Proxmox VM vs LXC

Installation
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i agree, but the tutorial is from 2017 and we are in 2023 so yes its tested.
like i said before, i won’t even post the tutorial here if i was not even sure about it.

so i added a note here on step 3, and people can look it up.

Decided to delete the tutorial as this is getting nuts.
I understand different opinions but facts are facts, i sold many systems the last years and never 1 system got returned (of this issue) as i maintain them when there are problems.

who ever is interested in the tutorial i will dm it.

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Interesting, ‘constructive’ and informative conversation. Thanks. I too fell foul of Network Chucks advice (specifically here: https://youtu.be/_u8qTN3cCnQ?t=886), and will rebuild my Proxmox installation accordingly, just to be on the safe side. (its not too late :wink: )

Incidentally, in relation to my question about USB over IP, I think this solves it. There are a ton of very helpful people out there, kudos to them

2 Likes
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You can use zigbee2mqtt for remote zigbee dongle setups. It abstracts the entire zigbee stack instead of just the USB controller.

Highly recommended since it’s very reliable and performant.

Zwavejs is also available as the zwave equivalent.

You’ll need a SBC like rpi4 (older rpis work too, but they may need to be run bare metal instead of dockerized which can be a huge pain), but this is a requirement that exists with USB over IP as well.

I’ve migrated to both zigbee2mqtt and zwavejs since last year and I’m very happy with the results.

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This picture is becoming more clear to me now. I am trying to achieve a really solid Proxmox HA solution, spread across One mini PC, and two Pi4s. Learning a lot, quite enjoying the ride!

For my Electrolama ZZH Dongle, I originally thought some detached pure USB->IP transport service was the only way to achieve this (looks like a solution exists, but really isn’t mature enough for Prod).

Thanks rice12, your approach makes sense. Do you run your zigbee2mqtt install in a dedicated docker container on its own Pi4, or something else?

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I run two nodes:

  1. odroid XU4 with dockerized zwavejs and zigbe2mqtt. HA is also dockerized on this same box.
  2. RPI3 baremetal zwavejs. It had to be setup baremetal because the RPI3 was too old to run docker
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I would imagine using LXC over VM would be harder to maintain, no? I mean if you’re comfortable with that, then okay.

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i ended up with a VM. Now getting HA to use bt and zigbee dongles is trivial. With LXC it was a nightmare (i’m not even sure it’s possible, for BT)

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hey malosaa, i would be interested in reading your guide as well as im looking at choosing between LCX and regular VM HA setup for my future house, thanks a lot mate

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Hi Hector, i would be very interested in your tutorial, but if my research is correct, you have removed since, would you mind DM it to me?

cheers

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Yes of course, sorry for the late reply i was really busy last months

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My two cents to HA Home assistant. At the moment I’m gradually moving to this concept implementation.

There are mini pc with two m.2 or. M.2 and sata interfaces on the second hand market. This would allow to install proxmox on one drive and keep second drive for CEPH.A cluster to three nodes can provide high availability for VM and CEPH will take care of data. VM seems a bit better solution in terms of long term maintenance. Performance penalty for VM is negligible. Proxmox allows memory ballooning by specifying min and max values for ram usage. Ballooning allows return of unused memory to the host.

When it comes to zigbee zigstar device can be a reasonable choice ZigStar - ZigBee Coordinators and Routers.

Running a cluster of three Proxmox nodes as a cluster would provide VM HA and running at least two zig star devices would provide zigbee redundancy. More zigstar devices would provide a better covert for bigger estates.

In the end there is a redundancy for bot VM and zigbee layers. 1gbit network is not stellar for high computing but good enough for HA home assistant and all services around.

1 Like
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malosaa

I would like to get your guide. i am just starting to work with HA and smart devices. I am using proxmox and at the beginning deciding between LXC or VM. TTEK has scripts for both making it easier. Would like to see your guide to try out to see if it is a fit for me

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I’m trying to get the same working I.e zigbee and zwave running on a seperated pi with mqtt.
Would you mind sharing your setup/config?

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Sure. Happy to help. I’ll try to describe an overview.

What you need:

  • Home Assistant (A standalone device or combined with your zigbee and zwave servers)
  • Supported zigbee and zwave hardware. I use a zigbee coordinator from https://tubeszb.com/ and a zooz zstick.
  • MQTT server
  • Some sort of device to run zigbee and zwave servers. This can be combined in a single SBC, but make sure I can run docker in a stable fashion (at least RPI4). Personally, I use an old odroid XU4

For your zigbee and zwave server(s):

  • It will be responsible for running 2 key services: zigbee2mqtt and Zwave JS UI
  • Since the easiest way to get both running is docker, start with installing docker first.
  • Once docker is installed, see respective links above for how to get started.
  • If you are installing both services on one device, pay attention to your port mappings for each service to avoid conflicts. By default they already come configured for different ports, so this shouldn’t be a problem.
  • Once you have both services running, setup integrations in Home Assistant: 1) For zigbee2mqtt, there isn’t a standalone integration. Use the standard MQTT integration. 2) For zwave JS UI, use the standard Zwave integration

That’s pretty much it. Good luck!

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Hi i will dm u once im back in town.