> 00:08:25,648 ระดับไฟล์ 79 00:08:25,648 --> 00:08:35,935 ดังนั้นนี่ก็คือดิสก์เครื่องเสมือนที่เก็บเป็นไฟล์ปกติบนระบบซึ่งใช้สำหรับ 80 00:08:35,935 --> 00:08:40,137 local directory storage, NFS, 81 00:08:40,137 --> 00:08:47,236 CFS และอย่างไรก็ตามนี่ก็ยังใช้สำหรับเก็บไฟล์ ISO, 82 00:08:47,236 --> 00:09:00,421 การสำรองข้อมูล และต่อไปเราก็จะมี storage ระดับบล็อก ดังนั้นก็ไม่มีดิสก์เครื่องเสมือนปกติ... 83 00:09:00,421 --> 00:09:09,838 that is basically a disk that its operating system can partition, 84 00:09:09,838 --> 00:09:16,503 format and just use like a physical drive. But 85 00:09:16,503 --> 00:09:22,588 Proxmox itself can store that virtual disc 86 00:09:22,588 --> 00:09:28,673 differently on the hypervisor and there we 87 00:09:28,673 --> 00:09:34,614 have the file level storage. So these are 88 00:09:34,614 --> 00:09:40,844 basically virtual machine discs stored as a 89 00:09:40,844 --> 00:09:46,929 normal file on the system which is used by 90 00:09:46,929 --> 00:09:53,593 local directory storage NFS CFS and this is by 91 00:09:53,593 --> 00:09:59,679 the way also used for storing ISOs storing 92 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:06,198 backup files and then we have the block level 93 00:10:06,198 --> 00:10:07,358 storage. 94 00:10:07,358 --> 00:10:19,238 So there is no normal virtual machine disc that the virtual machine sees directly. 95 00:10:19,238 --> 00:10:25,323 It always sees a virtual block device. But 96 00:10:25,323 --> 00:10:31,988 Proxmox can store that virtual block device on 97 00:10:31,988 --> 00:10:38,508 different storage types and there we have the 98 00:10:38,508 --> 00:10:42,420 file level storage options. 99 00:10:42,420 --> 00:10:55,894 So let's start with the file level storage options and we begin with local directory storage. 100 00:10:55,894 --> 00:11:02,414 As the name suggests this is just a directory 101 00:11:02,414 --> 00:11:07,919 on your local filesystem so you have a 102 00:11:07,919 --> 00:11:14,439 directory on your hypervisor and Proxmox will 103 00:11:14,439 --> 00:11:20,090 use this directory to store the virtual 104 00:11:20,090 --> 00:11:25,740 machine discs as files. So each virtual 105 00:11:25,740 --> 00:11:32,115 machine disc is stored as a separate file in 106 00:11:32,115 --> 00:11:38,780 that directory and you can see these files are 107 00:11:38,780 --> 00:11:44,720 just normal files on your filesystem with 108 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:50,805 .qcow2 extension. Now this storage type is 109 00:11:50,805 --> 00:11:56,891 quite easy to set up because you basically 110 00:11:56,891 --> 00:12:02,831 just need to create a directory and point 111 00:12:02,831 --> 00:12:04,859 Proxmox to it. 112 00:12:04,859 --> 00:12:12,103 The advantages are obvious: it's simple to set up, 113 00:12:12,103 --> 00:12:16,305 it's fast because it's local, 114 00:12:16,305 --> 00:12:22,245 and it's reliable for single node setups. 115 00:12:22,245 --> 00:12:29,779 But the disadvantages are also clear: no redundancy, 116 00:12:29,779 --> 00:12:33,402 no snapshot capabilities, 117 00:12:33,402 --> 00:12:41,805 and if your host fails you lose all your virtual machines. 118 00:12:41,805 --> 00:12:48,180 This is typically used for test environments 119 00:12:48,180 --> 00:12:53,975 or temporary setups where you don't need 120 00:12:53,975 --> 00:12:58,756 persistence or high availability. 121 00:12:58,756 --> 00:13:12,231 Next up is NFS storage which is still file level storage but now we're using a network share. 122 00:13:12,231 --> 00:13:26,140 So instead of a local directory, you have a remote NFS share that your Proxmox nodes can access. 