The Proxmox Virtual Environment is a complete open-source platform for enterprise virtualization. Using the built-in web interface, you can manage VMs, containers, software-defined storage, networking, high-availability clustering, and multiple included tools using a single solution.
This guide is intended for the IT administrator or person responsible for installing the Nasuni Edge Appliance (NEA) or the Nasuni Management Console (NMC) on the Proxmox platform.
Warning: DO NOT attempt to restore from a virtual machine snapshot or backup. Attempting to restore from a virtual machine snapshot or backup puts the Edge Appliance in an unknown state in relation to the Nasuni Orchestration Center (NOC), and requires a disaster recovery process to recover. This might result in data loss.
Installing the NEA on the Proxmox platform
This section describes how to install the Nasuni Edge Appliance on Proxmox.
Warning: Virtual machine snapshots are not supported. Do not attempt to restore from a virtual machine snapshot or backup. Attempting to restore from a virtual machine snapshot or backup puts the Appliance in an unknown state in relation to the Nasuni Orchestration Center (NOC) and requires a recovery process. This might result in data loss.
Important: Edge Appliances must be configured with operational DNS servers and a time server (internal or external) within your environment. The Edge Appliance is configured with a default time server (time.nasuni.com). If you need to use a different time server, the procedure to change the default time server is documented in the Nasuni Edge Appliance Time Configuration section of the Nasuni Edge Administration guide.
Important: When using virtual machine Appliances, Nasuni recommends running under a hypervisor supported by its vendor. If a customer runs an Appliance on an unsupported hypervisor version, a warning is logged at boot time.
Tip: This document describes how to deploy a virtual machine. It does not cover configuring a storage account for use with Nasuni volumes.
Day 1 Edge Appliance Installation Checklist
To complete a day 1 Edge Appliance installation, follow this checklist:
Step | Action |
1 | Complete 1. Before you Begin section in this document. Your account manager can assist you with this item. |
2 | Complete 2. Installing the Edge Appliance section in this document. |
1. Before you Begin
The following items should be ready to help you navigate the Edge Appliance installation and setup process. It is recommended that you complete these requirements before starting or have a way to fulfill them during the installation process.
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Contact Nasuni | Contact your Account Manager to configure your Edge Appliance account. |
Proxmox server | You should have already installed the Proxmox server in your environment. |
Proxmox server IP address | Obtain the IP address for the Proxmox server. |
Proxmox storage pool | Configure the Proxmox storage pool to store the Nasuni Edge appliance software image. For optimal NEA performance, use thick-provisioned storage (standard LVM or ZFS with |
NMC Login | Authentication and Authorization to your organization’s Nasuni Management Console to configure the Edge Appliance for your environment. |
Portal Login | Authentication and authorization to your organization’s Portal account to retrieve your Edge Appliance Serial Number and Authorization Code, and to configure the Edge Appliance. |
Serial Number and Auth Code | The Edge Appliance Serial Number is in your Portal account. It is paired with an Authorization Code (Auth Code) in a table at the bottom of the page. |
Username and Password | The first boot setup of the Edge Appliance requires a new username and password. These values are specific to the Edge Appliance only. |
Hostname | When you go through the first boot wizard for the Edge Appliance, you must provide a hostname for the machine. Note: Host names longer than 15 characters cannot be added to Active Directory services. |
Network Details | When going through the first boot wizard for the Edge Appliance, provide the machine's network details. If you have a proxy in front of your Edge Appliance, also provide those details. |
AD Credentials | The following information might be necessary:
|
2. Installing the Edge Appliance
To complete the installation of the Edge Appliance, follow these steps:
Download the Nasuni Edge Appliance software from the Nasuni Portal.
Store the extracted VM archive on the SMB server for importing.
Install the Edge Appliance using Proxmox.
Configure the virtual machine.
