Adding a Proxmox VE Node

Proxmox Virtual Environment (Proxmox VE) is an open-source virtualization platform that manages QEMU virtual machines and LXC containers, either on a single host or across a cluster. DPX provides agentless protection for Proxmox VE workloads: no software is installed inside the guests, and DPX communicates with the platform through the Proxmox API and a lightweight plugin running on the Proxmox host.

A single Proxmox VE node in DPX represents an entire Proxmox cluster. You provide one host – any member of the cluster – as the entry point, and DPX discovers the remaining cluster members and their virtual machines automatically. For a standalone Proxmox server, simply provide that server as the host.

Restrictions.

Proxmox VE backup and restore are only supported in the web interface. The desktop interface does not allow for handling Proxmox VE nodes, and such nodes will not be visible in the desktop interface.

Prerequisites

Before adding a Proxmox VE node, make sure the following are in place:

• Proxmox VE 8.4 or later running on the cluster. Earlier versions are not supported.

• Network access from the DPX Master Server to the Proxmox host on the API port (8006 by default).

• API credentials for the Proxmox platform, using one of the supported authentication methods:

  • a Proxmox user and password, or
  • a Proxmox API token name and value.

  The username must be given in the Proxmox realm format user@realm (for example, root@pam). Use an account with sufficient privileges to list and back up all the virtual machines you intend to protect.

• SSH access to the Proxmox host, required to install the Proxmox DPX Plugin (see Installing the Proxmox DPX Plugin). The plugin is needed before any Proxmox backup job can run.

Adding a Node

The procedure below describes adding a Proxmox VE cluster as a node to the DPX Master Server.

1. Open the DPX Master Server web interface in a web browser.
2. In the left-hand side menu pane, go to the Nodes section.
3. Click the Add Node button in the upper right corner to open the Add Node dialog.

4. Select Proxmox VE as Type and specify the name for the new node (it must be unique throughout the Enterprise). Select the Group Name for the node (or leave the default).

5. Specify the connection details:

   • Host
     The hostname or IP address of any node in the Proxmox cluster.
   • Port
     The Proxmox API port. The default is 8006; it is recommended to leave the default setting.
   • Authentication method
     Select either Password or API Token. Depending on the selection, different credential fields are shown.

   When Password is selected, complete the following fields:

   • Username
     The Proxmox user in user@realm format.
   • Password
     The password for the user specified above.

   When API Token is selected, complete the following fields:

   • Username
     The Proxmox user that owns the token, in user@realm format.
   • Token name
     The identifier of the API token.
   • Token value
     The secret value generated for the token.

Note.

DPX stores the credentials you provide in the Credentials Store. They are encrypted and never kept in plain text in the node definition.

6. The Verify SSL certificate toggle controls how the Proxmox server's certificate is validated. Leave it disabled (the default) if the server uses a self-signed certificate; enable it to enforce certificate verification.
7. Click Test to verify that the Proxmox server is reachable and that the credentials are valid. A toast notification will confirm the test results.
8. Complete the Proxmox DPX Plugin section as described in Installing the Proxmox DPX Plugin below.
9. Click Add.
   The node is added to the Master Server and is visible in the nodes list. If the plugin was not yet installed and you provided SSH credentials, DPX installs it as part of adding the node.

Installing the Proxmox DPX Plugin

To back up a Proxmox VE node, DPX requires the Proxmox DPX Plugin to be present on the Proxmox host. The plugin integrates with the Proxmox backup interface and enables DPX to read virtual machine data. It is installed automatically directly from the Add Node dialog – DPX uploads and installs the plugin on the host over SSH while adding the node.

The Proxmox DPX Plugin section of the dialog reflects the state of the plugin on the host. What it shows also depends on whether you have provided SSH credentials:

• Not installed – an information banner reports that the plugin is not installed, together with fields for the SSH connection:

  • SSH Credentials
    Select the stored credentials used to connect to the Proxmox host over SSH. To add new credentials, use the option in the credentials dropdown.
  • SSH Port
    The port used for the SSH connection. The default is 22.

  If you provide SSH credentials and click Add, DPX installs the plugin when the node is added. If you leave them empty, the node is added without the plugin, and backups cannot run until it is installed.

• Installed, no SSH credentials provided – DPX confirms that the plugin is present on the host.

• Installed, SSH credentials provided – DPX additionally reads and displays the installed plugin version.

Note.

The SSH credentials are used only to install the plugin and to read its version. They are not stored on the node definition.

Note.

DPX cannot uninstall the plugin. To uninstall the Proxmox DPX Plugin, remove it manually on the Proxmox host.