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Proxmox High Availablity Setup (ChatGPT)

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I think there’s a pretty good video here to set up high availability (HA) on my Proxmox cluster.

This is my query to ChatGPT:

How to set up ha on my three-node proxmox cluster (pve1, pve2, and pve3) for automatic failover of my pihole dhcp server on pve1.

ChatGPT response:

Setting up high availability (HA) for your Pi-hole DHCP server on a three-node Proxmox cluster (pve1, pve2, pve3) ensures automatic failover if one node goes down. Here’s how you can achieve this:

1. Prerequisites

  1. Shared Storage:
    • Ensure all Proxmox nodes have access to shared storage (e.g., NFS, Ceph, or iSCSI) for the Pi-hole VM or container.
    • Alternatively, use Proxmox replication for local storage to synchronize disks between nodes.
  2. Cluster and Quorum:
    • Your Proxmox cluster (pve1, pve2, pve3) must be fully configured with quorum enabled to manage HA resources. pvecm status
  3. Pi-hole Setup:
    • Install Pi-hole as a VM or LXC container on pve1.
    • Configure Pi-hole’s DHCP and DNS settings.
  4. HA Configuration Package:
    • Ensure HA management tools are installed on Proxmox: apt install proxmox-ha-manager

2. Configure Shared Storage

If you don’t have shared storage:

  1. Set Up NFS Storage:
    • Install NFS on a NAS or a separate server.
    • Add the shared storage in Proxmox:
      • Go to Datacenter > Storage > Add > NFS.
      • Provide the NFS server details and share path.
  2. Use Local Storage Replication:
    • Enable storage replication between nodes for local storage (not real-time but effective for HA).

3. Move Pi-hole VM to Shared Storage

  1. Migrate the Pi-hole VM to shared storage: qm move_disk <vmid> <storage_name> Replace <vmid> with your Pi-hole VM ID and <storage_name> with the shared storage ID.
  2. Confirm the disk location: qm config <vmid>

4. Enable HA for Pi-hole VM

  1. Add the VM to HA Resources:
    • In the Proxmox web interface:
      • Go to Datacenter > HA > Add > Virtual Machine.
      • Select the Pi-hole VM and configure Failover priority.
    • Or use the CLI: ha-manager add vm:<vmid>
  2. Check HA Status: ha-manager status
  3. Set VM Start Priority:
    • Go to VM > Options and set the start/shutdown order.

5. Test HA Setup

  1. Shut down pve1: shutdown -h now
  2. Verify that the Pi-hole VM automatically starts on another node (e.g., pve2 or pve3).

6. Additional Considerations

DNS Redundancy:

  • Add a secondary Pi-hole instance for DNS failover.
    • Configure it on another node (e.g., pve2).
    • Sync configurations between the two using tools like rsync or Gravity Sync.

Monitor DHCP Leases:

  • Ensure DHCP leases persist after failover.
    • Store the dnsmasq lease file on shared storage or sync it between nodes using a script.

Backup Configuration:

  • Regularly back up the Pi-hole configuration and VM:
    • Use Proxmox backup jobs to save VM snapshots.

Summary of Key Commands

  • Add HA Resource: ha-manager add vm:<vmid>
  • Check HA Status: ha-manager status
  • Migrate Disk to Shared Storage: qm move_disk <vmid> <storage_name>

Let me know if you’d like assistance with any specific part of this process!