2.1. Downloading the Edge Appliance software
The Edge Appliance can run as a virtual appliance on your network and is distributed as a downloadable image. To access the download page, register for a user account and password on the Nasuni website.
To download the Edge Appliance software from the Nasuni website:
Log in to portal.nasuni.com.
From the Overview tab, click Downloads.
Scroll down to the Edge Appliance section and click Download Generic VM Format.
A dropdown list with the available Edge Appliance versions for generic KVM formats appears.From the dropdown list, select an available release for Edge Appliance.
Save the Edge Appliance software file to a location on your local drive.
Note: The time required to download the Edge Appliance software file depends on your internet connection.
2.2. Installing the Edge Appliance on Proxmox
You can install the Edge Appliance on Proxmox in either of two different ways:
2.2.2 2.2.1 Installing the Edge Appliance using the Proxmox CLI
2.2.2 Installing the Edge Appliance using the Proxmox GUI
2.2.1 Installing the Edge Appliance using the Proxmox CLI
You can install the Edge Appliance on Proxmox using the Proxmox command line interface.
Important: Edge Appliances and the NMC must be configured with operational DNS servers and a time server (internal or external) within your environment.
Important: To access Active Directory-enabled volumes, the Edge Appliance must access the same Active Directory domains as the other Nasuni Edge Appliances connected to the volume. This requires access to the Active Directory Domain Controller or the necessary network connectivity.
Important: To access LDAP-enabled volumes, the Edge Appliance must be able to access LDAP and Kerberos in the same LDAP domain. You cannot enable Active Directory and LDAP Directory Services for an Edge Appliance.
To install the Edge Appliance on Proxmox using the Proxmox CLI, follow these steps:
Upload the Edge Appliance software file (Download the Edge Appliance software) to the Proxmox server IP address (obtained in step 1. Before you Begin), using this command:
scp <PathToSoftwareFile> <username>@<ProxmoxIPaddress>:/var/lib/vz/images
Access the Proxmox host via SSH or launch Shell from the Proxmox Web Console.
Create the virtual machine by running this command, either using SSH or the Shell:
qm create <vm_id> --name <vm_name> --memory <memory_size_in_MB>
--cores <num_cores> --sockets <num_sockets> --bios ovmf
--machine q35 --cpu x86-64-v2-AES
--scsihw virtio-scsi-pci
--net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0,firewall=1
where
<vm_id>: A unique identifier for the VM within Proxmox. This number (such as 100 or 101) is used to reference the VM in future commands.
<vm_name>: Name of the VM. This is a user-friendly identifier for easier management and recognition in the Proxmox GUI.
<memory_size_in_MB>: Amount of RAM for the VM, specified in megabytes (MB).
<num_cores>: Number of cores for the VM.
<num_sockets>: Number of sockets for the VM (usually 1).
ovmf: Specifies that the VM should use UEFI firmware, which is required for modern OSes and for enabling UEFI boot. OVMF is the UEFI implementation used in KVM. Do not select SeaBIOS, because it does not support UEFI.
q35: The q35 machine type is a modern PCI Express chipset model, which provides better hardware compatibility and support for newer features like PCI passthrough and UEFI boot.
cpu: Use the host CPU type to maximize performance by exposing all host CPU features to the VM. This allows the VM to utilize all optimizations available on your processor.
virtio-scsi-single: Use for the SCSI controller. Virtio-scsi-single is optimized for better performance with multiple disks.
virtio: Using virtio as the network adapter along with the default settings provided by Proxmox.
Example command:
qm create 100 --name Nea1 --memory 16384 --cores 8
--sockets 1 --bios ovmf --machine q35
--cpu host --scsihw virtio-scsi-single
--net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0,firewall=1
Import the OS disk you uploaded in step 1, using this command:
qm importdisk <vm_id> /var/lib/vz/images/<qcow2> <storagePool>
where
<vm_id> is the VM identifier defined above.
<qcow2> in the NEA software file you uploaded.
