Book Image

Mastering Proxmox - Second Edition

By : Wasim Ahmed
Book Image

Mastering Proxmox - Second Edition

By: Wasim Ahmed

Overview of this book

Proxmox is an open source server virtualization solution that has enterprise-class features to manage virtual machines, to be used for storage, and to virtualize both Linux and Windows application workloads. You begin with refresher on the advanced installation features and the Proxmox GUI to familiarize yourself with the Proxmox VE hypervisor. You then move on to explore Proxmox under the hood, focusing on the storage systems used with Proxmox. Moving on, you will learn to manage KVM Virtual Machines and Linux Containers and see how networking is handled in Proxmox. You will then learn how to protect a cluster or a VM with a firewall and explore the new HA features introduced in Proxmox VE 4 along with the brand new HA simulator. Next, you will dive deeper into the backup/restore strategy followed by learning how to properly update and upgrade a Proxmox node. Later, you will learn how to monitor a Proxmox cluster and all of its components using Zabbix. By the end of the book, you will become an expert at making Proxmox environments work in production environments with minimum downtime.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
Mastering Proxmox - Second Edition
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

A virtual disk image


A virtual disk image is a file or group of files where a virtual machine stores its data. In Proxmox, a VM configuration file can be recreated and used to attach a disk image. But if the image itself is lost, it can only be restored from a backup. There are different types of virtual disk image formats available to be used with a virtual machine. It is essential to know the different types of image formats in order to have an optimal performing VM. Knowing the disk images also helps to prevent premature shortage of space by over provisioning virtual disks.

Supported image formats

Proxmox supports the .raw, .qcow2, and .vmdk virtual disk formats. Each format has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. The image format is usually chosen based on the function of the virtual machine, storage system in use, performance requirement, and available budget. The following screenshot shows the menu where we can choose an image type during a virtual disk creation through the GUI...