Proxmox Backup Server (Xeon D-1518)

System Overview

This system serves as a dedicated Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) node, providing reliable, always-on backup storage for the virtualization environment.

The platform prioritizes stability, low power consumption, and integrated high-speed networking over raw compute performance.

Design principles: see Lab Philosophy.

Hardware Configuration

Platform

• Chassis: Supermicro SYS-5018D-FN8T (1U short-depth)
• Motherboard: Supermicro X10SDV-TP8F
• CPU: Intel Xeon D-1518
  • 4 cores / 8 threads
  • Base 2.2 GHz
  • Broadwell-DE SoC
• Memory: 32 GB DDR4 ECC
  • 2 × 16 GB Hynix RDIMM
  • Remaining slots intentionally empty

Storage

• ZFS Pool: pbs
  • 2 × Micro 5300 series SSDs in mirror
• Hot Spare
  • 1 × Micron 5300 series SSD (pre-partitioned)
• Design Notes
  • Mirror layout chosen for fast resilvering and predictable failure modes
  • Capacity is sized for retention policy rather than growth

Networking

• Onboard Networking
  • 2 × 10 GbE SFP+ (Intel X552-AT2)
  • 4 × 1 GbE (Intel i350)
  • 2 × 1 GbE (Intel i210)
• Management
  • Dedicated IPMI NIC (AST2400 BMC)

Expansion

• PCIe expansion intentionally unused
• NVMe slot occupied for OS / metadata acceleration

Operational Role

• Dedicated Proxmox Backup Server
• Receives backups from:
  • Primary Proxmox EPYC hosts
• No virtualization workloads
• No user-facing services

This system is intentionally isolated to ensure that backup integrity is not impacted by production workload behavior.

Design Notes

• Xeon D platform selected for:
  • Integrated 10 GbE
  • Low idle power
  • Proven long-term stability
• Short-depth chassis allows flexible rack placement
• Storage and networking are favored over CPU expansion

Status

• Lifecycle: Active
• Role: Tier-1 backup infrastructure
• Last major change: Storage refresh + spare added