They really should put you on the payroll…
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Add that as a single disk to the proxmox (no 2?). Then give portions of that disk out to the tertiary proxmox…
This is an interesting topic. I am now starting to consider getting my own dedicated server, install proxmox and deploy my own vms on to it. other then paying for individual cloud vps from the likes of scaleway and digital ocean
AThe only thing that ussually gives me confort in using a service like DO, it that they offer snapshots and backups.
which on my own server, not sure how complex it would be to setup those functions
Hi
If you use Proxmox, a live backup is 2 clicks via web, and completely customizeable using timer functions, all via web…
A snapshot is only one click!
It’s VERY easy!
You only need a reliable storage for those backups, like using a NAS.
My 2 cents
Andy
The NAS is where i am calculating.
If it were on premise, makes sense. in this scenraio, i am still thinking of renting a server on the internet for that purpose. (would still be more cost effective)
That being said, which would be the best way to setup the said backup?
Unless a seond server to be used for backup only is acquired… Now, what if the main server crasshes, would there be a way to restore… How?
Trivial, really, and limited only by the disk space in your storage backend. The only reason I’m still using VPS providers (for some things) is that the bandwidth to their datacenters is better than it is to my home.
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Hi Martin
Due to speed & availability issues I prefer having backups and disaster recovery as close as possible. I have to be able to restore an entire server, or even only one file even without Internet running! My clients demand this!
Even though I live in Switzerland, which runs like clockworks in most peoples minds (We do make clocks and watches among the worlds best), but even here, sometimes there’s a worm inside.
This corona year, our national telco (Swisscom) had 4 major nationwide outages, lasting from 0.5 day to 1.5 days - in the first two months!. As all VDSL runs through them, only users with Cable or Fiber from other providers had working internet. Worse was the fact that telephones weren’t working. Even emergency numbers, like the 911 call in the US (Ours is 117)… Hospitals, Police twittered out, call us using mobile!!!
Sh*t happens!
But still, I’d like to restore a file or server, that’s why I prefer local!
It’s like insurance, no one really likes to pay for insurance - but it’s often needed. But when needed, I want them to respond as quick as possible… 
I also advocate Off-Site Backup for all my clients. I usually have a NAS at someone’s home (The boss/owner, usually) and synched via Internet/VPN. The idea is, even on an extended public holiday, I can move the Home NAS to the office - the required data is usually already on it - and be up running again in a very short time, at least until the official replacement arrives…
Also the transfer speed between Server and NAS should be 1GBe, you don’t want a full backup to take two days. That would make the concept of daily backups almost impossible!
If you get a NAS, get a decent one with at least 4 Bays. my choice would be FreeNAS or Synology, depending on budget.
But I would suggest - knowing your environment a bit from Zabbix - suggest getting a Proxmox server on premise to start. You can use local storage for starters, and a big USB3 external disk for Backups (I use almost exclusively Seagate Backup Hub Plus with 8 or 10 TB, very good price and stable). I use these USB3 Disks to create a full backup of the NAS daily.
This is also a protection against Ransomware, these disks aren’t accessible via Network, only by the NAS (Synology). The NAS is NOT AD integrated, even uses a different password for the admin user (AD Admin, NAS Admin). I’ve had 7 attacks on PCs cleared out with this, in a very short time (2 hours), all network shared data for windows compromised, restore time >2h !!!
My 2 cents
Andy
Care to expand more… again, considering the backup or failure as a core issue.
I have 50MBPS dedicated fiber(not shared) connectivity to my office. Only that the cost of servers is unreasonably high here. otherwise i think that’s enough bandwidth for most things.
The only reason i sue cloud providers, is the small monthly cost. But when you begin to have multiple server(vps) instances, these add up, wuite abit.
Enter dedicated servers. Hetzner, contabo and others offer very reasonable rates fro well specd servers. <$60 per month for 2x1TB SSD. yummy.
Yes, i can install promox and virtualize 4 partitions of 200 GB each.
What if the server fails. what if there is a hardware failure. Sure, hetzner will replace the HW. but, what about my setup and data?
can a normal server with 4 hdd be used with freenas. the server to act as the freenas storage?
FreeNAS: Sure, it will run on almost anything. But don’t scimp with RAM! At least 8 GB, more is better!
And don’t use any form of RAID-Controller, unless that can handle HBA Mode, or Passthru!
Andy
Well, my comment was made on the assumption that you’d have some sort of network storage connected to your Proxmox host. In my case, it (well, “they”–it’s a three-node cluster now) is connected to a NFS share on my FreeNAS server. All the ISOs, all the VMs, and all the backups are stored there; nothing of substance is on local storage for the nodes but the OS itself. You don’t need to go this far, but you would need some kind of network storage configured. Once you have that, setting up the backup is a matter of going to “backup” in the Proxmox web GUI, clicking Add, selecting the VMs (or “all”), and setting the schedule.
Edit: Restoring is nearly as simple. In the Proxmox web GUI, under your host, select the network storage where the backups are stored. Click “Content”, select the backup you want to restore, click “Restore.”
If you’re asking whether you can run FreeNAS on a “normal server with 4 hdd”, most likely you can. Use plenty of RAM (8 GB is the minimum) and a good NIC, and mirrors if you’re using it for VM storage. If you’re asking about connecting such a server to a FreeNAS system, and using that server as storage for the FreeNAS system, no, FreeNAS isn’t designed to work that way.
Good. i am now starting to have a good idea… My server costs are going to reduce pretty soon (insert doom laugh)
The biggest challenge is usually server migrations… well. the ones that have been paid for upfront for one year, those will remain, the ones raking in monthly bills, those will have to be consolidated.
Not that way. I will setup one proxmox server, then on the server, all VMS as well as their data will be stored there.
Then setup a second server with freenas. Then have proxmox backup and store snapshots onto that freenas server.
In business, reducing regular, monthly costs is always a good idea!
Server Migrations - on Proxmox cluster with live migration - takes about 90 seconds to move from one hardware to the next, depending mostly on allocated RAM for that VM!
@danb35 Ever tried moving a live server from one node to the next?
With your Bandwidth, I’d use something like Pritunl and connect all hosted servers to one big network.
Start with one Proxmox using local storage.
As soon as you get NAS, convert the local storage to shared sorage (Using the NAS as storage for VMs).
As soon as you need/get a second Proxmox at the same hoster, also use shared storage there.
This get’s you already a Live Migration Cluster. All stuff (ISO Images, VM Images, Backups & Snapshots) are stored there, accessible to all Proxmox at the same time…
Andy
I’m not sure if it will store snapshots on a different storage than where the VM lives, but it’ll definitely do it with backups.
Yep, very slick. On the rare occasions I need to reboot a PVE node, it should come in handy.
Jeez, you never stop learning… Nwo where did this software come from.
I think i nwo have some idea on a possible setup. Though, i just heard ($150 must be destroyed for a month to deploy and test)
You can use a well configured HA and Migration options, like fencing and grouping, depending on requirements and available ressources.
Eg: NethServer only goes to hosts with 16 GB RAM to spare…
Cool is, testing the live status, like migrating a Win10, and at the same time accessing it via RDP!
this question alone is headache to my brain 
Thats fair enough. I think now maybe i understand why cloud providers, or vps provider only offer limited snapshots options, but have no much limitations on backup…
because they are stored on the main server, reducing storage space. Hmm. interesting.