<storagePool> is the Proxmox storage pool configured in step 1. Before you Begin. For optimal NEA performance, use thick-provisioned storage (standard LVM or ZFS with sparse=0), rather than thin-provisioned storage. The syntax in this guide assumes you are using a standard LVM storage pool.
The importdisk command displays the import progress. The final line gives the imported disk name, such as the following:
unused0: successfully imported disk 'nvme-storage:vm-100-disk-0'
Note the imported disk name for the next step.
Attach the OS disk, using this command:
qm set <vm_id> --scsi0 <storagePool>:vm-<vm_id>-disk-0,iothread=1,backup=0
where
<vm_id> is the VM identifier defined above.
<storagePool> is the Proxmox storage pool configured in step 1. Before you Begin,
vm-<vm_id>-disk-0 is the imported disk name from the step above.
iothread=1 enables a unique IO thread per disk for better performance.
backup=0 excludes the disk from VM backups. Use the Disaster Recovery process to restore VMs. Nasuni does not support appliance recovery using VM backups.
Example command:
qm set 100 --scsi0 nvme-storage:vm-200-disk-0,iothread=1,backup=0
Add the cache disk, using this command:
qm set <vm_id> --scsi1 <storagePool>:<cacheDiskSizeInGB>,iothread=1,backup=0
where
<vm_id> is the VM identifier defined above.
<storagePool> is the Proxmox storage pool configured in step 1. Before you Begin,
<cacheDiskSizeInGB> is the disk size in GB.
iothread=1 enables a unique IO thread per disk for better performance.
backup=0 excludes the disk from VM backups. Use the Disaster Recovery process to restore VMs. Nasuni does not support appliance recovery using VM backups.
Example command:
qm set 100 --scsi1 nvme-storage:250,iothread=1,backup=0
Add the COW disk, using this command:
qm set <vm_id> --scsi2 <storagePool>:<CowDiskSizeInGB>,iothread=1,backup=0
where
<vm_id> is the VM identifier defined above.
<storagePool> is the Proxmox storage pool configured in step 1. Before you Begin,
<CowDiskSizeInGB> is the disk size in GB.
iothread=1 enables a unique IO thread per disk for better performance.
backup=0 excludes the disk from VM backups. Use the Disaster Recovery process to restore VMs. Nasuni does not support appliance recovery using VM backups.
Example command:
qm set 100 --scsi2 nvme-storage:50,iothread=1,backup=0
Configure EFI settings storage, which is required to store UEFI settings such as the boot disk selection, using this command:
qm set <vm_id> --efidisk0 <storagePool>:1,format=raw,efitype=4m
where
<vm_id> is the VM identifier defined above.
<storagePool> is the Proxmox storage pool configured in step 1. Before you Begin,
Example command:
qm set 100 --efidisk0 nvme-storage:1,format=raw,efitype=4m
Set the OS Disk as the boot device, using this command:
qm set <vm_id> --boot order=scsi0
where
<vm_id> is the VM identifier defined above.
Example command:
qm set 100 --boot order=scsi0
Start the VM, using this command:
qm start <vm_id>
where
<vm_id> is the VM identifier defined above.
Example command:
qm start 100
The NEA is now installed on Proxmox and ready to use.
2.2.2 Installing the Edge Appliance using the Proxmox GUI
Note: The GUI configuration procedure requires CLI commands, as shown above.
Important: To begin the GUI procedure, create a VM in the Proxmox GUI. Note that Proxmox does not support creating VMs directly from disk images, so you must first create an OS disk in the GUI, then remove and replace it in later steps.
To install the Edge Appliance on Proxmox using the Proxmox GUI, follow these steps:
Log in to the Proxmox GUI. The Proxmox GUI runs on port 8006.
Click Create VM to start creating a virtual machine.
Note: Clicking Create CT creates a container, which Nasuni does not support.
The Create Virtual Machine dialog box appears.
