--- /dev/null
+Host System Administration
+==========================
+
+{pve} is based on the famous https://www.debian.org/[Debian] Linux
+distribution. That means that you have access to the whole world of
+Debian packages, and the base system is well documented. The
+https://debian-handbook.info/download/stable/debian-handbook.pdf[Debian
+Administrator\'s Handbook] is available online, and provide a
+comprehensive introduction to the Debian operating system (see
+xref:Hertzog13[]).
+
+A standard {pve} installation uses the default repositories from
+Debian, so you get bug fixes and security updates through that
+channel. In addition, we provide our own package repository to roll
+out all {pve} related packages. This includes updates to some
+Debian packages when necessary.
+
+We also deliver a specially optimized Linux kernel, where we enable all
+required virtualization and container features. That kernel includes
+drivers for http://zfsonlinux.org/[ZFS], and several hardware drivers.
+For example, we ship Intel network card drivers to support their
+newest hardware.
+
+The following sections will concentrate on virtualization related
+topics. They either explains things which are different on {pve}, or
+tasks which are commonly used on {pve}. For other topics, please refer
+to the standard Debian documentation.
+
+System requirements
+-------------------
+
+For production servers, high quality server equipment is needed. Keep
+in mind, if you run 10 Virtual Servers on one machine and you then
+experience a hardware failure, 10 services are lost. {pve}
+supports clustering, this means that multiple {pve} installations
+can be centrally managed thanks to the included cluster functionality.
+
+{pve} can use local storage (DAS), SAN, NAS and also distributed
+storage (Ceph RBD). For details see xref:chapter-storage[chapter storage].
+
+Minimum requirements, for evaluation
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+* CPU: 64bit (Intel EMT64 or AMD64)
+
+* RAM: 1 GB RAM
+
+* Hard drive
+
+* One NIC
+
+Recommended system requirements
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+* CPU: 64bit (Intel EMT64 or AMD64), Multi core CPU recommended
+
+* RAM: 8 GB is good, more is better
+
+* Hardware RAID with batteries protected write cache (BBU) or flash
+ based protection
+
+* Fast hard drives, best results with 15k rpm SAS, Raid10
+
+* At least two NIC´s, depending on the used storage technology you need more
+
+
+Getting Help
+------------
+
+There are basically two different support channels. {pve} itself if
+fully open source, so we always encourage our users to discuss and
+share their knowledge using the http://forum.proxmox.com/[Community
+Support Forum]. The forum is fully moderated by the Proxmox support
+team. Up to now, the forum has about 25.000 members, and more than
+120.000 messages. Needless to say that such a large forum is a great
+place to get information.
+
+The second channel is the commercial support provided by
+{proxmoxGmbh}. {pve} server subscriptions can be ordered online, see
+http://shop.maurer-it.com[{pve} Shop]. For all details see
+http://www.proxmox.com/proxmox-ve/pricing[{pve} Subscription Service
+Plans].
+
+Please contact the mailto:office@proxmox.com[Proxmox sales team] for
+commercial support requests or volume discounts.
+
+Package Repositories
+--------------------
+
+All Debian based systems use
+http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Packaging_Tool[APT] as package
+management tool. The list of repositories is defined in
+'/etc/apt/sources.list' and '.list' files found inside
+'/etc/apt/sources.d/'. Updates can be installed directly using
+'apt-get', or via the GUI.
+
+Apt 'sources.list' files lists one package repository per line, with
+the most preferred source listed first. Empty lines are ignored, and a
+'#' character anywhere on a line marks the remainder of that line as a
+comment. The information available from the configured sources is
+acquired by 'apt-get update'.
+
+.File '/etc/apt/sources.list'
+----
+deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian jessie main contrib
+
+# security updates
+deb http://security.debian.org jessie/updates main contrib
+----
+
+In addition, {pve} provides three different package repositories.
+
+{pve} Enterprise Repository
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+This is the default, stable and recommended repository, available for
+all {pve} subscription users. It contains the most stable packages,
+and is suitable for production use. You need a valid subscription key
+to access this repository. The `pve-enterprise` repository is enabled
+by default:
+
+.File '/etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list'
+----
+deb https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian jessie pve-enterprise
+----
+
+NOTE: You can disable this repository by commenting out the above line
+using a '#' (at the start of the line). This prevents error messages
+if you do not have a subscription key. Please configure the
+`pve-no-subscription` repository in that case.
+
+As soon as updates are available, the `root@pam` user is notified via
+email about the available new packages. On the GUI, the change-log of
+each package can be viewed (if available), showing all details of the
+update. So you will never miss important security fixes.
+
+{pve} No-Subscription Repository
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+As the name suggests, you do not need a subscription key to access
+this repository. It can be used for testing and non-production
+use. Its not recommended to run on production servers, as these
+packages are not always heavily tested and validated.
+
+We recommend to configure this repository in '/etc/apt/sources.list'.
+
+.File '/etc/apt/sources.list'
+----
+deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian jessie main contrib
+
+# PVE pve-no-subscription repository provided by proxmox.com,
+# NOT recommended for production use
+deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian jessie pve-no-subscription
+
+# security updates
+deb http://security.debian.org jessie/updates main contrib
+----
+
+
+{pve} Test Repository
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Finally, there is a repository called `pvetest`. This one contains the
+latest packages and is heavily used by developers to test new
+features. As usual, you can configure this using
+'/etc/apt/sources.list' by adding the following line:
+
+.sources.list entry for `pvetest`
+----
+deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian jessie pvetest
+----
+
+
+Installing {pve}
+----------------
+
+{pve} ships as a set of Debian packages, so you can simply install it
+on top of a normal Debian installation. After configuring the
+repositories, you need to run:
+
+[source,bash]
+----
+apt-get update
+apt-get install proxmox-ve
+----
+
+While this looks easy, it presumes that you have correctly installed
+the base system, and you know how you want to configure and use the
+local storage. Network configuration is also completely up to you.
+
+In general, this is not trivial, especially when you use LVM or
+ZFS. This is why we provide an installation CDROM for {pve}. That
+installer just ask you a few questions, then partitions the local
+disk(s), installs all required packages, and configures the system
+including a basic network setup. You can get a fully functional system
+within a few minutes, including the following:
+
+* Complete operating system (Debian Linux, 64-bit)
+* Partition the hard drive with ext4 (alternative ext3 or xfs) or ZFS
+* {pve} Kernel with LXC and KVM support
+* Complete toolset
+* Web based management interface
+
+NOTE: By default, the complete server is used and all existing data is
+removed.
+
+Further configuration is done via the Proxmox web interface. Just
+point your browser to the IP address given during installation
+(https://youripaddress:8006). Proxmox VE is tested for IE9, Firefox 10
+and higher, Google Chrome (latest).
+
+
+Network Configuration
+---------------------
+
+Basic network setup.
+
+image::images/cluster-nwdiag.svg[{pve} Cluster Network]
+
+image::images/node-nwdiag.svg[{pve} Default Network Setup]
+
+
+Local Storage
+-------------
+
+Logical Volume Manager (LVM)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+TODO: info abou LVM.
+
+
+ZFS on Linux
+~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+TODO: info abou ZFS.
+
+
+Working with 'systemd'
+----------------------
+
+Journal and syslog
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+TODO: explain persistent journal...
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
projects / pve-docs.git / commitdiff