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MooseFS on Proxmox

This guide provides a step-by-step instruction for installing MooseFS on Proxmox machines, allowing it to be set up as a storage provider for Proxmox in a multi-node cluster.

1. Add MooseFS repository to all Proxmox nodes​

Proxmox 8:​

curl https://repository.moosefs.com/moosefs.key | gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/moosefs.gpg --dearmor

echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/moosefs.gpg] http://repository.moosefs.com/moosefs-4/apt/debian/bookworm bookworm main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/moosefs.list

Proxmox 7:​

curl https://repository.moosefs.com/moosefs.key | gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/moosefs.gpg --dearmor

echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/moosefs.gpg] http://repository.moosefs.com/moosefs-4/apt/debian/bullseye bullseye main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/moosefs.list

2. Install MooseFS Master Server package on selected Proxmox nodes​

apt install moosefs-pro-master

3. Make the domain name of the Master Server resolvable on all Proxmox nodes​

The domain name of the Master Server (mfsmaster or mfsmaster.vm.lan in this example) has to be resolvable on all Proxmox nodes, either via DNS, or via /etc/hosts file. If you decide to use the hosts file, make sure that it is consistent across all the nodes.

For example:

192.168.0.11		mfsmaster.vm.lan	mfsmaster
192.168.0.12		mfsmaster.vm.lan	mfsmaster


192.168.0.11		pve1.vm.lan		pve1
192.168.0.12		pve2.vm.lan		pve2
192.168.0.13		pve3.vm.lan		pve3
192.168.0.14		pve4.vm.lan		pve4
192.168.0.15		pve5.vm.lan		pve5

127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost

4. Enable and start MooseFS Master Server​

systemctl enable --now moosefs-pro-master

5. Install Chunk Servers on all Proxmox nodes​

A Chunk Server must be present on all Proxmox nodes that will be used as data storage providers. Install moosefs-pro-chunkserver package on these.

6. Prepare disks for Chunk Servers​

Do not mount the disks for storage in Proxmox. Instead, prepare them for Chunk Servers. For each storage provider node:

  1. Format all disks designated as Chunk Server disks with a file system of your choice. We recommend using XFS for HDD and EXT4 for SSD/NVMe disks.
  2. Add them to /etc/fstab
  3. Reload systemd:
systemctl daemon-reload
  1. Mount all fstab mountpoint:
mount -a
  1. Change the ownership of Chunk Server mountpoints to mfs:mfs, for example:
chown -R mfs:mfs /mnt/chunks*
  1. Add the mountpoints to /etc/mfs/mfshdd.cfg file. For example:
# cat /etc/mfs/mfshdd.cfg
/mnt/chunks1
/mnt/chunks2
/mnt/chunks3
/mnt/chunks4

7. Enable and start the Chunk Server service​

systemctl enable --now moosefs-pro-chunkserver

8. Install MooseFS Client on each Proxmox node.​

  1. Install package
apt install moosefs-pro-client
  1. Configure a systemd unit for automatic mounting:

The unit name has to match the mount path. In this example, the mounting path is /mnt/moosefs, so the unit file should be named: mnt-moosefs.mount. If you want to use a different path, adjust this name accordingly.

Fill the mnt-moosefs.mount unit file with the following content and place it in /etc/systemd/system location:

# cat /etc/systemd/system/mnt-moosefs.mount
[Unit]
Description=MooseFS FUSE mount
ConditionPathExists=/mnt/moosefs

[Mount]
What=mfsmaster.vm.lan:/
Where=/mnt/moosefs
Type=moosefs
Options=nonempty,mfsdelayedinit

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
  1. Enable mounting at system startup
systemctl enable --now mnt-moosefs.mount

9. Add the MooseFS to the Proxmox cluster​

  1. In the Proxmox GUI, go to the Datacenter view
  2. Select Storage and choose Directory

Select Storage and Directory

  1. Then in Add: Directory window, complete the parameters:
  • ID: moosefs
  • Directory: /mnt/moosefs
  • Content: select based on your needs
  • Enable: ✅
  • Shared: ✅

Add: Directory