On the General tab, enter the following information:
VM ID: A unique Numerical Identifier for your VM. This is used in later commands. The default is 100.
Name: A display name for your VM.
Click the OS tab.
Specify the following:
a. Select Do not use any media.
b. Guest OS: specify Linux and e.
Click the System tab.
Specify the following:
Graphic card: Default.
Machine: q35.
BIOS: OVMF (UEFI). Do not select SeaBIOS since it does not support UEFI.
Add EFI Disk: Select.
EFI storage: Your configured storage pool. Or local-lvm if it is the only configured storage.
Pre-Enroll keys: Deselect. (Default is selected.) Leaving this selected would break UEFI boot.
SCSI Controller: Select VirtIO SCSI Single.
Qemu Agent: Deselect.
Add TPM: Deselect.
Click the Disks tab.
Delete the scsi0 disk before clicking Next to proceed. We add disks after VM creation.
Click the CPU tab.
Specify the following:
Sockets: 1 (typically).
Cores: Specify the number of Cores.
Type: host.
Click the Memory tab.
Specify the following:
Memory: Specify Memory in MiB.
Click the Network tab.
Specify the following:
Model: VirtIO (paravirtualized).
All other settings: leave as default.
Click the Confirm tab.
Confirm all selections, then click Finish to create the VM.
Refer to the CLI procedure above and do the following steps:
Step 1: Upload the boot disk image to the Proxmox server.
Step 2: Connect to the Proxmox Shell using the Web UI or SSH.
Skip Step 3: You already created the VM.
Steps 4-8: Add the OS Disk, attach it, and add the Cache and COW disks.
Step 9-11: Make the OS disk bootable.
Step 12: Start the VM.
The NEA is now installed on Proxmox and ready to use.
Installing the NMC on the Proxmox platform
This section describes how to install the NMC on Proxmox.
Warning: Virtual machine snapshots are not supported. Do not attempt to restore from a virtual machine snapshot or backup.
Important: The NMC must be configured with operational DNS servers and a time server (internal or external) within your environment. The NMC is configured with a default time server (time.nasuni.com). If you need to use a different time server, the procedure to change the default time server is documented in the Time Configuration section of the NMC Guide.
Important: When using a virtual machine NMC, Nasuni recommends running under a hypervisor supported by its vendor. If a customer runs an NMC on an unsupported hypervisor version, a warning is logged at boot time.
Tip: This document describes how to deploy a virtual machine. It does not cover configuring a storage account for use with Nasuni volumes.
Day 1 NMC Installation Checklist
To complete a day 1 NMC installation, follow this checklist:
Step | Action |
|---|---|
1 | Complete 1. Before you Begin section in this document. Your account manager can assist you with this item. |
2 | Complete 2. Installing the NMC section in this document. |
1. Before you Begin
The following items should be ready to help you navigate the NMC installation and setup process. It is recommended that you complete these requirements before starting or have a way to fulfill them during the installation process.
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Contact Nasuni | Contact your Account Manager to configure your account. |
Proxmox server | You should have already installed the Proxmox server in your environment. |
Proxmox server IP address | Obtain the IP address for the Proxmox server. |
Proxmox storage pool | Configure the Proxmox storage pool to store the NMC software image. For optimal performance, use thick-provisioned storage (standard LVM or ZFS with |
Portal Login | Authentication and authorization to your organization’s Portal account to retrieve your NMC Serial Number and Authorization Code, and to configure the NMC. |
Serial Number and Auth Code | The NMC Serial Number is in your Portal account. It is paired with an Authorization Code (Auth Code) in a table at the bottom of the page. |
Username and Password | The first boot setup of the NMC requires a new username and password. These values are specific to the NMC only. |
Network Details | When going through the first boot wizard for the NMC, provide the machine's network details. If you have a proxy in front of your NMC, also provide those details. |
AD Credentials | The following information might be necessary:
|
2. Installing the NMC
To complete the installation of the NMC, follow these steps:
Download the NMC software from the Nasuni Portal.
