I this article I will explain how to setup Debian using LVM & RAID 1 (mirror). Then install Proxmox on top and setup the necessary thinpool.
NOTE: This is *NOT* a supported installation of Proxmox and as such should not be used in a production environment. It is provided as an educational material only.
First install Debian as normal, when prompted create a raid mirror and LVM volumes for the root filesystem and the swap.
A standard install + ssh server will easily fit into an 8G volume leaving about 4G free.
Once installed check for updates (apt update && apt-dist-upgrade). Check the status of the raid array using mdadm --detail /dev/md0
Ensure that mdadm reports that the array is in a clean state (I.e. healthy).
It should look something like this:
/dev/md0:
Version : 1.2
Creation Time : Mon Nov 1 14:28:10 2021
Raid Level : raid1
Array Size : 33534976 (31.98 GiB 34.34 GB)
Used Dev Size : 33534976 (31.98 GiB 34.34 GB)
Raid Devices : 2
Total Devices : 2
Persistence : Superblock is persistent
Update Time : Wed Nov 17 13:50:53 2021
State : clean
Active Devices : 2
Working Devices : 2
Failed Devices : 0
Spare Devices : 0
Consistency Policy : resync
Name : TESTPVE4:0 (local to host TESTPVE4)
UUID : da8e61c0:9bb61b6c:aea14209:b4ce52a8
Events : 1538
Number Major Minor RaidDevice State
3 8 1 0 active sync /dev/sda1
2 8 17 1 active sync /dev/sdb1
running pvs to scan your physical volumes should be similar to this:
PV VG Fmt Attr PSize PFree
/dev/md0 pve lvm2 a-- 31.98g 928.00m
Your volume groups should be similar to this:
VG #PV #LV #SN Attr VSize VFree
pve 1 4 0 wz--n- 31.98g 928.00m
And lastly your logical volume scan should look like this:
LV VG Attr LSize Pool Origin Data% Meta% Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
root pve -wi-ao---- 9.31g
swap pve -wi-ao---- 3.72g
Now that your system is running with LVM running on raid , dont forget to install the grub bootloader on the second disk of the mirrored array (/dev/sdb). Otherwise you will not be able to boot if /dev/sda fails.
grub-install /dev/sdb
This can be tested by shutting down the system and unplugging /dev/sda and booting up again. The system should (after complaining that a disk is missing) boot up normally.
NOTE: If you perform the test above wait for the array to rebuild once both drives are connected, use mdm --detail /dev/md0 to monitor the array and continue once the array is marked as clean.
If all looks well you can create the LVM thinpool for use by proxmox by running lvcreate
lvcreate -L 18G --thinpool data pve
In this example a thinpool of 18G is created named data within the pve volume group. You will need to adjust the command as appropriate for your needs.
If all goes well running lvs should show all you previous logical volumes as well as your new thin pool !
LV VG Attr LSize Pool Origin Data% Meta% Move Log Cpy%Sync Convert
data pve twi-aotz-- 18.00g 8.02 13.93
root pve -wi-ao---- 9.31g
swap pve -wi-ao---- 3.72g
Next up, install Proxmox onto your Debian installation by following the instructions contained in the Proxmox documentation.