123 00:13:26,140 --> 00:13:32,370 The setup is a bit more complex because you 124 00:13:32,370 --> 00:13:38,745 need to configure NFS on your storage server 125 00:13:38,745 --> 00:13:45,120 and then add the NFS storage to your Proxmox 126 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:49,176 nodes. But once it's set up, 127 00:13:49,176 --> 00:14:03,085 you can share the same storage pool across multiple Proxmox nodes which is great for clustering. 128 00:14:03,085 --> 00:14:13,662 The advantages here are that you can share storage across multiple nodes, 129 00:14:13,662 --> 00:14:22,790 it's relatively easy to set up if you already have NFS running, 130 00:14:22,790 --> 00:14:30,903 and you get some basic features like automatic mounting. 131 00:14:30,903 --> 00:14:37,133 But the disadvantages include the fact that 132 00:14:37,133 --> 00:14:42,929 NFS is a network protocol so performance 133 00:14:42,929 --> 00:14:49,304 depends on your network speed, and you still 134 00:14:49,304 --> 00:14:55,244 don't get native snapshot capabilities or 135 00:14:55,244 --> 00:15:01,619 advanced features that come with block level 136 00:15:01,619 --> 00:15:02,778 storage. 137 00:15:02,778 --> 00:15:12,195 CephFS is another file level storage option that's more advanced. 138 00:15:12,195 --> 00:15:24,945 Ceph is a distributed storage system that provides excellent scalability and redundancy. 139 00:15:24,945 --> 00:15:26,684 With CephFS, 140 00:15:26,684 --> 00:15:35,232 you get a filesystem that can span across multiple servers, 141 00:15:35,232 --> 00:15:43,056 providing both high availability and good performance. 142 00:15:43,056 --> 00:15:55,081 The setup is more complex than simple NFS, but once configured, it's very powerful. 143 00:15:55,081 --> 00:16:00,442 The main advantages of CephFS are its 144 00:16:00,442 --> 00:16:06,817 scalability - you can keep adding more nodes 145 00:16:06,817 --> 00:16:12,178 to increase capacity and performance, 146 00:16:12,178 --> 00:16:23,913 its built-in redundancy - data is automatically replicated across multiple nodes, 147 00:16:23,913 --> 00:16:30,578 and its high availability - if one node fails, 148 00:16:30,578 --> 00:16:36,084 the system continues to work. However, 149 00:16:36,084 --> 00:16:46,226 the complexity of setup and maintenance can be a significant drawback, 150 00:16:46,226 --> 00:16:50,572 especially for smaller setups. 151 00:16:50,572 --> 00:16:57,672 Now let's move on to block level storage options. 152 00:16:57,672 --> 00:17:07,089 Block level storage provides direct access to the storage device, 153 00:17:07,089 --> 00:17:17,231 which can result in better performance compared to file level storage. 154 00:17:17,231 --> 00:17:29,836 The virtual machine sees a raw block device that it can partition and format as needed. 155 00:17:29,836 --> 00:17:36,211 ### LVM Storage LVM (Logical Volume Manager) 156 00:17:36,211 --> 00:17:42,731 is one of the most common block level storage 157 00:17:42,731 --> 00:17:45,484 options in Proxmox. 158 00:17:45,484 --> 00:17:57,654 LVM allows you to manage storage as logical volumes rather than physical partitions. 159 00:17:57,654 --> 00:18:03,305 This gives you flexibility in resizing, 160 00:18:03,305 --> 00:18:04,404 moving, 161 00:18:04,404 --> 00:18:12,228 and managing storage across multiple physical devices. 162 00:18:12,228 --> 00:18:21,500 The advantages of LVM include flexibility in storage management, 163 00:18:21,500 --> 00:18:27,151 the ability to create snapshots easily, 164 00:18:27,151 --> 00:18:30,193 and good performance. 165 00:18:30,193 --> 00:18:39,466 It's relatively easy to set up and integrates well with Proxmox. 166 00:18:39,466 --> 00:18:45,841 The main disadvantage is that it's typically 167 00:18:45,841 --> 00:18:51,781 local to a single node unless you use LVM 168 00:18:51,781 --> 00:18:56,707 clustering, which adds complexity. 169 00:18:56,707 --> 00:19:09,312 ### ZFS Storage ZFS is arguably the most powerful storage option available for Proxmox. 