Store the extracted VM archive on the SMB server for importing.
Install the NMC using Proxmox.
Configure the virtual machine.
2.1. Downloading the NMC software
The NMC can run as a virtual appliance on your network and is distributed as a downloadable image. To access the download page, register for a user account and password on the Nasuni website.
To download the NMC software from the Nasuni website:
Log in to portal.nasuni.com.
From the Overview tab, click Downloads.
Scroll down to the NMC section and click Download Generic VM Format.
A dropdown list with the available NMC versions for generic KVM formats appears.From the dropdown list, select an available release for NMC.
Save the NMC software file to a location on your local drive.
Note: The time required to download the NMC software file depends on your internet connection.
2.2. Installing the NMC on Proxmox
You can install the NMC on Proxmox in either of two different ways:
2.2.1 Installing the NMC using the Proxmox CLI
2.2.2 Installing the NMC using the Proxmox GUI
2.2.1 Installing the NMC using the Proxmox CLI
You can install the NMC on Proxmox using the Proxmox command line interface.
Important: The NMC must be configured with operational DNS servers and a time server (internal or external) within your environment.
To install the NMC on Proxmox using the Proxmox CLI, follow these steps:
Upload the NMC software file to the Proxmox server IP address (obtained in step 1. Before you Begin), using this command:
scp <PathToSoftwareFile> <username>@<ProxmoxIPaddress>:/var/lib/vz/images
Access the Proxmox host via SSH or launch Shell from the Proxmox Web Console.
Create the virtual machine by running this command, either using SSH or the Shell:
qm create <vm_id> --name <vm_name> --memory <memory_size_in_MB>
--cores <num_cores> --sockets <num_sockets> --bios ovmf
--machine q35 --cpu x86-64-v2-AES
--scsihw virtio-scsi-pci
--net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0,firewall=1
where
<vm_id>: A unique identifier for the VM within Proxmox. This number (such as 100 or 101) is used to reference the VM in future commands.
<vm_name>: Name of the VM. This is a user-friendly identifier for easier management and recognition in the Proxmox GUI.
<memory_size_in_MB>: Amount of RAM for the VM, specified in megabytes (MB).
<num_cores>: Number of cores for the VM.
<num_sockets>: Number of sockets for the VM (usually 1).
ovmf: Specifies that the VM should use UEFI firmware, which is required for modern OSes and for enabling UEFI boot. OVMF is the UEFI implementation used in KVM. Do not select SeaBIOS, because it does not support UEFI.
q35: The q35 machine type is a modern PCI Express chipset model, which provides better hardware compatibility and support for newer features like PCI passthrough and UEFI boot.
cpu: Use the host CPU type to maximize performance by exposing all host CPU features to the VM. This allows the VM to utilize all optimizations available on your processor.
virtio-scsi-single: Use for the SCSI controller. Virtio-scsi-single is optimized for better performance with multiple disks.
virtio: Using virtio as the network adapter along with the default settings provided by Proxmox.
Example command:
qm create 100 --name NMC1 --memory 16384 --cores 8
--sockets 1 --bios ovmf --machine q35
--cpu host --scsihw virtio-scsi-single
--net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0,firewall=1
Import the OS disk you uploaded in step 1, using this command:
qm importdisk <vm_id> /var/lib/vz/images/<qcow2> <storagePool>
where
<vm_id> is the VM identifier defined above.
<qcow2> in the NMC software file you uploaded.
<storagePool> is the Proxmox storage pool configured in step 1. Before you Begin. For optimal performance, use thick-provisioned storage (standard LVM or ZFS with sparse=0), rather than thin-provisioned storage. The syntax in this guide assumes you are using a standard LVM storage pool.
The importdisk command displays the import progress. The final line gives the imported disk name, such as the following:
unused0: successfully imported disk 'nvme-storage:vm-100-disk-0'
Note the imported disk name for the next step.
