Shared Storage

Shared storage allows multiple Proxmox nodes to access the same storage pool, enabling live migration of VMs and centralized backup storage. Also, if you have multiple devices clustered together, this can enable High Availability.

Storage Types in Proxmox

• Directory — local filesystem path (default: /var/lib/vz)
• LVM / LVM-Thin — local or shared block storage
  
• ZFS — local ZFS pools
  
• NFS — network file share (NAS integration)
  
• CIFS/SMB — Windows network share
  
• Ceph — distributed block storage (enterprise/advanced)
  
• iSCSI — block-level network storage

Managing Storage

• Content: each storage type can hold different content types (ISO, backups, VM disks, etc.)
  
• Shared storage is available to all nodes in a cluster
  
• Local storage (local, local-lvm) is only available on the local node

Adding NFS Storage

1. On your NAS, create an NFS share and note its IP and export path
2. In Proxmox web console, go to Datacenter > Storage > Add > NFS
3. Configure:
       • ID: give it a name (e.g., nas-storage)
       • Server: IP address of your NAS
       • Export: the NFS export path (e.g., /mnt/pool/proxmox)
       • Content: select what to store here (Disk image, ISO image, VZDump backup file, Container template)
4. Click Add, the NFS share appears in the left panel under all nodes

Adding CIFS/SMB Storage

1. Go to Datacenter > Storage > Add > SMB/CIFS
2. Enter Server IP, Share name, Username, and Password
3. Select Content types and click Add