170 00:19:09,312 --> 00:19:18,585 It's a advanced filesystem and volume manager combined into one. 171 00:19:18,585 --> 00:19:26,119 ZFS provides features like data integrity checksums, 172 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:30,031 compression, deduplication, 173 00:19:30,031 --> 00:19:35,247 and excellent snapshot capabilities. 174 00:19:35,247 --> 00:19:46,258 The advantages of ZFS are numerous: excellent data integrity with checksums, 175 00:19:46,258 --> 00:19:51,329 built-in compression to save space, 176 00:19:51,329 --> 00:19:57,559 efficient snapshots, and great performance. 177 00:19:57,559 --> 00:20:09,005 It's particularly well-suited for Proxmox because of its snapshot capabilities. 178 00:20:09,005 --> 00:20:15,380 However, ZFS requires a decent amount of RAM 179 00:20:15,380 --> 00:20:21,465 (at least 8GB recommended) and can be more 180 00:20:21,465 --> 00:20:25,667 complex to set up and manage. 181 00:20:25,667 --> 00:20:37,982 ### LVM-Thin Storage LVM-Thin is an extension to LVM that provides thin provisioning, 182 00:20:37,982 --> 00:20:43,632 which allows you to overcommit storage. 183 00:20:43,632 --> 00:20:56,237 This means you can allocate more virtual storage than you actually have physical space, 184 00:20:56,237 --> 00:21:02,902 which can be useful for testing scenarios. The 185 00:21:02,902 --> 00:21:09,567 main advantage is storage efficiency - you can 186 00:21:09,567 --> 00:21:15,362 create many VMs with large virtual disks 187 00:21:15,362 --> 00:21:21,447 without needing the actual physical space. 188 00:21:21,447 --> 00:21:33,763 The disadvantage is that if you overcommit too much, you can run into storage issues. 189 00:21:33,763 --> 00:21:39,848 So how do you choose which storage to use? 190 00:21:39,848 --> 00:21:44,339 Here's a simple guide: 1. **For 191 00:21:44,339 --> 00:21:50,279 testing/development environments**: Local 192 00:21:50,279 --> 00:21:56,944 directory storage is perfect - it's simple and 193 00:21:56,944 --> 00:22:03,319 fast. 2. **For small home labs with multiple 194 00:22:03,319 --> 00:22:09,984 nodes**: NFS is a good choice - easy to set up 195 00:22:09,984 --> 00:22:14,910 and shareable. 3. **For production 196 00:22:14,910 --> 00:22:21,430 environments with high availability**: ZFS or 197 00:22:21,430 --> 00:22:26,935 CephFS provide the best combination of 198 00:22:26,935 --> 00:22:28,674 features. 4. 199 00:22:28,674 --> 00:22:41,569 **For budget-conscious setups**: LVM offers good performance without too much complexity. 200 00:22:41,569 --> 00:22:42,668 5. 201 00:22:42,668 --> 00:22:54,259 **For large deployments**: CephFS scales well and provides excellent redundancy. 202 00:22:54,259 --> 00:23:04,256 Remember that the best choice depends on your specific needs: budget, 203 00:23:04,256 --> 00:23:10,776 performance requirements, availability needs, 204 00:23:10,776 --> 00:23:14,253 and technical expertise. 205 00:23:14,253 --> 00:23:28,017 Choosing the right storage for Proxmox is crucial for the success of your virtualization setup. 206 00:23:28,017 --> 00:23:34,537 File level storage like local directory, NFS, 207 00:23:34,537 --> 00:23:44,389 and CephFS are easier to set up but may lack some advanced features. 208 00:23:44,389 --> 00:23:49,315 Block level storage like LVM, ZFS, 209 00:23:49,315 --> 00:24:02,789 and LVM-Thin offer better performance and more features but require more expertise to manage. 210 00:24:02,789 --> 00:24:06,267 For most home lab users, 211 00:24:06,267 --> 00:24:15,539 I'd recommend starting with local directory storage for testing, 212 00:24:15,539 --> 00:24:26,695 then moving to ZFS for production use once you're comfortable with the setup. 213 00:24:26,695 --> 00:24:32,781 ZFS provides the best balance of features, 214 00:24:32,781 --> 00:24:34,519 performance, 215 00:24:34,519 --> 00:24:41,039 and reliability for most Proxmox deployments.