Attach the OS disk, using this command:
qm set <vm_id> --scsi0 <storagePool>:vm-<vm_id>-disk-0,iothread=1,backup=0
where
<vm_id> is the VM identifier defined above.
<storagePool> is the Proxmox storage pool configured in step 1. Before you Begin,
vm-<vm_id>-disk-0 is the imported disk name from the step above.
iothread=1 enables a unique IO thread per disk for better performance.
backup=0 excludes the disk from VM backups. Use the Disaster Recovery process to restore VMs. Nasuni does not support appliance recovery using VM backups.
Example command:
qm set 100 --scsi0 nvme-storage:vm-200-disk-0,iothread=1,backup=0
Configure EFI settings storage, which is required to store UEFI settings such as the boot disk selection, using this command:
qm set <vm_id> --efidisk0 <storagePool>:1,format=raw,efitype=4m
where
<vm_id> is the VM identifier defined above.
<storagePool> is the Proxmox storage pool configured in step 1. Before you Begin,
Example command:
qm set 100 --efidisk0 nvme-storage:1,format=raw,efitype=4m
Set the OS Disk as the boot device, using this command:
qm set <vm_id> --boot order=scsi0
where
<vm_id> is the VM identifier defined above.
Example command:
qm set 100 --boot order=scsi0
Start the VM, using this command:
qm start <vm_id>
where
<vm_id> is the VM identifier defined above.
Example command:
qm start 100
The NMC is now installed on Proxmox and ready to use.
2.2.2 Installing the NMC using the Proxmox GUI
Note: The GUI configuration procedure requires CLI commands, as shown above.
Important: To begin the GUI procedure, create a VM in the Proxmox GUI. Note that Proxmox does not support creating VMs directly from disk images, so you must first create an OS disk in the GUI, then remove and replace it in later steps.
To install the NMC on Proxmox using the Proxmox GUI, follow these steps:
Log in to the Proxmox GUI. The Proxmox GUI runs on port 8006.
Click Create VM to start creating a virtual machine.
Note: Clicking Create CT creates a container, which Nasuni does not support.
The Create Virtual Machine dialog box appears.
On the General tab, enter the following information:
VM ID: A unique Numerical Identifier for your VM. This is used in later commands. The default is 100.
Name: A display name for your VM.
Click the OS tab.
Specify the following:
a. Select Do not use any media.
b. Guest OS: specify Linux and e.
Click the System tab.
Specify the following:
Graphic card: Default.
Machine: q35.
BIOS: OVMF (UEFI). Do not select SeaBIOS since it does not support UEFI.
Add EFI Disk: Select.
EFI storage: Your configured storage pool. Or local-lvm if it is the only configured storage.
Pre-Enroll keys: Deselect. (Default is selected.) Leaving this selected would break UEFI boot.
SCSI Controller: Select VirtIO SCSI Single.
Qemu Agent: Deselect.
Add TPM: Deselect.
Click the Disks tab.
Delete the scsi0 disk before clicking Next to proceed. We add disks after VM creation.
Click the CPU tab.
Specify the following:
Sockets: 1 (typically).
Cores: Specify the number of Cores.
Type: host.
Click the Memory tab.
Specify the following:
Memory: Specify Memory in MiB.
Click the Network tab.
Specify the following:
Model: VirtIO (paravirtualized).
All other settings: leave as default.
Click the Confirm tab.
Confirm all selections, then click Finish to create the VM.
Refer to the CLI procedure above and do the following steps:
Step 1: Upload the boot disk image to the Proxmox server.
Step 2: Connect to the Proxmox Shell using the Web UI or SSH.
Skip Step 3: You already created the VM.
Steps 4-7: Add the OS Disk, and attach it.
Step 8: Make the OS disk bootable.
Step 9: Start the VM.
The NMC is now installed on Proxmox and ready to use.