Prerequisites #

• Proxmox VE Environment:
  • Ensure Proxmox VE is installed and operational.
  • Have access to the Proxmox web interface or CLI.
• Load Balancer Virtual Appliance:
  • Download the virtual load balancer image in QCOW2, RAW, or ISO format (e.g., RELIANOID, HAProxy, NGINX Plus, or another appliance).
• Resources:
  • Sufficient CPU cores, RAM, and storage for the virtual load balancer.
• Networking:
  • Pre-configured Proxmox Linux bridges (e.g., vmbr0, vmbr1).
  • Static IP address for management access.
• Permissions:
  • Administrator access to Proxmox VE.

Step 1: Access the Proxmox Environment #

1. Log in to the Proxmox web interface.
2. Select the target Proxmox node.
3. Verify available resources and node health.

Step 2: Create a New Virtual Machine #

1. Click Create VM in the Proxmox interface.
2. Assign a VM ID and name (e.g., LB-Proxmox-01).
3. Click Next.

Step 3: OS and Installation Media #

1. Select the installation method:
   • Attach an ISO image.
   • Or plan to import an existing disk image.
2. Click Next.

Step 4: System Configuration #

1. Select BIOS type:
   • SeaBIOS
   • OVMF (UEFI) if supported by the appliance
2. Select machine type (default recommended).
3. Click Next.

Step 5: Disk Configuration #

1. Create or attach a virtual disk.
2. Select storage backend (LVM, ZFS, Ceph, etc.).
3. Choose disk format:
   • QCOW2: Supports snapshots.
   • RAW: Higher performance.
4. Click Next.

Step 6: CPU and Memory #

1. Assign the number of CPU cores.
2. Allocate sufficient RAM.
3. Enable NUMA if required.
4. Click Next.

Step 7: Configure Networking #

1. Attach the network interface to a Linux bridge:
   • vmbr0 for management or frontend traffic.
   • Additional bridges for backend or sync networks.
2. Select network model (e.g., VirtIO).
3. Click Next.

Step 8: Finalize Virtual Machine Creation #

1. Review the VM configuration summary.
2. Click Finish to create the virtual machine.
3. Start the VM.

Step 9: Initial Configuration of the Load Balancer #

Access the Virtual Appliance #

1. Open the VM console from the Proxmox interface.
2. Identify the management IP address (DHCP or static).
3. Configure a static IP address if required.

Configure Basic Settings #

1. Access the appliance using SSH or a web interface.
2. Configure:
   • Hostname
   • Static IP address, subnet mask, and gateway
   • DNS servers
3. Apply and save the configuration.

Step 10: Configure Load Balancer Functionality #

Backend Pool Configuration #

1. Add backend servers and service ports.

Frontend Listener Configuration #

1. Define VIP (Virtual IP) addresses.
2. Specify protocols and listening ports.

Health Checks #

1. Configure TCP, HTTP, or HTTPS health checks.

SSL/TLS Settings (if applicable) #

1. Upload SSL/TLS certificates.
2. Configure SSL termination or passthrough.

Load Balancing Algorithms #

1. Select a suitable algorithm (Round Robin, Least Connections, Hash-based).
2. Apply changes.

Step 11: Cluster Deployment with Two Virtualized Nodes #

For high availability, deploy the load balancer as a two-node cluster.

Cluster Architecture #

• Deploy two identical load balancer VMs on different Proxmox nodes.
• Ensure identical hardware allocation and network setup.
• Enable configuration and state synchronization.

High Availability and Failover #

• Configure a dedicated synchronization interface.
• Define a floating Virtual IP (VIP).
• Ensure automatic failover between nodes.

State Synchronization #

• Synchronize sessions and configurations.
• Isolate sync traffic on a backend or sync network.

Step 12: Security Architecture with IPDS and MFA #

Network-Level Security with IPDS #

• Inspect and filter inbound and outbound traffic.
• Detect and mitigate DDoS attacks and protocol anomalies.
• Apply rate limiting and behavioral protection.

Application-Level Security #

• Protect against SQL injection, XSS, and malformed requests.
• Apply per-application security policies.
• Log security events.

Authentication and Access Control with MFA #

• Secure administrative access with multi-factor authentication.
• Integrate with LDAP, Active Directory, or RADIUS.
• Apply role-based access control (RBAC).

Step 13: Testing and Validation #

1. Ping the management IP address.
2. Access the frontend VIP from a test client.
3. Verify load distribution.
4. Test failover by stopping one node.
5. Review security logs.

Step 14: Backup and Monitoring #

1. Create VM snapshots using Proxmox.
2. Schedule regular configuration backups.
3. Integrate with monitoring and SIEM platforms.

By following these steps, you can deploy a secure, highly available, and production-ready virtual load balancer on Proxmox VE, suitable for modern enterprise and cloud infrastructures.